You know the feeling… You come to BJJ class and the more athletic and flexible guys are making fools of everyone. They turn upside down and no one can pass their guards. Or they do the Berimbolo and use it to take your back. Then they give you that sly little smile after they make you tap with a lapel choke. You know these guys – they say “bro” a lot, they stick their thumb and pinkie fingers out in all of their Facebook pictures. It frustrates you to no end because they are so cocky and they are beating you with alarming regularity. And you feel hopeless because they are more athletic and you can’t pass their guards.

But there is a guy who loves it when guys try to go upside down and use those flexible guards on him – because he smashes them – Every time

 Why does Bernardo Faria love these guards? Because he knows the secret to stopping them – you could say he possesses a sort of Kryptonite if you will. So far in 2015 he has had 15 fights and 15 wins. He’s passed every Guard he’s faced – and he’s gone up against the best guys in the world, including some of the legends of the sport (like Leandro Lo in the picture above).

He has found some universal truths which are indisputable:

Truth #1 – All of the new school guards have one thing in common – The Guarder needs to pick his hips high off the mat or swing them left and right to make them work. Think about it: Berimbolo, De La Riva Guard, Spider Guard, Lasso Guard, Butterfly Guard – they all need a lot of hip mobility from the guy on bottom to work..

But… If you can figure out a way to control his hips the guy in class who is embarrassing everyone becomes just another guy who is about to get smashed. We’ve seen it happen thousands of times.

Truth #2 – Old School Passes are the best weapon against new school guards. Atos in San Diego is probably the epicenter of the whole world for new school Guards. It was where the Worm guard was conceived and all the killer lower belts are rolling upside down and wrapping lapels in knots – it is a headache waiting to happen.

But in a YouTube video, Head Professor and one of the greatest grapplers of all time Andre.

Galvao , gave a little secret to his thinking on shutting these guards down: Put your knees on the mat!

Yes, if your knees are on the mat it kills your ability to run around someone’s guard and do leg drags. However, it also kills the ability for the guarder to use Lapel Guards, De La Riva, Berimbolo (for the most part), and most types of inversion. Simply put – It keeps their hips on the mat and if you pass heavy – there is nothing they can do to stop it.

Just days after he won the World Championship in his weight class as well as in the Open Class, 2015 World Champ Bernardo Faria filmed the most comprehensive Video Series on Pressure Passing Ever Made. This is NO exaggeration.

 If you are sick of these guys getting under and sweeping you and you just want to smash the crap out of them – well this is the science of smashing people who want to do those cute little guards (if such a science exists).

 If you want to smash “New School” Guards, this is the series for you. Never has there been a more complete series on Pressure Passing. This series will make you better at Jiu Jitsu and it might just revolutionize the way you pass.

Here is one variation of Bernardo Faria’s favourite Pressure Passing: The Over Under Pass:

You should have a look at Bernardo Faria’s ‘Battle Tested Pressure Passing Series‘: You Don’t Need To Be Young, Strong Or Fast To Use Bernardo Faria’s Method.Bernardo puts both knees on the mat when he passes. This is because when you are on the knees you shut down most of the guards including: De La Riva Guard, Berimbolo, Single Lex X Guard, X Guard, Worm Guard…
This is “Old Man” Guard passing at its finest.
Hence, on your knees everyone has the same athleticism.