Passing Chains System
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Second Pass Is the One That Works." Print it. The article explains why the guard player's defence is the map for your second pass. This book builds that one chain — knee-cut, the re-gu…
| Art | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
|---|---|
| Family | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Level | intermediate |
| Format | system |
| Topics | groundwork, fundamentals, training-plans |
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Second Pass Is the One That Works." Print it. The article explains why the guard player's defence is the map for your second pass. This book builds that one chain — knee-cut, the re-guard read, the long-step, and the finishes off the turn-in — as one continuous movement, and drills the early re-guard that truly resets it.
Name: ______________________________ Dojo: ______________________________ Belt: ______________ Start date: ______________ Lead side (circle): Left / Right Current week (Part 11): ______________
BEFORE ANYTHING: SAFETY, PRESSURE, AND PARTNER AGREEMENTS ☐ Passing pressure is agreed before each drill and stated out loud. Either partner can lower the pressure or the speed with one word, and the drill obeys instantly. ☐ Stacked positions (Part 7) load a partner's folded hips and neck line. Stacks are driven by weight shift, never by shoving, and are released the moment a partner calls discomfort in the neck or ribs. No stack in this book is held at full pressure in weeks 1–2. ☐ All finishes land in side control under control. A passer who falls onto a partner to finish a pass has failed the rep, however good the position looks afterward. ☐ Knee and ankle care: the long-step and back-step travel around a partner's legs. Clear the legs with movement, never by kicking through them or dropping weight onto a trapped knee. ☐ Stop on any pain, dizziness, or loss of control, from either partner, with no finishing the set first. Log what happened in the session log (Part 16). ☐ Safety checkpoints are printed on the drill cards. Where a card carries a checkpoint line, the checkpoint is part of the pass standard.
Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
Three legs, one direction of travel. If you circle back to the start mid-chain, the rep was three fragments, not a chain.
| Leg | Movement | What success looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Leg one: knee-cut | From headquarters, knee cuts across their thigh, underhook or crossface high, chest driving them flat | A real pass that a real defence must answer |
| The read | Their frame-and-shield re-guard, or their turn-in, named as it happens | Their top arm spent on the frame; hips square on the shield; far leg trapped in half guard |
| Leg two: long-step | Free leg steps long, back and around, behind the shield, weight kept through them | You arrive on the far side their shield cannot cover |
| Leg three: the finish | Stack their folded legs, or back-step behind their turn-in | Side control landed under control, chest to chest, near hip blocked |
Chain law: keep travelling in the chain's direction. The finishes live behind their turn, not back at headquarters.
| Their answer to leg one | What it costs them | Leg two |
|---|---|---|
| Frame on hip, knee shield re-guarded | Top arm extended, hips square, shield loaded | Long-step around the shield |
| Turn in, hunting underhook or single leg | Back exposed, weight forward | Stack, or back-step behind them |
| Flat acceptance, no frame | Nothing spent, nothing defended | Finish the knee-cut itself |
| Shrimp away, both legs recovered, hips re-squared | The chain is honestly beaten | Re-enter headquarters and start again |
Passing Chains System
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Second Pass Is the One That Works." Print it. The article explains why the guard player's defence is the map for your second pass. This book builds that one chain — knee-cut, the re-guard read, the long-step, and the finishes off the turn-in — as one continuous movement, and drills the early re-guard that truly resets it.
What's Inside
- Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
- Part 2: How a Rep Counts
- Part 3: The Honest Knee-Cut, Checked
- Part 4: Leg One Cards: The Knee-Cut
- Part 5: The Read Cards: Naming What the Defence Spent
- Part 6: Leg Two Cards: The Long-Step
- …and 22 more sections
The full guide is a paid Mat Manual product. Checkout is not connected yet — no payment is taken on this page.
Free companion article: The Second Pass Is the One That Works — the full article, free in full.
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