BJJ Graph

Standing Guard Top

Dec 09, 202514 min read

Standing Guard Top is a fundamental passing position where the top player maintains an upright posture while the bottom player has some form of open guard established. This position represents a critical decision point in BJJ where the standing player must choose between pressure-based passing, speed-based passing, or dynamic movement to circumvent the guard. The standing player’s primary objective is to control distance, break grips, and create passing opportunities while avoiding sweeps and submissions.

From Standing Guard Top, the practitioner has numerous passing options including the Toreando Pass, Leg Drag Pass, and various knee-slice entries. The position allows for both explosive speed-based attacks and methodical pressure-based approaches depending on the opponent’s guard style and the player’s physical attributes. Success in this position requires excellent balance, grip fighting skills, and the ability to read the opponent’s defensive posture to select the appropriate passing strategy.

The position is particularly valuable in competition settings where maintaining an upright posture can prevent guard pulls, facilitate scoring through passing, and create opportunities for both guard passes and takedowns. Modern BJJ has seen an evolution in standing guard passing with increased emphasis on leg-based attacks, dynamic footwork, and combination passing sequences that chain multiple techniques together to overcome sophisticated guard retention systems.

Position Definition

  • Top player maintains upright standing posture with feet on the mat, hips elevated above opponent’s guard with weight distributed through legs and feet for mobility and base stability
  • Bottom player on their back with at least one point of connection to top player through grips, hooks, or frames attempting to control distance and prevent passing sequences
  • Top player’s hands engaged in grip fighting or controlling opponent’s legs and hips to create passing opportunities while maintaining balance and defensive base against sweeps
  • Distance management zone between players allowing top player to move dynamically while bottom player attempts to maintain guard connection through hooks, grips, or frames

Prerequisites

  • Opponent has established open guard from bottom position
  • Top player has achieved standing posture with both feet on mat
  • Bottom player’s closed guard has been opened or was never established
  • Top player maintains balance and base while standing in opponent’s guard range

Key Offensive Principles

  • Maintain upright posture with chin up and shoulders back to prevent being pulled down into closed guard or submissions
  • Control opponent’s legs and hips through grips to limit their ability to establish hooks and frames
  • Use dynamic footwork and angles to create passing opportunities while avoiding sweeps
  • Break opponent’s grips systematically before initiating passing sequences to reduce defensive options
  • Apply downward pressure on opponent’s legs when appropriate to flatten guard and create passing lanes
  • Maintain base width and weight distribution to prevent off-balancing and sweep attempts
  • Time explosive movements with opponent’s defensive adjustments to exploit openings in guard retention

Available Attacks

Toreando Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 35%
  • Intermediate: 50%
  • Advanced: 65%

Leg Drag Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 30%
  • Intermediate: 45%
  • Advanced: 60%

Knee Slice Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 40%
  • Intermediate: 55%
  • Advanced: 70%

Double Under Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 25%
  • Intermediate: 40%
  • Advanced: 55%

X Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 30%
  • Intermediate: 45%
  • Advanced: 60%

Long Step Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 35%
  • Intermediate: 50%
  • Advanced: 65%

Stack Pass → Side Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 20%
  • Intermediate: 35%
  • Advanced: 50%

Back Step → Back Control

Success Rates:

  • Beginner: 15%
  • Intermediate: 30%
  • Advanced: 45%

Opponent Escapes

Escape Counters

Decision Making from This Position

If opponent establishes strong collar and sleeve grips with active foot placement:

If opponent extends legs for distance with limited grip control:

If opponent creates frames and uses butterfly hooks for elevation:

If opponent establishes De La Riva hook on lead leg:

If opponent inverts or attempts rolling attacks:

Common Offensive Mistakes

1. Leaning forward with weight over opponent’s guard

  • ❌ Consequence: Increased vulnerability to sweeps, triangle chokes, and being pulled down into closed guard
  • ✅ Correction: Maintain upright posture with hips back, chest up, and weight distributed through feet with slight backward lean

2. Allowing opponent to establish dominant grips without immediate response

  • ❌ Consequence: Opponent controls distance and timing, making passing attempts predictable and easier to defend
  • ✅ Correction: Engage in active grip fighting, breaking opponent’s grips systematically before initiating passing sequences

3. Standing with feet too close together in narrow stance

  • ❌ Consequence: Poor base and balance making practitioner vulnerable to sweeps and off-balancing attacks
  • ✅ Correction: Maintain shoulder-width or wider stance with weight distributed evenly through both feet for stability

4. Initiating passing attempts without controlling opponent’s legs or hips first

  • ❌ Consequence: Opponent can easily retain guard through hooks, frames, and hip movement
  • ✅ Correction: Establish control of opponent’s legs or hips before committing to passing movement to limit defensive options

5. Moving predictably with single-direction passing attempts

  • ❌ Consequence: Opponent can anticipate movement and prepare appropriate guard retention responses
  • ✅ Correction: Use combination passing with direction changes and multiple attack angles to overwhelm guard retention

6. Keeping hands too high or too low relative to opponent’s guard

  • ❌ Consequence: Unable to effectively control distance, break grips, or initiate passing sequences
  • ✅ Correction: Position hands at hip and thigh level to control opponent’s legs while maintaining ability to break grips as needed

7. Remaining static in standing position without pressure or movement

  • ❌ Consequence: Allows opponent to establish ideal guard, set grips, and prepare defensive strategy
  • ✅ Correction: Apply constant pressure through grip fighting and dynamic footwork to keep opponent reactive and defensive

Training Drills for Attacks

Grip Fighting Flow

Partner starts in open guard with various grips while top player practices systematically breaking grips and establishing passing control points. Focus on hand fighting techniques and preventing opponent from resetting grips.

Duration: 5 minutes per round

Standing Guard Pass Progression

Start standing in opponent’s open guard with specific passing goal (Toreando, Leg Drag, etc.). Bottom player provides progressive resistance levels: 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. Work through full passing sequence from grip break to position consolidation.

Duration: 3 minutes per technique

Base and Balance Challenge

Top player stands in opponent’s guard while bottom player attempts various sweeps and off-balancing attacks. Top player focuses solely on maintaining balance, base, and standing posture without attempting to pass.

Duration: 4 minutes per round

Combination Passing Flow

Chain 3-4 different passing techniques together in continuous flow. When bottom player defends one pass, immediately transition to next passing option. Develops ability to read guard retention and adjust passing strategy dynamically.

Duration: 6 minutes per round

Specific Guard Type Passing

Bottom player establishes specific guard type (De La Riva, Spider, Lasso, etc.) and maintains that guard structure. Top player develops passing strategies specific to that guard configuration with focus on appropriate grips, angles, and timing.

Duration: 4 minutes per guard type

Optimal Submission Paths

Fastest passing path to submission

Standing Guard Top → Toreando Pass → Side Control → Transition to Mount → Mount → Armbar from Mount

High-percentage pressure passing path

Standing Guard Top → Knee Slice Pass → Side Control → Transition to North-South → North-South Choke

Back attack path

Standing Guard Top → Back Step → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke

Leg drag to back path

Standing Guard Top → Leg Drag Pass → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke

Stack passing to submission

Standing Guard Top → Stack Pass → Side Control → Kimura from Side Control

Success Rates and Statistics

Skill LevelRetention RateAdvancement ProbabilitySubmission Probability
Beginner60%30%5%
Intermediate70%50%10%
Advanced80%65%15%

Average Time in Position: 30-90 seconds before passing attempt or guard pull

Expert Analysis

John Danaher

Standing guard passing represents the intersection of biomechanics, timing, and strategic decision-making. The critical principle is understanding that your upright posture provides both advantages and vulnerabilities - you gain mobility and the ability to generate explosive passing momentum, but you sacrifice the pressure-based control available from lower postures. The key is systematic grip control: you must dominate the grip fighting exchange to dictate the terms of engagement. Break the opponent’s grips methodically, establish your own control points on their legs or hips, and only then commit to your passing sequence. The standing position also allows you to read the opponent’s guard configuration and select the appropriate passing strategy - pressure-based approaches like the knee slice for stretched-out guards, or speed-based approaches like the Toreando for compact defensive structures. Understanding when to apply pressure versus when to use speed and direction changes is what separates effective standing passers from those who struggle against modern guard retention systems.

Gordon Ryan

In competition, standing guard passing is my primary method for dealing with modern guard players because it allows me to control the pace and choose my passing entries. The biggest mistake I see is people standing up without a clear passing plan - they just stand there and let the guard player establish their ideal guard structure. I always enter standing with grip fighting intent and immediately start breaking down their guard configuration. My preference is the leg drag and Toreando combination because they work together perfectly - if they defend the leg drag by keeping their legs tight, I switch to Toreando; if they extend to stop the Toreando, I come back to the leg drag. The standing position also lets me avoid getting stuck in long guard passing battles that drain energy. I can explode into my pass, and if it doesn’t work immediately, I can reset to standing and try a different approach rather than getting caught in a grinding pressure pass. This flexibility is crucial in high-level competition where guard retention is incredibly sophisticated.

Eddie Bravo

Standing guard passing is essential in no-gi where you don’t have the gi grips to control from lower positions, but the same principles apply in gi as well. The key thing people miss is that standing guard passing is about creating dilemmas and misdirection - you can’t just bull rush through someone’s guard. I like to use fakes and feints from the standing position to get the opponent moving their legs or shifting their weight, then I attack the opening they create. The standing position also sets up some of my favorite submission entries. If someone is defending guard passes really well, I’ll sometimes fake a pass to get them to extend their legs, then I can drop down for leg attacks or front headlock positions. The versatility is what makes standing guard passing so effective - you’re not committed to one plane of attack like you are when you’re on your knees grinding through a pressure pass. You can switch between speed passing, pressure passing, and even submission threats all from the standing position.