Double Under Pass
Guard pass · Closed Guard
The double under takes you from inside an opened closed guard to side control or mount. The moment is when his legs open but stay low, so you can scoop both. Put both arms under his legs, deep to the elbows, lock your hands high on his far hip, pulling his hips tight to your chest. Come up on your toes and stack his hips over his shoulders, your weight on his shoulders, not his hips. Stack at an angle toward the side you pass to, head tight to that hip; straight over his head you hand him a triangle. Walk to the side around the leg on your shoulder, without throwing it off, and drop into side control. If he rolls back over his shoulder, take the Seatbelt Back Take. Stack slowly: his neck carries your weight.
How to do it
- From inside their guard, put both arms under their legs, deep up to the elbows, so their thighs sit in the crooks of your arms.
- Grip their collar or lock your hands on the far hip, high on the legs near the hips, so their hips are pulled tight to your chest.
- Come up on your toes, stand the legs up and stack their hips over their shoulders, putting your weight onto their shoulders, not their hips.
- Stack at an angle toward the side you are passing to, with your head tight to the hip on that side, not in the middle.
- Walk to the side, keeping the stack: do not throw the leg off your shoulder, move your body around it, then come off your knees and drop into side control.
Key details
- Weight on their shoulders, not on their hips: weight on the shoulders pins them, weight on the hips only folds the legs.
- Head tight to the hip on the side you pass to, out of the line where they could lock a triangle.
- Walk to the side while you keep the stack, so they cannot roll back over their shoulder.
- Lock your hands high on their legs near the hips, then come up on your toes: the high lock keeps their hips from sliding out.
- Grind forward inch by inch; keep the leg on your shoulder and move around it rather than throwing it off.
- If they turn toward their knees under the stack, take some weight off and let them turn with your knee inside their armpit: the arm is trapped and you go to the crucifix or the seatbelt.
Common mistakes
- Head in the middle, between their legs. — Your head and an arm are in place for a triangle. — Put your head beside their hip on the passing side, out of the triangle line.
- Arms not deep under the legs. — Shallow arms leave room, and they slip a leg out over your shoulder. — Put your arms under the legs up to the elbows.
- Stacking in place without walking. — Stacking in place lets them roll back over their shoulder and escape. — Walk to the side as you stack so they cannot roll back.
- Throwing the leg off your shoulder to finish. — Your arm is exposed: they catch the elbow and turn in to recover guard. — Keep the leg where it is, keep the weight on and move your body around it.
- Getting to double unders limb by limb, slowly. — They see it coming and set their feet or hooks on your hips. — Swim both arms under the legs and drop straight onto your shins in one fast motion.
If they defend
- They attack a triangle. → Posture up and push their knee to the mat.
How to drill it
Double under stack pass, 8 each side; then the partner tries to triangle.
Safety
Stacking loads the neck of the partner: apply weight slowly.
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