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TFS#74: Creating Your System
You are in the process of building your craft. You just can’t see it yet.
Wayne Terran
October 08, 2023
Another passing topic. That’s because passing never goes away.
You might not be able to “beat” a higher belt for obvious reasons, but one aspect of Jiu-Jitsu I believe you can beat them in is passing.
If you put effort into studying and understand your style of passing, you’ll start to build your own system that’s unique to you.
Starting is the hardest part…
1. Understanding how you like to pass
The first step is understanding how you even like to approach the guard.
For example, let’s say your favorite/best way to pass is through the Knee Cut pass.
Think about how you get there and what grips you like to establish.
When your opponent defends, say via knee shield, how do you respond?
2. Watching film, learn concepts
Watching professionals or even your upper belt teammates pass will give you the outside vision to build the inside details of your passing style.
Every grappler has a system they like.
Lucas Lepri, Tainan Dalpra, and Leandro Lo are know for their passing and they all have their unique systems.
And with these systems, they have a “check point” or a “home base.”
This place is where they are strongest and have the most types of passing weapons for various reactions.
For example, Tainan likes to get to his comfort place of Headquarters.
From there, he has access to a ton of tools such as Knee Cut, Leg Weave, Long Step, Leg Trap and many others.
I highly encourage watching professionals that have similar body types as you do and learning to implement some of their concepts and techniques when you spar.
Links below for a few passing systems you can start studying:
3. Try different systems
Try to passing like a particular grappler during your sparring matches.
I’d even suggest that you ask your partner if you can start from top while they start on bottom.
This way you’ll always get to try passing every sparring round.
Stick to a system for some time and give yourself enough repetition to determine what works and what doesn’t.
Don't forget to bounce ideas off with fellow teammates and coaches.
Maybe you like to pass from far distance, or maybe you’re more of a midrange passer.
Maybe you like to apply pressure, or maybe you like to move side-to-side a lot…or a combination of some sort.
This is part of figuring out your body type and how you like to move.
4. Mix and match
Now that you’ve tried a few systems, there are different techniques you like and others you don’t.
Of course the ones you like will be added to your system.
As you continue to study and test out new systems, you’ll continuously add more to your toolshed.
Watching videos and learning techniques in the gym is great, but you’ll just become a carbon copy.
You won’t be unique…in fact, you’ll be the opposite of good because the better grapplers will see that you’re quite predictable.
Over time, you’ll have to develop your own system if you want to stand above average.
To make it more difficult for others to deal with your passing, you’ll have to be yourself.
Closing Remarks
If you follow the few steps I’ve laid out, you won’t just grow linearly (maybe in the beginning), but exponentially.
Because the more concepts and techniques you add to your system, the more they’ll connect to one another.
And these connections will be unique, some of these connections may have never even been made until you came along.
This is your craft.
This is your contribution to Jiu-Jitsu. Someone one day will ask you how you hit that pass and you’ll be able to share it with them.
Hard work compounds over time.
Be patient, and just keep collecting.
***
tl;dr: Build your own passing system if you want to rise above average.
Understand how you like to pass.
Study a professional.
Try different systems.
Add concepts/technique to your game.
You are in the process of building your craft. You just can’t see it yet.