The One Arm Throw Pass is one of BJJ’s easiest, simplest guard passes. If there’s one you want to learn as your first one, it’s probably this one. It will provide you with a solid basis to ensure you know how to pass everyone’s guard efficiently and effectively.
You want to start standing up and grab the opponent’s ankle. The next step is to push the leg inwards and redirect it to his other leg. You then want to go in the other direction and drag the first leg to the ground. Finally, you can attain side control by going around the opponent and passing his guard.
It really is simple to explain. However, novice and even advanced grapplers will get the One Arm Throw Pass wrong.
So they won’t be able to pass anyone’s guard using it. Of course, executing this guard pass will be more demanding on more advanced grapplers, as it’s straightforward. That’s why it’s also less effective.
But, your chances of passing guards increase the more you perfect the small details. So, this is what this article will do for you: it’ll help you perform the One Arm Throw pass perfectly, making you more likely to win more BJJ fights.
And, before we dive in, if you want to learn about the Stack pass and how to perform it flawlessly, follow the link.
Step #1 – Start standing up
The first step is relatively easy. You want to start standing up. First, however, let me deliver on what I said earlier and provide you with a common mistake many novice grapplers make.
You want to have a balanced posture. Avoid overleaning forward or backward. If your opponent spots you as having an imbalanced posture, he can go through your offense and start attacking.
That’s why you want to start with a balanced posture.
Step #2 – Grab one ankle
The 2nd step will be to grab one of his ankles. What most opponents will do is try to control your biceps. And we can avoid that by ensuring we don’t skip the 3rd step (which we’ll go over soon.)
Now, you can grab both ankles, depending on which side you want to go through. For instance, hold the right ankle if you want to pass from the right. Then, grab the left ankle on the same coin if you want to go from the left.
Learn about the leg drag pass and how to perform it by following the link.
Step #3 – Push the same leg inwards
The 3rd step, which you don’t want to miss—is to push the same leg that you grabbed in the previous step inwards.
Ensure you push it hard. Some of you might wonder what this does.
In short, it limits movement. The last thing you want is for the opponent to recalibrate himself to your pass. What ends up happening for many beginner grapplers is that the opponent maneuvers himself to whatever you try to do.
That’s why you must limit his movement as much as possible. For example, you can push his leg (the same one with the ankle you grabbed) inwards to restrict his movement.
Step #4 – Redirect the leg to the other leg
Now it’s time to pass his guard. The 4th step is the most critical one to get right. You want to ensure you do it properly, or else you’ll be more vulnerable than ever to the opponent’s offensive means.
What you want to do after pushing his leg inward is redirect the leg in the direction of his other leg. What this will do is create space for you to pass his guard.
So, what can help you is throw your elbow backward, which will provide you with the same motion you need to do for this guard pass to be effective.
Step #5 – Go in the other direction, where you created space
You’re now almost past his guard. You want to go in the other direction, where you created space.
So, you pushed his leg in the other direction, making the opponent vulnerable and allowing him to pass his guard from the side.
This transition should be performed quickly. However, you don’t want to hesitate too much before moving through, as it can be lethal if you perform it quickly.
If you want to perform the Cartwheel pass perfectly, follow the link to an article of mine breaking it down.
Step #6 – Drag his same leg to the ground
The 6th step, almost the final one, is to drag the leg you redirected to the ground. Why will you do that? The situation is: you’re already past his guard. Now, all that’s left is for you to attain side control and finish the fight.
However, it’s not that simple. The opponent can still recalibrate himself to you and force his closed guard on you.
This guard pass didn’t work if that’s what he did. Therefore, you want to grab the leg you redirected in the 4th step and drag it to the ground.
That will significantly limit his movement and allow you the extra second to attain side control.
Step #7 – Finish the move
You’re past his guard; congratulations. But don’t skip any step if you want to ensure you get this guard pass right every time.
The final step is to finish the move. Once you drag his leg to the ground, his movement is limited. But you still don’t want to take your time. Instead, you must act fast and attain side control quickly.
Unfortunately, this article isn’t about how to attain side control. However, you want to control his upper and lower body by being at a 90 degrees angle to him.
Once you do that, you can go ahead and submit him with any offensive move you want.
If you want to learn about BJJ’s most effective submissions (also from side control), follow the link.
Final words
Alright, this is it. You now have the knowledge to train and use this pass in your own BJJ journey.
I know how difficult it can be to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. Unfortunately, this guard pass is not as known as others, such as the Toreando pass.
That’s why it can be hard mentally to use it. Nonetheless, I’m confident that if you don’t miss out on any step I presented in this article, you’ll be able to pass plenty of guards using it.
And yet, it’s far from being BJJ’s most effective guard pass. If you want to see which are the most effective guard passes in BJJ, follow the link to an article of mine on the topic.