Leg Drag
Guard pass · Open Guard
The leg drag takes you from standing in front of open guard to side control or the back. The moment is when he raises his legs high to frame on you. Grip one leg at the ankle and at the knee, pull it across your body and pin it to the mat past your hip, like a sword into its scabbard, so both his knees point away from you. Keep that leg tight to your hip and step your leg in behind it to block his hip from turning back; control his upper body with a grip on his jacket at the ribs or a crossface, your armpit over his knee, so the shoulders stay turned away, then drive your chest onto him. Any gap between his leg and your hip lets the leg come back in front of you. If he inverts or turns away, his back is open: take Back Control.
How to do it
- Grip the pant leg at the ankle and the knee of one leg, so you control that leg at two points.
- Pull that leg across your body and pin it to the mat past your hip, like a sword into its scabbard, so their knees point away from you.
- Keep the dragged leg tight to your hip and step your leg in behind to block their hip, so they cannot turn their hips back toward you.
- Move your top hand from the leg to their jacket at the ribs (it holds better than the collar) or crossface, elbow inside their hip and armpit over their knee, keeping their shoulders turned away.
- Drive your chest onto them and take side control, or the back if they keep turning away.
Key details
- Their knees must point away from you: then their legs cannot frame on you.
- Keep the dragged leg tight to your hip; any gap lets the leg come back in front of you.
- Control the upper body with a collar grip or crossface, so the shoulders cannot follow the hips back.
- Put the foot past your hip like a sword into its scabbard: the leg ends up across your body, not beside it.
- Once their knees point away, the back is half exposed: take it if they turn away.
- Pressure comes from your posture, not from pulling: up on your toes, outside foot stepped back on a diagonal, forehead leaning onto their chest so they carry your weight.
Common mistakes
- Dragging the leg but staying far away. — From a distance their hips are free, and they turn back into you. — Close the distance with your hips so they stay turned away.
- Releasing the leg before the chest arrives. — Let go and the leg swings back in front of you as a frame. — Pin it until your chest is on them.
- No control of the upper body. — Without upper body control they turn the shoulders and face you. — Grip the collar or crossface to keep their shoulders turned away.
- Rushing from the leg drag to side control without grips. — Moving toward the head you leave a gap at the hips; they hip out, square up and re-guard. — Stabilise on the hips first, follow every hip escape, then get the head hug or the underhook and only then move up.
- Resting your head low on their belly. — They bench-press your head and shoulders away. — Keep your shoulder high on their chest.
How to drill it
Leg drag from standing, 10 each side; then against a partner who inverts.
What comes next
Where it comes from