The Cartwheel Pass is an athletic and dynamic technique used to bypass inverted guards, particularly the Grasshopper Guard. When facing an opponent who has inverted with their legs elevated and threatening leg entanglements, the cartwheel motion allows you to vault over their defensive structure entirely, landing directly into side control. This pass exploits a fundamental weakness of inverted guards: while they excel at controlling opponents who engage directly with their legs, they struggle against aerial passes that avoid leg contact altogether.
The technique requires committing to the cartwheel motion with conviction, as hesitation mid-pass creates vulnerability to being pulled into the guard player’s entanglement system. Your hands plant on the mat beside the opponent’s hips, and you rotate your body laterally through the air, allowing your legs to clear their elevated guard completely. The landing must be controlled, transitioning immediately into heavy side control pressure before the opponent can reorganize their defensive structure.
Strategically, the Cartwheel Pass functions best as a surprise element within your passing game. Its athletic nature means it cannot be spammed repeatedly without significant energy expenditure. The optimal timing occurs when the guard player has committed deeply to their inversion, creating space beside their body for your hand placement. Attempting the pass when they are actively adjusting or have legs extended toward you significantly reduces success probability and increases counter risk.
From Position: Grasshopper Guard (Top) Success Rate: 58%
Possible Outcomes
| Result | Position | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Side Control | 65% |
| Failure | Grasshopper Guard | 25% |
| Counter | Closed Guard | 10% |
Attacker vs Defender
| Attacker | Defender | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Execute technique | Prevent or counter |
| Key Principles | Commit fully to the cartwheel motion - hesitation allows opp… | Track the passer’s lateral movement continuously - rotate yo… |
| Options | 6 execution steps | 4 defensive options |
Playing as Attacker
Key Principles
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Commit fully to the cartwheel motion - hesitation allows opponent to establish leg hooks
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Hand placement must be precise, beside opponent’s hips, not on their body
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Maintain visual awareness of opponent’s legs throughout the rotation to avoid entanglement
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Generate sufficient rotation speed to clear the elevated guard structure completely
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Land with immediate heavy pressure to prevent guard recovery or re-inversion
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Timing is critical - initiate when opponent is deeply inverted with legs committed elsewhere
Execution Steps
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Establish position: From standing or combat base facing the inverted guard, assess opponent’s leg positioning and identi…
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Create angle: Step laterally toward the identified passing lane, beginning to circle around the edge of opponent’s…
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Plant lead hand: Drive your lead hand firmly to the mat beside opponent’s hip on the passing side, fingers pointing a…
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Initiate cartwheel: Push off your feet and begin the cartwheel rotation, driving your hips up and over while your traili…
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Clear legs: Rotate your legs through the air in the cartwheel arc, keeping them elevated and wide to completely …
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Land in side control: Complete the rotation by landing your hip-side knee first, immediately driving chest pressure perpen…
Common Mistakes
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Hesitating mid-cartwheel or attempting a slow, controlled rotation
- Consequence: Gives opponent time to adjust legs, catch your hips, and pull you into leg entanglement or sweep
- Correction: Commit fully to the athletic movement - the cartwheel must be explosive and completed in one fluid motion without pause
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Placing hands directly on opponent’s body instead of beside their hips
- Consequence: Hands get trapped, opponent can control your posting arm, and your rotation becomes unstable
- Correction: Plant hands firmly on the mat beside opponent’s hips, using the floor for stable support throughout rotation
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Attempting the pass when opponent’s legs are extended toward you
- Consequence: Legs intercept your cartwheel trajectory, resulting in getting caught in half guard or leg entanglement
- Correction: Wait for opponent to commit their legs away from your passing lane before initiating - timing is more important than speed
Playing as Defender
Key Principles
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Track the passer’s lateral movement continuously - rotate your inversion angle to always face the threat and deny clear passing lanes
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Maintain at least one leg extended toward the passer as a barrier that forces them to either engage your legs or abort the pass attempt
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Preserve hip elevation throughout defense - dropping hips eliminates your ability to reposition and makes all aerial passes easier to complete
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React during the setup phase rather than waiting for the cartwheel to begin, as once airborne the passer is extremely difficult to stop
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Keep hands free and ready to frame against the landing rather than committed to grips that restrict your defensive mobility
Recognition Cues
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Passer begins circling laterally around the edge of your guard rather than engaging directly with your legs, stepping wide to create angle for the cartwheel entry
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Passer drops one hand toward the mat beside your hip while their weight shifts to one side, indicating they are about to plant for the cartwheel rotation
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Passer disengages from all leg contact and creates distance before moving laterally, signaling they intend to vault over rather than pass through your guard
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Passer’s posture shifts from low combat base to more upright and mobile stance, loading their legs for the explosive lateral push-off required for the cartwheel
Defensive Options
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Rotate your inversion to track the passer’s lateral movement, extending both legs toward their new angle to block the cartwheel lane - When: As soon as you detect the passer circling laterally during the setup phase, before they plant their hand on the mat
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Extend one leg directly into the passer’s hip or shoulder line as they begin the cartwheel, creating a physical barrier they must navigate around or through - When: When the passer has already planted their lead hand and begun loading for the cartwheel rotation
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Execute a Granby roll underneath the passer’s aerial trajectory as they cartwheel over, rolling to face them and reestablishing guard contact as they land - When: When the cartwheel is already committed and airborne, making leg interception impossible
Position Integration
The Cartwheel Pass occupies a specialized niche in the guard passing hierarchy, specifically addressing inverted guards that traditional passing methods struggle to solve. When integrated into a complete passing game, it serves as the athletic complement to more methodical approaches like the back step pass, leg drag, or toreando. The threat of the cartwheel forces inverted guard players to keep their legs closer to their body for protection, which paradoxically creates openings for those ground-based passes. After completing the pass, standard side control attacks and transitions apply - the Cartwheel Pass is simply a means of arriving there. Common follow-ups from the established side control include Americana, kimura, arm triangle setups, or positional advancement to mount or north-south depending on opponent’s defensive reactions.