Body Lock Pass
Last updated
The body lock pass is a pressure pass where you lock your hands around the bottom player's waist, pin their hips to the mat with your chest, and step your legs around theirs to a pin. With their hips stuck, their guard can't do much. Gordon Ryan and Lachlan Giles popularized it in no-gi.
The pass, step by step
Keep their hips stuck to the mat the whole time.
- Lock the hands
- Lock your hands behind their lower back or around their hips, chin on their chest or sternum, and come up on your toes so your weight is on them, not the mat.
- Kill the hooks
- Walk your knees in tight so their butterfly hooks and knees have no room under you. Against closed guard, stand or posture to open it, then lock.
- Step over the knee line
- Step one leg back and around to pin their knee to the floor, then walk your hips toward their head on that side.
- Clear the last leg
- If they hold half guard, free your foot with the other leg or a hand on their knee, then settle into side control or mount.
When they defend
What they usually try, and what you do.
- If they frame on your head and shoulders
- Keep your head low and on their chest. A head that rises gives them the frame they need to push the hips away.
- If they get a butterfly hook back in
- Sit your hips back and kill it with your knee before you step, or switch to the other side.
- If they recover half guard
- Stay locked and flatten them. Keep the hands locked and walk your hips away from the trapped leg.
- If they turn to their knees
- Your hands are already around their waist. Follow with your chest and take the back.
How to defend the body lock pass
Don't let the hands lock. Frame on their shoulders or head early, keep your knees between you and them, and use butterfly hooks to lift before they settle their weight. If the lock is on, frame on the head and turn your hips toward them to keep a knee in, or come up to your knees and wrestle.
Frequently asked questions
What is a body lock pass?
A guard pass where you lock your hands around the bottom player's waist, pin their hips with your chest, and step around their legs to a pin.
Does the body lock pass work in the gi?
Yes, though it is most associated with no-gi. In the gi the bottom player has sleeve and collar grips to frame with, so breaking grips before you lock matters more.
Who teaches the body lock pass?
Gordon Ryan and John Danaher popularized it in no-gi competition, and Lachlan Giles has an instructional of the same name. Most no-gi passing systems include it now.
What is the difference between the body lock pass and a body lock takedown?
They use the same grip. The body lock takedown is done standing, usually from behind or the side. The body lock pass is done against a seated or supine guard player to clear their legs.
What guards does the body lock pass beat?
It is strongest against butterfly, seated and closed guard, where the bottom player needs their hips to move. It is weaker against guards that hold you at distance, like spider or De La Riva, until you close the gap.
Map your own Body Lock Pass game
Turn your notes, videos, and rolls into a visual flowchart of techniques, transitions, and reactions you can study and share. Free to start, no account needed.
Build a flowchart Or start from a free printable BJJ flowchart