Mr Cartmell,

Having recently purchased material you have published "Passing the guard", please feel free to comment on the following, relating to breaking out of "closed guard":

The staggering hands placement controls the opponent's movement and assists in breaking the closed guard. This is different to the uniform "hands-on-pants" placement.

1. What are the key concerns on transitioning hand/arm placement when moving into the "leg-on-shoulder" pass?

2. What do you feel is the best progression for hands/arms when you are going from the break to the leg-on-shoulder pass (with the staggered hand control)?

When passing the guard via leg-on-shoulder using the staggered hand placement, you have to be very careful not to get triangle choked. If you use the hand that is on the pants to reach under the opponent's leg, then you have to bring the other hand (the one that is on the opponent's chest) back to the opponent's pants. If you use the forward hand to reach under the opponent's leg, then you don't have to worry about getting triangle choked as the other hand is already on the pants. In this situation, just make sure your opponent does not jerk the hand that is on the pants forward, or he will triangle choke you.