Knee-Cut Pass

PassHalf-guard / open-guard passBelt: white+Risk: moderateIBJJFADCCNo-GiSub-OnlyMMA

The knee-cut pass is a dynamic guard pass that uses a slicing knee to split the opponent's guard, transitioning from combat base to side control. It is highly effective against open and half-guard, offering strong upper body control and mobility. Mastering this pass is crucial for competitive grapplers due to its versatility and ability to shut down many guard retention strategies.

Start

Combat base in opponent's open guard

End

Side control

Prerequisites: Cross-face control · Establishing an underhook · Hip escape · Posting in combat base

Steps

1
Establish Combat Base and Initial Grips
From inside the opponent's open guard, post your right knee up and left knee down (if passing to your left), with your right foot outside their hip. Secure a cross-face with your left arm (forearm across their face, palm cupping the shoulder or lat) and establish an underhook with your right arm, palm on their far-side ribcage.
2
Control the Opponent's Near-side Leg
With your left hand, grip their bottom pant leg or shin (gi), or C-grip the shin/ankle (no-gi), pinning it to the mat to prevent knee-shield re-guarding.
3
Angle Your Hips and Set the Knee Line
Rotate your hips so your right knee points at a 45° angle across their thigh, aiming to split their legs. Keep your hips low and weight centered over your right knee.
4
Slice the Knee Through
Drive your right knee across their thigh, sliding it to the mat while maintaining your cross-face and underhook. Your shin should pin their far-side thigh, and your right foot should windshield-wiper out to free your ankle.
5
Drop Your Hips and Chest-Heavy Pressure
Lower your hips to the mat as your knee passes through, keeping your chest heavy on their upper body. Maintain the cross-face to flatten their shoulders.
6
Clear the Bottom Leg
Use your left hand to push their knee down and windshield-wiper your right foot free, moving it to the mat beside their hip. Keep your underhook tight to prevent them turning in.
7
Settle into Side Control
Switch your left hand to an underhook or block their hip, sprawl your hips flat, and establish classic side control with chest-to-chest connection, knees wide for base.

Key details most people miss

The cross-face must be deep enough to turn their chin away, preventing them from facing you or re-guarding.
Your knee should slice at a 45° angle, not straight forward—this prevents their knee shield from blocking your pass.
Keep your hips low and weight distributed through your knee and underhook, not just your hands, to avoid being elevated.
Windshield-wipering your foot is essential to avoid getting caught in half-guard as you pass.

Common mistakes

Failing to establish a deep cross-face allows the opponent to turn in and recover guard.
Slicing the knee straight forward (not at an angle) gets blocked by their knee shield, stalling the pass.
Letting your hips rise during the pass enables the opponent to elevate you with hooks or frames.
Neglecting to control their bottom leg leads to them inserting a butterfly hook or recovering half-guard.
Not windshield-wipering your foot leaves your ankle trapped, resulting in a stalled half-guard battle.

Counters & responses

They try: Opponent frames hard on your shoulder with their far-side arm to block the cross-face.

You do: Switch to a near-side underhook knee-cut variation or redirect to a backstep pass if the cross-face is unavailable.

They try: Opponent traps your ankle with their bottom leg, initiating deep half-guard.

You do: Immediately sprawl your hips back and re-pummel your foot with a windshield-wiper motion, or switch to a cross-face smash to flatten them.

They try: Opponent inverts or rolls under as you slice the knee.

You do: Follow their hips with your underhook, flattening them with chest pressure, or redirect to a leg drag if inversion persists.

They try: Opponent posts on your knee with both hands to block the slice.

You do: Switch to a long-step back pass or threaten a cross-face to force their hands to defend their head, then resume the knee-cut.

Drill prescription

6 rounds × 2 min; 50% resistance; passer must achieve side control via knee-cut at least 3 times per round, switching top/bottom each round.

How the masters teach it

Videos are still being curated for this technique. AI suggests these instructors:

Lucas Lepri — Renowned for his pressure passing, Lepri emphasizes relentless hip pressure and precise shin angle to make the knee-cut nearly unstoppable.Rafael Mendes — Mendes uses a fast, angle-based knee-cut with constant grip switching to neutralize guard retention and threaten back takes.Bernardo Faria — Faria teaches a heavy, grinding knee-cut with deep cross-face and underhook, focusing on flattening the opponent before slicing through.John Danaher — Danaher details the importance of knee line control and the interplay between knee-cut and backstep, emphasizing systematic responses to counters.

#guard-pass#open-guard#half-guard#side-control-entry#pressure-passing#gi#no-gi#medium-risk#all-body-types#competition