Body Lock Pass from Butterfly Guard

Body Lock Pass from Butterfly Guard is a passing sequence that clears the legs built around a handful of repeatable controls. Top player has the body lock locked behind the partner's lower back, hooks still in, with one prior step-over attempt already failing. Another common starting shape: top player on the knees facing a butterfly guard player with no upper-body control yet. The ideas that hold it together are body lock is a low-risk first test of the partner's hooks, hip switch + head switch finishes the leg drag, and angle creates the room to clear the hook.

The body lock pass chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Cut a small angle by bringing the inside knee across before sprawling. Drop the chest and shoulder into the partner so the body lock stays tight. Walk the legs back and toward the angle, melting weight into the mat. Aim to land both knees in front of one of the partner's shins (two-on-one). If only half guard is reached, hold position and continue working. Dig both arms under the partner's armpits and lock hands with a gable grip. Suck the hips in rather than driving forward, pulling the partner's heels close to their butt. Bring one knee to the centerline of the partner's tailbone and drop the same-side hip down to elbow. Top player has sprawled the legs back, cut a hard angle, and arrived with both knees in front of one of the partner's legs (two-on-one), the other hook cleared.

Later in the body lock pass, sprawl-and-walk-back is what unlocks the half guard, probing attack, and reaction reading tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Sprawling square, which lets the partner extend the legs and ride along. Releasing the body lock too early, giving the partner space to recover hooks. Driving forward instead of sucking the hips in, getting elevated and swept. Trying to step the leg over while square instead of dropping the hip first. The high-percentage version of body lock pass from butterfly guard is the one you can still chain when the bottom player recovers a hook.