Stack Pass
The stack pass folds the bottom player onto their own shoulders, taking away their hips and legs so you can walk around to a pin. It is a high-percentage answer to closed guard and many open guards, especially against flexible players who like to off-balance you.
Fold the hips, kill the guard
By lifting and stacking the legs over the bottom player's head, you stand their hips up and take away the angle they need to attack. From the stack you walk your hips to side control or split the legs to come through the middle.
Pressure that beats off-balancing
Because the stack drives the bottom player's weight onto their shoulders, it is hard for them to sweep or invert, since there is nothing to off-balance. It pairs naturally with other pressure passes when the stack alone does not finish.
Community flows for Stack Pass
- Smash Pass Flow — The smash pass from entry to finish. Entering from different guards, handling blocks and escapes, and getting to mount or side control.
- Smash and Pass Fundamentals — Top pressure with a smash-and-pass mentality. Breaking through defensive guards and controlling the back. Every movement applies crushing weight to create…
- Gordon Ryan Guard Passing, Part 2: Establishing Top & Passing Legs — From trilemma to top position: let knee drop to land in half guard, hand-above-elbow rule for underhook (inside bicep tie vs reverse crossface), high-elbow…
- Gordon Ryan Guard Passing: System Overview — Two-part FloGrappling guard passing system overview. Incremental inside-position approach: feet first (Part 1), upper body second (Part 2), then clear legs and…
- Gordon Ryan Guard Passing, Part 1: Entering Seated Guard — Incremental entry to inside position against seated guard: step past hip line to force three choices, achieve inside foot (straight or cross hamstring)…
- Roger Gracie’s Pressure System: Side Control to Mount Armbar [Jiu Jitsu Con 2026] — Roger Gracie teaches a seminar on his pressure-first system for turning side control into elbow isolation, a controlled mount, and an armbar. At September 5…
- Open Guard Passing System — A system for passing complicated open guard using distance, grips, and leg control.
- Bodylock Pass: Full System Map — Navigate the six-volume Lachlan Giles body lock pass. One grip, five stages, six real counters, one closed-guard opener, and six rolls of live reps. Pick your…
- Bodylock Pass, Vol 6: Live Rolling Patterns — Narrated rolling with six partners. Not new techniques: the patterns that actually repeat when the body lock meets a real opponent. The reset habit after…
- Bodylock Pass, Vol 5: Sao Paulo Open to Body Lock — Lachlan Giles' closed-guard opener that hands off directly into the body lock entry. Four-stage sequence: posture and ankle grip, trap both feet, isolate one…
- Bodylock Pass, Vol 4: Finishing the Pass — Lachlan Giles' last two stages of bodylock passing: free the knee, free the foot. Half-guard base mechanics with the body lock still on. Counters for…
- Bodylock Pass, Vol 3: Clearing the Knee Line — Lachlan Giles' The middle stage of the pass. Arm past the knee line first, then leg. Flatten a vertical thigh before you step. Butterfly-hook handling with the…
Frequently asked questions
What is a stack pass?
A pass where you fold the bottom player onto their shoulders by stacking their legs over their head, removing their hips so you can move to a pin.
What is the stack pass good against?
Closed guard and flexible, off-balancing open guards. Stacking takes away the angle those guards rely on.
How do I finish the stack pass?
Once the hips are stacked, walk your weight to one side into side control or split the legs and drive through the center, keeping the stack pressure until you have a pin.
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