So you’ve finally managed to somewhat break free of the opponent’s Spider Guard… And you’re going for the pass to Side Control. But to no avail: the opponent somehow manages to retain their guard and place you in the same – or worse – position as before.
How do they do this? And how are you supposed to stop it from happening again? Andrew Wiltse has a great answer to both of these questions.

HOW TO STOP GUARD RETENTION WHEN PASSING SPIDER GUARD – BY ANDREW WILTSE

Wiltse demonstrates that, in order to start passing the opponent’s Spider Guard in the first place, you’ve got to get rid of one side of their control. After you’ve managed to do this, you’re supposed to get rid of their other attachment; doing so by simply throwing that attachment (their leg) to the side.
It’s from this position that a lot of BJJ athletes go immediately for the pass to Side Control. However, what happens here is that their opponent stiff arms them – and, therefore, retains his/her guard.

To counter this, Wiltse has a simple solution: simply drive your shoulder into the opponent’s chest, while simultaneously dropping your far arm to the mats.
This makes it impossible for your opponent to stiff-arm their way out. Watch the video below and get more out of what Andrew Wiltse is demonstrating:

Destroy open guards with Andrew Wiltse’s signature buzzsaw passing system that anyone can use to start smashing and slicing through bottom players.

• Shut down the reverse De La Riva and traditional De La Riva as Andrew shows you grip fighting and positioning concepts to stay safe and control the fight while you set up passes.
• Use knee cuts, toreando, x-pass, leg weaves, and more for a comprehensive passing system that works together in the system Andrew shows.