Passing the Spider Lasso Guard
Here is a sneak peek into one of our advanced classes at BJJ Lab Zürich. The topic is passing the spider lasso guard, which can be one of the most annoying positions for the top player in the gi.
Trying just single techniques won’t work against a good lasso player, as they can shift the position slightly to avoid any of the pass attempts. There is no single technique that will always work. This is why we are teaching a complete passing system, so that you can adapt to the bottom players position and reactions and find a way to pass even if they block some of your pass attempts.
The first pass in the system is a simple throw by. This simple and effective pass works best when the lasso is not too tight.
If they tighten the lasso and pull their elbow back to avoid the throw by, you can shuffle around the side to step on their biceps to break their grip. This then leads to another throw by pass variation to finish after you have gotten rid of the lasso.
Your opponent can stop the step on the biceps if they put in their lasso leg very deep. This together with a good pull on the sleeve makes the previous two passes hard to execute. In that case, drive your knee down the middle onto their belly and grab your own pant leg, then you can circle your hand to the outside and create an opportunity for a bullfighter pass variation.
If your opponent tries to stop that too by keeping you off-balance with the spider side, you can pull their body towards their spider side, pin their leg and circle your hand to clear the spider side first. From there, keep their leg pinned and use a leg trap to get to a leg drag position where you can break the grip and pass to the outside.