The basic single underhook smash pass is one of the most simple but devastating guard passing techniques in Jiu-Jitsu.
This pass may look like you are setting yourself up for a triangle, when in fact you are really just baiting your opponent to attack the triangle so that you can pass or stack his guard or submit him with a paper cutter choke.
Simon Hayes, a black belt instructor from Carlson Gracie London has made this pass his specialty. He is a master in the single under hook smash pass and nails everybody with it.
Simon baits the opponent by putting his right arm inside the opponent’s legs so that he would go for a triangle. But Simon is a master at making his posture in such a way that he would already be working on a pass before the opponent could close his triangle.
This is a move that he drilled and trained for years and he mastered it.
Simon actually learned this technique as a white belt from none other than Royce Gracie and Royce’s student Mark Walder! He’s been refining it for all these years, getting some details from his instructor Wilson Junior and even Braulio Estima who showed him the paper cut choke option.
In this video of Simon at the London Open you can see what I mean. You can see the baiting and the pass, and submission.
Simon finally decided to release the precious details to this technique:
