Black belt Yuri Simões paid a visit to GRACIEMAG’s studios in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year and took the time to teach two ways to counter the widely used toreando pass.

Here’s a brief translation of what Yuri teaches in Portuguese.

Counter 1: “When the opponent makes his grips on my pants and goes for a pass to one side, I will make a grip to the sleeve on the side he choses to go to. Then, I will stretch my arm and follow to block his way with my elbow as I turn my hips and make pressure on his elbow. He will roll to avoid the submission and i will stablish side control.”

Counter 2: “Now, as he goes for the pass on one side, I turn my hips toward him and pass my leg over and place it under his armpit. At the same time, I make a kimura grip on his arm and use it to roll him on his back. I finish the position with the armlock in place for the tap.”

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Toreando pass. Photo: Erin Herle

One of the most common guard passes that you’ll see at any tournament is the toreando or bull fighter pass. There are many variations and opportunities but most involve placing your grips on both pant legs and pushing and/or pulling the legs out of the way as you step to the side to secure side control or north/south.

Here are two variations to create the toreando guard pass and one video on how to counter the pass once an opponent has control of your legs:

Kev Capel of GMA RGA Bucks shows a traditional toreando pass:

Leandro Lo shows his version of pushing/pulling the legs and spinning around to north/south:

Flavio Almeida shows this counter for when your opponent has already tied up your legs:

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