The Lasso Guard Pass is a fundamental skill for defeating one of the most controlling open guard variations in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The lasso guard utilizes the opponent’s sleeve grip combined with a leg threaded behind the arm to create powerful control that can sweep, submit, or prevent passing. Understanding how to systematically dismantle this guard structure is essential for any serious competitor. The pass requires a combination of precise grip control, posture management, and strategic pressure application to neutralize the lasso hook while maintaining balance. Successful execution involves recognizing the mechanical disadvantages created by the lasso position and exploiting them through systematic steps that progressively remove the guard player’s control points. This technique integrates principles of base maintenance, pressure passing, and tactical grip fighting to achieve dominant top position.
Starting Position: Lasso Guard Ending Position: Side Control Success Rates: Beginner 35%, Intermediate 50%, Advanced 65%
Key Principles
- Control the lassoed arm to prevent opponent from maintaining distance and angle
- Maintain strong upright posture to reduce the effectiveness of the lasso hook
- Step outside the lasso leg to change angles and reduce leverage
- Use strategic grips to prevent re-guards and sweep attempts
- Apply consistent pressure to force opponent into defensive reactions
- Clear the lasso hook systematically before attempting to pass
- Secure the pass with proper weight distribution and hip control
Prerequisites
- Opponent has established lasso guard with one arm threaded through their leg
- Strong grip on the opponent’s sleeve or wrist of the lassoed arm
- Upright posture with base established to prevent sweeps
- Awareness of opponent’s free leg position and sweep threats
- Control of distance to prevent additional guard retention options
- Understanding of opponent’s grip configuration and intentions
Execution Steps
- Establish sleeve control: Grip the sleeve of your lassoed arm with your free hand, creating a strong connection. Pull the sleeve across your body while maintaining upright posture. This grip prevents the opponent from extending you and creating distance, which is essential for their lasso control. Keep your elbow tight to your ribs to make the grip difficult to break. (Timing: Immediately when entering lasso guard or regaining posture)
- Establish standing base: Stand up while maintaining the sleeve grip, bringing both feet flat to the mat with a wide stable base. Keep your chest upright and hips back slightly to prevent forward sweeps. The standing position reduces the mechanical advantage of the lasso hook and prepares you for angular passing options. Distribute your weight evenly to maintain balance against sweep attempts. (Timing: Once sleeve control is secure)
- Step outside the lasso leg: Take a large step with your outside leg (the leg on the same side as the lasso) around and outside of the opponent’s lasso leg. This foot should land near their hip with your knee pointing outward. This angle change immediately reduces the effectiveness of the lasso hook and begins to unwind their control. Keep your posture tall and maintain the sleeve grip throughout. (Timing: After establishing stable standing position)
- Clear the lasso hook: With your free hand, reach across and grip the opponent’s lasso leg at the shin or ankle. Pull this leg off your arm while simultaneously rotating your shoulder backward and downward. The combination of pulling their leg and rotating your shoulder creates space to extract your arm. Once your arm is free, immediately establish a controlling grip on their pants or belt to prevent re-guard. (Timing: Once angle is established and opponent’s base is compromised)
- Control the hips: Drive your outside knee forward into the opponent’s hip while maintaining control of their leg and sleeve. Your knee should pin their hip to the mat, preventing them from following you or recovering guard. Drop your weight onto this knee while keeping your other leg posted for base. This hip control is critical for preventing last-second guard retention attempts. (Timing: Immediately after clearing the lasso hook)
- Secure side control: Slide your knee across the opponent’s stomach as you release the leg grip and establish upper body control. Your chest should drive into their shoulder while your hips drop to the mat. Secure a crossface with your near arm and an underhook or far side control with your other arm. Distribute your weight to prevent bridging escapes and settle into a stable side control position. (Timing: As opponent’s hip is pinned and guard is fully passed)
Opponent Counters
- Opponent sits up and attempts to re-establish the lasso while you’re standing (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Maintain sleeve control and use your free hand to post on their shoulder, preventing them from sitting forward. Circle away from the lasso side while keeping tension on the sleeve.
- Opponent switches to spider guard or collar sleeve configuration (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Immediately adjust your grips to address the new guard configuration. If they establish spider, control both sleeves and use a knee cut or stack pass. Anticipate these transitions during your pass.
- Opponent uses their free leg to hook your far leg for a sweep (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: Keep your far leg posted wide and back, making it difficult to hook. If they begin to hook, hop that leg back or switch to a different passing angle like knee slice to the opposite side.
- Opponent grabs your ankle or pant leg with their free hand (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Use your superior positioning to break this grip by stepping back and circling. You can also switch to a pressure passing approach by dropping your weight onto their chest.
- Opponent extends the lasso and pushes off your chest with their free foot (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: This actually helps your pass by creating space. Maintain sleeve control and use the momentum to circle around the lasso leg more aggressively. Their extension reduces their ability to follow you.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: Why is sleeve control on the lassoed arm considered the most important grip during this pass? A: Sleeve control on the lassoed arm is critical because it prevents the opponent from creating and maintaining distance, which is the foundation of lasso guard effectiveness. By controlling this sleeve, you neutralize their ability to extend you away, set up sweeps, or transition to other guards. This grip also gives you control over their posture and prevents them from sitting up to reestablish their guard during the pass.
Q2: What is the mechanical advantage of stepping outside the lasso leg rather than trying to pass on the inside? A: Stepping outside the lasso leg creates an angle that reduces the hook’s leverage and effectiveness. The lasso works by creating a strong connection between the opponent’s leg and your arm in a straight line. When you step outside, you change this angle dramatically, making it much easier to rotate your shoulder and extract your arm. Additionally, this outside position puts you closer to completing the pass and makes it harder for the opponent to follow you with their hips.
Q3: How should you adjust your passing strategy if the opponent transitions from lasso to spider guard during your pass attempt? A: When the opponent transitions to spider guard, immediately adjust your grip strategy to control both sleeves rather than focusing solely on one. Recognize that spider guard requires different passing approaches, typically involving either breaking the grips and using pressure passing, or controlling both sleeves and using a knee cut or stack pass. The key is to not commit to the lasso passing sequence when the guard structure has fundamentally changed. Maintain your upright posture and wide base to prevent sweeps during this transition.
Q4: What are the most dangerous sweep threats when attempting to pass lasso guard, and how do you prevent them? A: The primary sweep threats are the opponent using their free leg to hook your far leg while off-balancing you with the lasso, or sitting up and using the lasso to control your posture while sweeping with their free leg. Prevent these by maintaining a wide base with your far leg posted back and outside, keeping upright posture with your hips back, and controlling the sleeve to limit their ability to extend and create angles. Never allow your weight to shift too far forward or your base to become narrow.
Q5: Why is it crucial to immediately control the hips with your knee after clearing the lasso hook? A: Hip control with the knee is essential because there is a critical moment after clearing the lasso where the opponent can still recover guard through hip movement and following your passing direction. By immediately driving your knee into their hip and pinning it to the mat, you eliminate their mobility and ability to create frames or shrimp away. This control point is what transitions the position from ‘guard being passed’ to ‘pass completed,’ and without it, even perfect technique up to that point can fail in the final moment.
Q6: What role does posture play throughout the entire lasso guard passing sequence? A: Upright posture is fundamental throughout the lasso pass because it reduces the mechanical effectiveness of the lasso hook and prevents forward sweeps. Good posture keeps your center of gravity over your base, making you difficult to off-balance. It also allows you to generate power from your legs and hips rather than relying on upper body strength. When standing, maintaining tall posture creates space to work and forces the opponent to use energy maintaining their guard rather than attacking you.
Safety Considerations
The lasso guard pass is generally a low-risk technique from a safety perspective, but practitioners should be aware of several considerations. When clearing the lasso hook, avoid jerking or explosive movements that could stress the opponent’s shoulder or elbow joint, as the lasso creates a connected system through their arm. When standing up, ensure your partner’s arm is not trapped in an awkward position that could cause injury if you post weight suddenly. Be cautious of your own balance when standing, as falling onto your partner while they maintain the lasso could cause injury to both participants. During training, communicate with your partner about the intensity level and take care when applying pressure to their legs or hips. For practitioners with knee issues, be mindful when driving your knee across for the final pass, as excessive force on a mat can aggravate existing conditions. Finally, if your partner maintains the lasso and you feel stuck, tap and reset rather than forcing the position, as this prevents both frustration and potential injury from desperate movements.
Position Integration
The Lasso Guard Pass is a fundamental component of any comprehensive passing system, particularly for those who face opponents with strong open guard games. This technique integrates seamlessly with other standing passes and pressure passing systems, as it shares common principles with techniques like the toreando pass, knee slice pass, and leg drag. The systematic approach to dealing with the lasso—controlling grips, establishing position, creating angles, and securing the pass—reflects the same step-by-step methodology used in high-level guard passing. Once the lasso is cleared, the pass naturally flows into standard top positions like side control or can be adapted into other passing sequences such as leg drag or knee slice. Understanding this pass also improves your overall guard passing game because it teaches critical concepts like sleeve control, posture management, and hip control that apply to defeating many other open guard variations. The lasso pass is particularly relevant in gi training where sleeve grips and leg threading are common, and it represents essential knowledge for advancing from intermediate to advanced levels of guard passing proficiency.
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The lasso guard pass exemplifies a fundamental principle in all guard passing: you must systematically remove your opponent’s control points before attempting to advance position. The lasso guard is mechanically powerful because it creates a structural connection between the opponent’s leg and your arm, giving them control over your posture and distance. Many passers make the critical error of trying to muscle through this structure, which is both exhausting and ineffective. The proper approach is to first establish your own control point through the sleeve grip, which immediately begins to neutralize their system. By standing, you reduce the mechanical advantage of their hook. By stepping outside, you create an angle that makes their structure geometrically weaker. Only then do you clear the hook, and only after clearing do you advance to the pass. Each step must be completed before progressing to the next, otherwise you create opportunities for them to sweep or recover. This sequential, systematic approach to problem-solving is what separates technical guard passing from athletic scrambling. The pass also demonstrates the importance of base maintenance throughout transitions—your wide stance and upright posture create a stable platform from which to work, making you resistant to their sweep attempts. Understanding these mechanical principles allows you to pass the lasso guard efficiently regardless of strength or size differences.
- Gordon Ryan: In competition, the lasso guard is one of the most annoying guards to deal with because it gives your opponent strong control with relatively low energy expenditure on their part. I’ve faced countless opponents who use lasso as their primary guard, and what I’ve learned is that you need to be aggressive and committed when passing it. The sleeve grip is absolutely non-negotiable—if you let them control the distance, they’ll keep you there all day and you’ll waste your energy trying to force a pass. When I’m passing lasso, I stand up immediately and establish a dominant grip configuration. I’m not interested in playing their game down on my knees where they have all the control. Once I’m standing with good grips, I step outside hard and commit to that angle. Hesitation is your enemy here. If you half-commit to the pass, they’ll sense it and either sweep you or transition to a different guard. I like to be violent with my shoulder rotation when clearing the hook—not in a way that injures them, but with enough commitment that the hook comes off decisively. The moment that hook clears, I’m already driving my knee to their hip and settling my weight. Speed in this final transition is crucial because that’s when they’re most likely to recover guard. In competition, every second counts, and efficient lasso passing is what allows you to get to your top game where you can start scoring points and hunting submissions. One more thing—always be ready for them to switch guards. Smart opponents won’t just sit there and let you pass their lasso. They’ll bail to spider, De La Riva, or closed guard. You need to recognize these transitions instantly and adjust your passing strategy accordingly.
- Eddie Bravo: The lasso guard is a powerful tool, but like all guards, it has exploitable weaknesses if you understand the system. What most people don’t realize is that the lasso guard player is actually creating some of their own problems by threading that leg behind your arm. They’re committing one of their legs to a specific position, which reduces their mobility. My approach to passing the lasso is less about the traditional stand-and-circle method, though that works, and more about recognizing the moment to counter-attack. If someone gets me in lasso, I’m immediately thinking about my shoulder pressure and how I can use it to flatten them out. Sometimes the best way to pass lasso is to actually pressure into it—control the sleeve like everyone says, but then drop your weight onto their chest while controlling their free leg. You’d be surprised how effective this pressure-style approach can be, especially in no-gi where the grips are less secure. Another thing I like is using the lasso against them by recognizing when they over-commit to it. If they’re really cranking on that lasso, they’re often leaving themselves vulnerable to having their legs stacked or their back taken if you can get around to the right angle. The key is staying calm and not panicking when you feel that hook on your arm. It’s uncomfortable, sure, but it’s not a submission, it’s just control. Once you internalize that, you can start problem-solving and looking for the technical solutions. Also, don’t sleep on the leg drag option after you clear the hook—it’s one of my favorite ways to finish this pass because it prevents them from following you with their hips. The lasso pass is ultimately about patience, good grips, and recognizing the right moment to commit to your passing angle. Rush it and you’ll get swept. Wait too long and you’ll waste energy. Finding that balance is what makes you dangerous.