As the attacker executing this transition, your objective is to systematically dismantle the bottom player’s butterfly guard by clearing one hook while maintaining upper body control. This converts the position from a dangerous, sweep-heavy guard into an asymmetric configuration where your passing options multiply. The key insight is that you are not trying to pass the guard in one motion. You are removing one layer of the bottom player’s defense, creating a position where subsequent passing techniques have dramatically higher success rates. Patience and pressure discipline are more important than speed. Establish your controls, identify the weaker hook, and execute the clearing sequence with deliberate precision.
From Position: Butterfly Guard (Top)
Key Attacking Principles
- Establish upper body control before attempting to clear any hook, as uncontrolled clearing invites sweeps
- Target the weaker hook first, identified by which side the opponent’s grips and weight favor less
- Use bodyweight and skeletal alignment rather than muscular effort to collapse the hook’s leverage
- Maintain constant forward pressure throughout the clearing sequence to prevent hook re-insertion
- Keep your base wide laterally to resist elevation attempts during the transition window
- Control the opponent’s hips and prevent them from turning into you as you clear the hook
- Consolidate half butterfly top immediately after clearing, do not rush into the next pass
Prerequisites
- Establish at least one dominant grip: crossface, collar grip, or underhook on the clearing side
- Achieve combat base or low kneeling posture with hips below opponent’s hook line
- Identify which hook is less supported by opponent’s upper body grips and weight distribution
- Create slight forward pressure to load the opponent’s hooks and feel which one bears less resistance
- Ensure your posture is not broken and your head is not pulled below opponent’s shoulder level
Execution Steps
- Establish upper body control: Secure a crossface or collar grip on the side where you intend to clear the hook. Your other hand controls the opponent’s far sleeve, lapel, or wrist. This upper body control prevents the opponent from turning into you and generating sweep angles during the clearing sequence. Without this control, any hook clearing attempt exposes you to immediate sweeps.
- Load weight onto the clearing side: Shift your center of gravity toward the side where you will clear the hook. Drive your chest forward and slightly toward that side, increasing the downward pressure on the target hook. This weight shift reduces the hook’s ability to generate upward lifting force and compresses the space the hook occupies. Your hip on the clearing side drops toward the mat.
- Drive knee to mat inside the hook: Push your knee on the clearing side downward toward the mat, driving it between the opponent’s legs and past their hook foot. The knee travels in a forward-and-down trajectory that collapses the space under your thigh where the hook sits. Use your shin and knee to pin the opponent’s foot or ankle to the mat, preventing immediate re-insertion of the hook.
- Swim the leg past the hook: Once the knee has driven past the hook’s engagement point, slide your entire leg through so that the opponent’s foot is now behind your thigh rather than under it. Maintain forward pressure throughout this movement to prevent the opponent from scooting their hips back and re-engaging the hook. Your leg should end up on the outside of the opponent’s former hook leg.
- Secure half guard passing position: With one hook cleared, immediately establish half butterfly top control. Drive your chest onto the opponent’s upper body, keeping your cleared-side hip heavy on the mat. Your other leg remains in the opponent’s remaining half guard or butterfly hook. Maintain the crossface or collar grip and adjust your weight distribution to neutralize the remaining hook’s lifting power.
- Consolidate and prevent recovery: Block the opponent’s primary recovery by controlling their far hip with your free hand and maintaining heavy shoulder pressure through the crossface. Prevent the opponent from re-inserting the cleared hook by keeping your knee tight against their inner thigh on the cleared side. Settle your weight and establish your base before initiating any subsequent passing sequence. This consolidation phase is critical and should not be rushed.
- Neutralize remaining hook threat: Address the opponent’s remaining butterfly hook by adjusting your hip angle so the hook cannot generate effective lift. Drive your hip on that side low and forward toward the mat, reducing the hook’s leverage. If the opponent attempts to elevate with the remaining hook, widen your base on the cleared side and increase chest pressure. This sets up your next passing sequence from a stable, advantageous position.
Possible Outcomes
| Result | Position | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Half Butterfly | 65% |
| Failure | Butterfly Guard | 20% |
| Failure | Half Guard | 10% |
| Counter | Mount | 5% |
Opponent Counters
- Opponent elevates with both hooks as you begin weight shift (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Immediately post both hands wide and sprawl hips back to kill the elevation. Reset upper body control before reattempting the clear. Do not fight the sweep mid-elevation. → Leads to Mount
- Opponent re-inserts hook immediately after clearing by scooting hips (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Maintain constant forward pressure and pin their ankle or foot with your shin as you clear. If they re-insert, immediately re-drive the knee down rather than accepting the recovery. → Leads to Butterfly Guard
- Opponent transitions to deep half guard during weight shift (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: If you feel them diving under, immediately sprawl hips back and drive crossface pressure to flatten them before they complete the deep half entry. Maintain head position above their shoulder line. → Leads to Half Guard
- Opponent arm drags during the clearing sequence (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Keep your elbows tight and maintain inside position with your clearing-side arm. If the arm drag connects, circle toward their back to avoid giving up back control and reset to combat base. → Leads to Mount
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: Why must you establish upper body control before attempting to clear a butterfly hook? A: Upper body control prevents the opponent from using your weight shift during the clearing sequence as a trigger for sweeps. Without a crossface, collar grip, or underhook controlling their posture and movement, the bottom player can turn into you, establish dominant grips, and redirect your forward momentum into a sweep. The upper body control also prevents them from scooting their hips to maintain hook depth as you attempt to clear.
Q2: How do you identify which butterfly hook to clear first? A: Clear the hook on the side where the opponent has weaker upper body control. If they have a strong collar grip on your right side, their left hook is better supported for sweeps in that direction, so clear the right hook first where their grip support is weaker. Also assess weight distribution by applying light forward pressure and feeling which hook bears less resistance. The lighter hook indicates the opponent’s weight favors the opposite side.
Q3: What is the correct trajectory for driving your knee when clearing the hook? A: The knee drives forward and downward toward the mat, traveling between the opponent’s legs on a diagonal path that collapses the space under your thigh where the hook sits. The direction is inside and down, not outward or backward. This trajectory uses your bodyweight and gravity to compress the hook rather than relying on muscular effort to pull or push the foot away, which is inefficient and strengthens the hook’s connection.
Q4: Your opponent scoots their hips back and re-inserts the hook immediately after you clear it. How do you prevent this? A: Maintain constant forward pressure throughout the clearing sequence so the opponent cannot create the hip distance needed to re-insert. As you clear the hook, your chest should be driving into their upper body and your cleared-side hip drops to the mat, pinning their ankle or foot with your shin. If they still re-insert, immediately re-drive the knee down rather than accepting the recovery. The key is eliminating space by staying tight and heavy.
Q5: What is the most critical mechanical detail during the weight shift phase of this transition? A: The weight shift must load pressure onto the clearing side while maintaining lateral base on the opposite side. Your chest drives forward and toward the clearing side diagonally, not straight down, which would center your weight and leave both hooks functional. The hip on the clearing side drops toward the mat while the opposite knee posts wide for stability. This diagonal loading reduces the target hook’s leverage while your wide base prevents the remaining hook from sweeping you.
Q6: Your opponent initiates a butterfly sweep with both hooks as you begin the clearing sequence. What is your immediate response? A: Abandon the clearing attempt immediately and address the sweep threat. Post both hands wide on the mat, sprawl your hips backward to kill the elevation, and drive your chest down to re-flatten the bottom player. Do not try to complete the hook clear mid-sweep, as this commits your weight in the direction the opponent is trying to sweep you. After stabilizing, reset your upper body control and wait for the next clearing window when the opponent settles back to a neutral position.
Q7: Why is the consolidation phase after clearing one hook so critical? A: The consolidation phase establishes the half butterfly top position as a stable platform for subsequent passes. Skipping it allows the opponent to immediately re-insert the cleared hook or transition to deep half guard before you have established control. During consolidation, you pin the cleared foot, settle your weight distribution, and establish your base. This 2-3 second investment converts a momentary positional advantage into a stable passing platform with dramatically higher success rates for the next technique.
Q8: How does the remaining butterfly hook affect your passing options after clearing one hook? A: The remaining hook can still generate partial lifting force and disrupts your weight distribution on that side, but it cannot produce the coordinated dual-hook sweeps that make full butterfly guard dangerous. Your passing options shift toward the cleared side where you have full mobility. Knee slice and smash pass become high-percentage because you can drive weight through the cleared side. Address the remaining hook by keeping your hip low on that side and using it as a reference point for your passing direction.
Safety Considerations
This transition involves significant pressure application through the chest and shoulders onto the bottom player’s upper body. The top player should apply weight gradually rather than dropping suddenly, especially during drilling. During the knee drive phase, be mindful of the bottom player’s knee and ankle on the clearing side, as aggressive driving can compress joints uncomfortably. Both partners should communicate if pressure becomes excessive on the ribcage or neck area. When drilling repetitions, alternate sides to prevent overuse strain on one shoulder from repeated crossface applications.