Knee Cut Pass from Half Guard

Knee Cut Pass from Half Guard is a passing sequence that clears the legs built around a handful of repeatable controls. A compromised bottom position where the top player is threatening to pass or has begun consolidating control such as side control, knee cut, or stack. Another common starting shape: top player has cleared the half-butterfly hook and has the trapped leg free, kneeling over the bottom player's near thigh. The ideas that hold it together are prioritize structure and timing over forcing the technique, cross-face before knee, and low hips after the slice.

The knee cut pass chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Establish the underhook on the appropriate side to dictate angle. Build a rigid frame against the opponent's pressure to create space. Use a foot post or hand post to stop the opponent's forward shift. Post the freed leg across the bottom thigh with the knee pointing past the opponent's hip. Drive the cross-face hard before the knee finishes its slide to deny the underhook recovery. Drop the hips low after the slice so the bottom knee cannot wedge back in. Pin the underhook side shoulder to the mat to kill the back take. Slide the cutting knee through low and heavy, not high. A recovered guard or a strong defensive frame structure that prevents the pass from being completed.

Later in the knee cut pass, underhook plus head position prevents the most common knee-cut counter, drive the chest, not the hips, through the cut, and manage distance proactively rather than reacting once the pass has begun tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Losing the structural connection that holds the position together. Slicing the knee without the cross-face, getting reguarded. Sitting too high after the slice, allowing the bottom player to shrimp back to half. Letting the head get pulled across, exposing the back. The high-percentage version of knee cut pass from half guard is the one you can still chain when the bottom player recovers a hook.