The leg drag position from top is one of the most powerful and versatile passing positions in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It represents a critical juncture where you have successfully controlled your opponent’s leg and hip, creating a dominant angle that facilitates multiple high-percentage passing and back-taking opportunities. The position’s effectiveness lies in its ability to simultaneously restrict the bottom player’s defensive options while maintaining your mobility and offensive initiative.
The fundamental mechanics of the position involve dragging one of the opponent’s legs across their body while maintaining chest pressure and hip control. This configuration creates a powerful mechanical advantage where you can apply significant pressure while the opponent’s ability to create frames, maintain distance, or recover guard is severely compromised. The angle you create by moving perpendicular to their body is crucial - it prevents them from turning into you while setting up direct paths to side control, mount, or the back.
From a strategic perspective, the leg drag excels because it bypasses many modern guard retention systems. Rather than dealing with complex grips, frames, and leg configurations, you’re directly controlling the hip and removing their ability to use their legs defensively. This makes it particularly effective against practitioners who rely heavily on distance management and leg-based guards like De La Riva, X-guard, or butterfly guard. The position scales exceptionally well from beginner to advanced levels - the basic mechanics are accessible to newer practitioners while advanced variations and combinations provide depth for experienced grapplers.
The position requires careful pressure management and positional awareness. Too much commitment to chest pressure without controlling the far hip can allow granby rolls or inversions. Insufficient pressure allows the bottom player to create butterfly hooks or recover half guard. The sweet spot involves maintaining enough pressure to restrict their movement while staying mobile enough to react to their escape attempts. Your head position is critical - keeping it tight to their body prevents space creation while maintaining enough awareness to react to their movements.
Advanced applications of the leg drag involve chaining it with other positions and creating multiple layers of control. The body lock connection, headquarters integration, and seamless transitions to back takes have made the position a cornerstone of modern passing systems. Competitors like Lucas Lepri, the Miyao brothers, and Lachlan Giles have demonstrated the position’s effectiveness at the highest levels, developing variations that continue to evolve the technique. Understanding the leg drag from top is essential for any practitioner looking to develop a complete modern passing game.
Position Definition
- One of the opponent’s legs is controlled and dragged across their body, with your grip on their hip or knee preventing that leg from returning to a guard structure
- Your chest or shoulder applies continuous downward pressure on the dragged leg, pinning their hip to the mat and restricting their ability to shrimp or create frames
- Your body position is perpendicular or at an acute angle to the opponent’s torso, preventing them from squaring up or turning into you while maintaining your balance and mobility
Prerequisites
- Initial leg control established from standing, headquarters, or guard passing entry
- Opponent’s guard structure has been disrupted
- Angle created to drag leg across opponent’s body
Key Offensive Principles
- Maintain chest pressure on dragged leg while controlling far hip
- Stay perpendicular to opponent to prevent them squaring up
- Keep head tight to body to prevent space creation
- React to escape attempts by transitioning to back or completing pass
- Never allow opponent to establish butterfly hooks with free leg
- Control far hip to prevent granby rolls and inversions
Available Attacks
Knee Slice Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 40%
- Intermediate: 60%
- Advanced: 75%
Back Step → Back Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 30%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 70%
Pressure Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 45%
- Intermediate: 60%
- Advanced: 75%
Transition to Mount → Mount
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 25%
- Intermediate: 40%
- Advanced: 60%
Body Lock Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 35%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 65%
Transition to North-South → North-South
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 30%
- Intermediate: 45%
- Advanced: 60%
Knee on Belly → Knee on Belly
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 35%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 65%
Leg Weave Pass → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 25%
- Intermediate: 40%
- Advanced: 55%
Decision Making from This Position
If opponent keeps shoulders flat and attempts to frame with free leg:
- Execute Knee Slice Pass → Side Control (Probability: 70%)
- Execute Pressure Pass → Side Control (Probability: 65%)
If opponent turns away from pressure to protect guard:
- Execute Back Step → Back Control (Probability: 75%)
- Execute Rolling Back Take → Back Control (Probability: 60%)
If opponent attempts to create butterfly hook with free leg:
- Execute Immediate Knee Slice → Side Control (Probability: 65%)
- Execute Body Lock Pass → Side Control (Probability: 60%)
If opponent begins granby roll or inversion:
- Execute Follow to Back → Back Control (Probability: 55%)
- Execute Pressure Pass → Side Control (Probability: 50%)
Optimal Submission Paths
Direct Pass to Mounted Submissions
Leg Drag Position Top → Knee Slice Pass → Side Control → Transition to Mount → Armbar from Mount
Back Take to Strangle
Leg Drag Position Top → Back Step → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke
North-South Transition
Leg Drag Position Top → Pressure Pass → North-South → North-South Choke
Mount via Knee on Belly
Leg Drag Position Top → Knee Slice Pass → Knee on Belly → Transition to Mount → Kimura from Mount
Success Rates and Statistics
| Skill Level | Retention Rate | Advancement Probability | Submission Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 50% | 55% | 15% |
| Intermediate | 70% | 70% | 25% |
| Advanced | 85% | 85% | 40% |
Average Time in Position: 8-15 seconds to complete pass or transition to back
Expert Analysis
John Danaher
The leg drag represents one of the most mechanically efficient passing positions available to the modern grappler. Its effectiveness stems from the simultaneous achievement of multiple objectives: you control the opponent’s hip directly, you remove their ability to create distance with their legs, and you establish an angle that naturally facilitates progression to dominant positions. The critical technical detail that separates effective from ineffective leg drags is the perpendicular relationship between your torso and theirs. When you maintain this angle while applying chest pressure to the dragged leg, you create a geometric configuration where their escape options are severely limited. They cannot turn into you without exposing their back, they cannot create frames because your pressure pins their hip, and they cannot shrimp effectively because their leg position prevents normal hip mobility. The position demands active finishing - you must immediately transition to either the knee slice pass, back step to back control, or pressure pass. Static maintenance of the leg drag allows skilled opponents to find timing for escapes through granby rolls or butterfly hook recovery.
Gordon Ryan
The leg drag is one of my highest percentage passing positions in competition because it gives me multiple finishing options while keeping the opponent extremely limited in what they can do. When I establish the leg drag, I’m immediately reading whether they’re staying flat or starting to turn away. If they stay flat and try to frame, I’m finishing with the knee slice or pressure pass. If they turn away even slightly, I’m taking the back without hesitation - that back step is probably 80% effective at my level. The key is not sitting in the position trying to hold them down. You use the leg drag as a checkpoint position - you establish it, read their defensive reaction, and immediately go to the appropriate finish. I also pay close attention to their free leg. If I feel them trying to get a butterfly hook, I’m adjusting my angle or driving my knee through immediately. The worst thing you can do is let them establish frames and hooks while you’re trying to hold the position. Be aggressive in finishing from the leg drag.
Eddie Bravo
The leg drag works great in no-gi because you don’t have to worry about their grips slowing you down. What I like about it is that it naturally flows into other positions - if they defend the pass, you can often get the back, and if they defend the back take, you can finish the pass. It’s a win-win situation. The thing we emphasize is keeping your head tight to their body and staying mobile. You’re not sitting there holding them down forever - you’re actively working to finish. We also chain the leg drag with the body lock a lot in 10th Planet because they complement each other really well. If the leg drag is getting defended, you can switch to the body lock and vice versa. The beauty of modern passing is that everything connects and flows together. The leg drag is one of those positions that opens up so many doors if you know how to use it right.