Underhook from X-Guard

Underhook from X-Guard is a passing sequence that clears the legs built around a handful of repeatable controls. Top player kneeling in modified or regular X guard with double pant grips, looking for an underhook because the grip cannot be stripped. Another common starting shape: top player is standing in X-guard with double pant grips and has secured an underhook on the trapped leg. The ideas that hold it together are x guard variant places the trapped leg in front, so a sprawl finishes the pass instead of stalling in half guard and lift the shoulder to deny the stand-up counter.

The underhook chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Push the inside foot from the near hip to the far leg with a hip-switch to drop the chest safely. Drop the inside knee to the mat and shoot the underhook into the gap. Lift the toes off the mat (ballerina foot) so friction does not block the sprawl. Walk the elbow up with the underhook while sprawling the trapped leg in the opposite direction to break the cross pant grip. Lift the bottom player's far shoulder off the mat to prevent technical-stand-up sweeps, then knee-tap and switch the hips to finish in side control. Underhook the trapped leg with the inside arm. Sprawl the hips backward to extend the partner's hooks. Walk the trapped leg out as the wrap breaks. Top player has sprawled out the trapped leg, secured chest-to-chest with the underhook, and finished a knee-tap into side control.

Watch for these mistakes: Sprawling with the toes still on the mat, getting stuck on friction. Failing to lift the bottom shoulder, letting the bottom player technical-stand-up to recover. Sprawling without the underhook, getting elevated by the rear hook. The high-percentage version of underhook from x-guard is the one you can still chain when the bottom player recovers a hook.