Toreando, High Step, And J-Point Camping System

Step-by-step guard passing for Gordon Ryan's system of combining toreando, high stepping, and J-point camping with specific head, grip, and leg mechanics to exhaust the guard player and progress to passes or half guard.

Flow outline

  1. Opponent Closes Knees

    • Opponent pinches knees and elbows together to hide the hips and remove waist exposure, making it difficult to connect hands for a body lock around the pelvis.

  2. Opponent Plays Supine Guard

    • Opponent lies flat in a supine guard with hips withdrawn so that the waistline is hidden behind the knees, preventing you from threading arms deep enough to lock a body lock.

  3. Half Guard Chest Connection

    • From forced half guard, drive your chest directly into the opponent’s upper body to create chest-to-chest contact, aiming to pin their shoulders and limit their hip rotation.

  4. Top And Bottom Leg Frames

    • Opponent uses a strong top knee shield and bottom leg hook as linear frames into your far shoulder and hip, keeping your torso away from inside position on their upper body.

  5. Toreando Side Movement

    • Grip and redirect the opponent’s legs laterally while circling your feet to the side, using side-to-side motion to move outside their knees instead of driving straight into the guard.

  6. Leg Pummeling Float

    • Hover your weight over the opponent’s shins and thighs while alternating inside and outside leg positions, pummeling your legs around theirs without giving a stable grip on your hips.

  7. Opponent Wins Pummeling

    • Opponent uses improved leg lock and pummeling defense to continually re-thread hooks and frames with their legs, stalling your attempts to free your hips during leg pummeling exchanges.

  8. Wide Knees Open Guard

    • Opponent spreads their knees wide and extends the legs to create a broad defensive shield, making it difficult for you to cut sharp angles around the hips with standard toreando steps.

  9. De La Riva Entanglement

    • When you attempt a toreando and step near the outside of the leg, the opponent extends a leg and laces it around your lead leg to establish a De La Riva hook and re-entangle your hips.

  10. Step Before Hip Line

    • If you only step to the level of the opponent’s knees or thighs without crossing their hip line, they can make a small hip adjustment and easily re-wrap their legs around your body.

  11. Step Past Hip Line

    • Step your lead foot clearly beyond the opponent’s hip line so your hips are past their belt level, placing them in real jeopardy of having their guard passed.

  12. Force Big Guard Reaction

    • Once your foot and hips are past the opponent’s hip line, they must give a large reaction such as a high leg swing or major hip movement to attempt a guard recovery.

  13. J-Point Camping Focus

    • After crossing the opponent’s hip line, prioritize staying in this jeopardy zone rather than rushing to the upper body, treating it as a camping position where you hold and stabilize.

  14. Multiple Toreando Feints

    • Use two or three believable toreando attempts, changing direction and leg swings, to draw reactions until one of the entries allows you to sneak your step past the hip line.

  15. Stay Past Hip Line

    • Once you have stepped past the hip line, maintain your foot position and balance there for extended periods, forcing the opponent to work hard while you conserve energy.

  16. Combine Toreando High Step

    • Blend initial toreando leg drags with high step entries by first threatening lateral movement and then stepping your leg high over and past the opponent’s hip when they extend.

  17. Post On Near Knee

    • Place your hand firmly on the opponent’s near-side knee to pin it toward their chest and prevent it from freely swinging or inserting frames as you camp near the hip.

  18. Elbow Inside Hip

    • Drive your posting-side elbow inside and against the opponent’s near-side hip crease to wedge their pelvis and stop their hips from sliding away or rotating toward you.

  19. Incorrect Upright Head

    • If you keep your head high or centered while posting on the knee and hip, the opponent can freely swing a high leg over your head to re-guard and recover inside position.

  20. Head To Far Shoulder

    • As soon as you reach the J point, drop your head and drive your forehead or temple into the opponent’s far-side shoulder, turning your face slightly away to close the space for a high leg.

  21. Pin Far Shoulder Line

    • Maintain pressure with your head into the opponent’s far shoulder so their upper body cannot turn to face you, forcing their spine to twist and weakening their leg recovery mechanics.

  22. Deny High Leg Recovery

    • With your head sealing the far shoulder and your arm posting at the hip and knee, keep the top leg from swinging over your head, making the common high-leg guard recovery unavailable.

  23. Opponent Hand Fights Leg

    • Expect the opponent to reach with their hands to your posted leg, trying to strip your grip or block your knee from sliding away while their core stays crunched.

  24. Opponent Constant Crunch

    • The opponent must keep their knees tightly pulled toward their chest in a constant abdominal crunch to avoid having their guard passed from the camping position.

  25. Guard Pass If Knees Drift

    • The moment the opponent lets their knees drift away from their chest, drive your weight forward and slide your body into the opening to complete the pass.

  26. Static Knee Play From Camp

    • While camping, lightly adjust and manipulate the opponent’s near knee with your posting hand without overcommitting, staying mostly still and letting them exhaust themselves with failed recoveries.

  27. Opponent Extends Legs Wide

    • When your toreando attempt begins, the opponent extends both legs with wide knees toward you, creating a long lever that blocks your ability to easily cut around the hips.

  28. Stuff Extending Leg

    • As the opponent extends a leg toward you, use your hand to push that leg downward and across their centerline, collapsing its structure and opening the near-side hip.

  29. Step To Near Hip

    • After stuffing the leg, step your lead foot to the mat close to the opponent’s near-side hip so your knee lines up near their ribs and your foot is past their thigh.

  30. Form Temporary Closed Wedge

    • Bring your trailing leg in so your two legs pinch around the opponent’s extended leg, creating a momentary closed wedge that traps their thigh between your feet and knees.

  31. Knees To Chest Hard To Step

    • When the opponent keeps their knees tightly to their chest, their hips stay hidden and it becomes very difficult for you to step your foot deep toward their head or inside the hip line.

  32. Knees To Chest Easier Toreando

    • With the opponent’s knees close to their chest, their legs are shorter and more compact, making it relatively easy to swing their shins side to side and use traditional toreando passing.

  33. Knee Reaches Toward You

    • If the opponent reaches their knee and leg out toward you, their knee moves away from their chest, exposing the hip line and making it harder for them to retract quickly.

  34. Step Deep Toward Head

    • When the knee reaches, step your foot deeply toward the opponent’s head and inside their hip line, using the new space between knee and chest to advance your shin past their pelvis.

  35. V-Grip On Ankle

    • From the wedge, cup the opponent’s ankle with a V-grip using your thumb and fingers on either side of the Achilles to control the foot and prevent them from retracting the leg.

  36. Reverse V-Grip Option

    • Alternatively, rotate your hand to a reverse V-grip on the ankle, still pinching around the Achilles but with your palm oriented the opposite way to better match the direction of their escape attempts.

  37. Shoulder Post On Leg

    • Drive your near-side shoulder into the opponent’s lower leg or shin as a post, using your body weight to stabilize their limb while your hands control the ankle.

  38. Opponent Movement Window

    • Recognize that this ankle-and-shoulder post configuration is briefly unstable, giving the opponent only a few seconds to scramble before you transition your legs through.

  39. High Step Through Legs

    • Use a high step motion with your free leg, lifting it over and past the trapped leg while turning your hips so your thigh clears their knee line and lands past their guard.

  40. Arrive Past J-Point

    • After the high step, land so that both your hips are clearly beyond the opponent’s hip line, placing you fully past the J point with your torso angled toward their upper body.

Branch conditions