How to maintain a good base while passing half guard?

[Hellcat93]

Hey guys, I was hoping some of you would have tips on maintaining a good base while trying to pass someones half guard.

I usually like playing a top game, but often get stuck in half while trying to pass. From here I cross face trying to give good shoulder pressure and flatten them out. While I gable grip with my other hand, with their far side arm trapped.

After securing this position, I let go of the gable grip but keep a cross face while I try to push down their knee and bring my knee far up near their chest. BOOM, I get swept to the side with the cross face.

So if anyone can help give me tips on not getting swept, OR just passing the half in general that would be great.

Thanks!

 

[randomg1t]

i would suggest you switch your base, so you are turned towards their hips. this works well, both with the crossface or a kimura grip.

let's say you're passing to your left, so it's their right leg that's halfguarding you. you use your left shoulder to establish the crossface, then turn your body towards their hips, so you're facing their legs. your right leg is locked in the halfguard, post on it, so your knee is lifted. your left knee is by their hip. like this.

this position allows you to clear their top leg off of your leg and often just step out with the leg that's caught in halfguard. if you can't, you can always push on their top knee and move almost into mount, like you're attempting already in what you described in your post. if they try to bridge into you to sweep you, you will always be quicker with pulling your leg out from halfguard and posting on it. the bottom leg by their hip will also help you in preventing this sweep.

i'll try to dig out some videos, i think gerbil did some nice ones about this.

EDIT: right here, gerbil shows the position and one possible pass from it.



remember, there's tons of stuff you can do from this position, and many variations of it. but it's by far the safest position you can get to defeat a halfguard with the underhook already established.

 

[sha]

If they're sweeping you to the side where you have the crossface, it means they're able to turn into you. If they can do that, that means that somehow their head is able to move to face you, which in turn means your crossface is not strong enough.

So either work on making your crossface stronger and meaner, or adopt a different style of passing (for example, tripoding with the underhook and your head on the ground).

 

[Kozbot]

Tripoding with your head like Leandro Lo does in the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1liU6ZxaziI works so well.

 

[Hellcat93]

Thanks everyone, already starting to think of the position differently

 

[crash90]

If you have a iphone/ipad/mac look into the Caio Terra half guard app. The app is the half guard section of his Modern Jiu Jitsu DVD. The passing section really helped me open up my half guard passing and provides a great primer on control, passing, and distribution. The app gives a simple but effective chain of passes for the half guard. I went from struggling to pass half guard (including knee shield variations) to passing most guards and giving higher belts a hell of a struggle which often led to more advantageous scrambles (well except a certain purple belt who posts here. He just wrecks my shit from any position.)