Some stand up to warm up
Use the “watch grip” to set up an underhook. Your right hand grabs his left wrist from the top with your thumb around his wrist on the pinkie side. With a regular grip, he can pull his hand straight back against the thumb. With the watch grip, he has to circle to the outside, thus giving you a window to grab the underhook. Grab his trap/deltoid, avoid “first date” underhooks.
You get the underhook with your R on his L – control his other wrist as well to stop the punch. Your head controlling his, your hips pressing on his leg.
He wizzers (counters with an overhook). Slide your underhook hand off his shoulder onto his tricep. 3/4 step backward with you L foot and drag him around with shoulder pressure – his head will drop, giving you a guillotine choke with your L arm around his neck.
Standard guillotine defence. His L arm is around your neck. Get your R arm over his L shoulder. Press on his knee. He lifts up, go with him, pressing on the knee to stop pressure on your neck. Drop down to his side and “Elvis leg” his L leg so he falls back. You end up in side control on his L. Join your hands around his neck and trap his hand inside. Tripod up on your toes and drive your shoulder into his neck for a choke.
To prevent the standard guillotine defence, alter the choke. If your R arm is around his neck and under his throat, the R palm is up, S grip with the L hand, and put the L elbow and forearm on his R shoulder. This stops him getting his R arm over your L shoulder for the standard guillotine defence.
Back to the underhook with your R. He squares up to you. Step R foot across, L leg slightly behind, and sweep his L leg back with your R leg like an uchi-mata. His head will drop as his leg is lifted, giving you a chance at a guillotine choke.
Underhook. He wizzers. Slide the hand down to his tricep, step back slightly and drop levels, pulling him down. You should have a gap for an arm drag on his L arm with your L hand.
Guard Passing
Closed guard
“Don’t die!” The onus is on him to do something, not you. Get good posture. You can defend until he makes a mistake. PATIENCE. Be prepared to go back a few steps and regroup rather than run fast and hope.
Using your weight is as important in passing as it is in holding side control, but few people do it.
Grab his R sleeve with your L hand and drive it into his lower abdomen. Grab both collars with your R hand. As his R arm is controlled, you can stand up on your L foot without him being able to grab it. Stand up on the other foot and hide that leg by putting the knee behind his butt and hamstring. Keep hold of the sleeve and lapels and stand up tall in “super posture”. When his legs open step back to “sumo stance” – legs slightly bent, elbows on thighs stopping him from getting his feet in your hips, hands with inside control inside his knees.
“Walk around” pass
From sumo stance, put your R hand on his L hip. Put your L hand on his R knee and drive it to the floor, Put your weight on the L hand and walk around to your L until you are perpendicular to him, your feet well away so he cannot hook them with feet or hands. From here, you want to get an underhook. He will probably be setting up an underhook with his L arm on your R as you try to pass, so getting the far side (R) underhook may be hard. He will not so often be expecting you to go for the near side underhook on his R arm. When you go, push his L hip with your R and his L thigh with your R elbow to flatten him out, drive in with your R knee, and start digging for that underhook with your L on his R arm. When you get it, drive your shoulder and all your weight into it. He may try to turn toward you. Put your head on the floor on your L of his head, walk your toes up so your hips go up in the air, post on your head and jump over to side control on his L side with his R arm underhooked.
If you get the far side underhook during the pass, you are set. No need for the jump over.
Mount Pass
You attempt the walkaround pass going to your L. He brings his L knee up to block the pass. Sprawl on his L knee with your abdomen, flattening his knees to the floor. Your R knee is behind his butt, your L hip and weight are on his legs
Arms are in tight, fight for underhooks. If you can’t go to mount, step off with your L leg and go to side control on his L. He will have been expecting a pass to his R and will have his defenses there, so a sudden change of direction to pass to his L and his back may succeed.
Against butterfly/hooks guard
Normally when facing butterfly guard you feel a need to spread your knees wide for base. Instead, pinch your knees together, capturing his ankles and restricting his ability to use his hooks. If both his knees go to one side, sprawl on them and perform the mount pass as above.
If you can’t push his knees together and he manages to keep them wide, come up on your R foot so your shin is vertical and cross swords, getting your R shin to the inside of his L shin. Pinch his R ankle between your knees so he cannot turn on his side or hip escape. Grab the back of his R shin with your L hand. Grab his L ankle/instep with your R hand. Encourage and frustrate him to move his L leg around in an attempt to break your grip. When you can and an opening presents itself, underhook his L thigh with your R arm and drive your L shoulder into his L hip – shoulder control, facing toward his feet. Fall onto your L hip, pinning his R leg, holding it with your L hand. Once you get past his knee, and particularly if you feel his hands trying to block your back or hips, flip your R leg back toward his head and turn face up. This crushes any block he may attempt. Flip back and drive your R knee into his stomach. arms are in ready for the underhook war. flipping upside down makes it almost impossible for him to set up the near side underhook and you will probably get it. Pin his R arm, head post,jump over and get side control with the underhook on his L.
Against Half Guard
You are in top half guard with his R leg inside. Pinch your knees together to control his leg and restrict his hip movement. arms are in tight. Your head goes to his L hip, your L shoulder into his stomach. Turn half on your L side, pinch your thighs trying to “cut his leg in half”, come up on your toes with your hips off the ground so all your weight is on your shoulder (and his solar plexus).This prevents him from bridging. Start digging for underhooks. Once you get one, control the arm and his head, your head on the floor. Bring your L foot up and place it inside and on top of his R knee. You L knee goes on the ground out wide. Come up on your R toes, using your L foot and weight to keep his R knee on the floor. You should now have plenty of room to slide your R knee through between your L knee and his R hip. If you have the far side underhook, consolidate side control on his R. If you have the near side underhook, headstand and jump over to side control with the underhook on his L side as before.
Going to mount
You have side control on his R side. You control his head with a crossface with your L arm and have underhooked his L arm with your R. He is blocking your moves to mount with his R knee up and giving you no gaps.
Walk your knees around towards his feet pushing against his R hip and thigh with your R hip and thigh, so that his knees are pushed toward the floor on his L and he is lying in his L hip. Thread your R arm behind his R thigh and in front of his L, cupping his L thigh near the knee with your L hand. Walk your knees back around to your R until you are perpendicular to him again. Put your head on the floor on his L side. Slide your R knee over his stomach and onto the floor – keep the shin across his stomach for now. Stand up on your L foot, and “shin slap” your R shin to the floor, thus avoiding the half guard. Immediately after that, sprawl your weight onto his R shoulder so as to flatten him out. Consolidate the mount.
There s no such thing as a non-technical move. Every move can be broken down into specific steps, and often those steps can be broken down further, and their execution improved to improve the total outcome.
Thanks Andrew for the notes. Wish I could have been there!