Stack Pass

Pass

The stack pass is a pressure-based guard pass where the passer drives the opponent's knees toward their face, folding them and compressing their spine to neutralize hip movement and leg-based guards. It is effective from nearly any guard position where you can control the opponent's legs and drive forward with your hips.

Quick Reference

Key principles

  • · Drive hips forward and walk feet toward the opponent's head to load their weight onto their shoulders, eliminating hip escape ability.
  • · Control at least one leg or hip to prevent the opponent from creating angles or re-guarding as you pass.
  • · Keep your head low and pressure diagonal (toward one shoulder) to flatten them and choose your passing side.
  • · Anticipate the opponent framing on your hips or biceps by pinning their arms or underhooking their legs before stacking.
  • · Heavy chest-to-thigh contact removes space and prevents guard retention or inversion counters.

Execution

  1. 1 Secure grips on the opponent's legs, pants, or lapels, then posture up briefly to break any closed guard or foot placement before driving forward.
  2. 2 Step one foot up next to the opponent's hip, then walk both feet forward while driving your hips into the back of their thighs, folding them onto their shoulders.
  3. 3 Direct the stack toward one side by walking laterally, using your shoulder pressure against their thigh to pin them while clearing their legs to one side.
  4. 4 As their hips elevate and flatten, slide your knee across or sprawl past their legs to consolidate side control.
  5. 5 Maintain heavy downward pressure throughout the transition, securing crossface or underhook as you settle into side control or back control.

Common mistakes

  • × Stacking straight forward without angling to one side, allowing the opponent to maintain a centered guard and recover frames or attempt submissions.
  • × Keeping hips too far back instead of walking feet forward, resulting in insufficient pressure that lets the opponent re-engage their legs or invert.
  • × Neglecting to control the opponent's arms before committing to the stack, leaving yourself vulnerable to collar chokes, triangles, or omoplata attacks.

Do it from

Positions and situations where the Stack Pass shows up.

Double Unders Triangle Escape Position
14 less common
Butterfly Guard Top Closed Guard Top Collar Sleeve Guard Top De La Riva Guard Top Double Sleeve Guard Feet On Hips Guard Inverted Guard Lasso Guard Top Open Guard Top Seated Guard Spider Guard Top Squid Guard Standing Guard Shin-to-shin Guard Top

Chains into

Where to go next when the Stack Pass lands, or gets defended.

Knee Cut Pass pass Long Step Pass pass Over-under Pass pass

Where it lands

The position you end up in.

Back Control Top Side Control Top Truck

Common defenses

How opponents shut the Stack Pass down.

Guard Retention escape
1 less common
Stack Defense counter

Use it against

The Stack Pass is an answer to these.

Show 1
Williams Guard

Chains & Sequences

Commonly taught paths through the graph that feature this technique.

Double Stack to Over-Under Pass

Stack Pass Over-under Pass Side Control Top