Butterfly Smash

Pass

The Butterfly Smash is a pressure-based pass used from butterfly guard top where you flatten your opponent by driving your weight forward and to one side, killing one of their butterfly hooks and advancing to half guard. It is most effective when the bottom player is seated or has loose hooks, allowing you to collapse their guard structure with direct forward pressure.

Quick Reference

Key principles

  • · Drive your chest into your opponent's face/chest to flatten them and remove their upright posture, which is the engine of butterfly guard.
  • · Heavy hips and a low center of gravity prevent the bottom player from elevating you with their hooks.
  • · Choose one side to smash toward, trapping one of their legs between yours to kill that hook and establish half guard.
  • · Underhook on the smash side controls their shoulder and prevents them from turning into you or re-establishing guard.
  • · Anticipate the elevator sweep by sprawling your hips back and widening your base the moment you feel them load your weight onto a hook.

Execution

  1. 1 From butterfly guard top, secure an underhook on one side and a cross-face or collar tie on the other, keeping your head tight to their chest.
  2. 2 Step one leg back to clear their same-side butterfly hook, then drive your hips forward and down at an angle toward the underhook side.
  3. 3 Use your chest and shoulder pressure to flatten your opponent onto their back, smashing through their remaining hook.
  4. 4 As they flatten, backstep or slide your leg over their bottom hook, trapping their leg between yours to establish half guard top.
  5. 5 Consolidate by maintaining heavy crossface pressure and the underhook, preventing them from recovering to full butterfly guard.

Common mistakes

  • × Staying too upright while engaging allows the bottom player to use their hooks effectively for sweeps or guard retention.
  • × Smashing straight forward instead of at an angle gives the opponent equal leverage on both hooks, making elevation and sweeps easy.
  • × Neglecting the underhook on the passing side lets the bottom player frame, create distance, or take an underhook to initiate sweeps.

Do it from

Positions and situations where the Butterfly Smash shows up.

Butterfly Guard Top

Where it lands

The position you end up in.

Half Guard Top

Use it against

The Butterfly Smash is an answer to these.

Butterfly Guard Bottom