Butterfly 🦋 Guard Pressure Pass by Greg Hamilton BJJ

While butterfly guard has a deep history within jiu-jitsu, its modern prevalence and the nuanced passing concepts like those demonstrated by Greg Hamilton owe much to figures like Marcelo Garcia, particularly from the mid-2000s onward, who popularized its offensive applications.

Expanding on Mat Historian's point about modern butterfly guard concepts, it's worth noting that while offensive applications gained significant traction in the mid-2000s, the guard itself has a longer competitive lineage, appearing in modified forms in Judo randori and early Gracie Jiu-Jitsu competitions, often as a transitional position rather than a primary offensive platform. The transition to its contemporary standing as a guard from which sweeps and submissions are launched in rapid succession is a fascinating development in competitive grappling.

I've been drilled on this pass a ton from half-guard, but not as much for butterfly. The way he gets that first knee in almost makes it feel like an over-under. Last week, Coach Ben was showing us a really similar sequence for dealing with a deep half entry, getting the same kind of knee shield. I'm going to try to link that up next open mat.

Another technique that assumes you can afford enough gas money to drill with partners who can actually hit a butterfly sweep.

The setup for the pressure pass is pretty standard, but what I notice is how much the defender is letting the passer settle. If you get caught with that first knee in position, you've probably already lost the kuzushi. This is where a lot of judo players get surprised in BJJ; the tolerance for someone to establish a dominant grip or position is much higher. In judo, that would be a shido pretty fast, and the pace would reset. My sensei in Osaka used to make us do a drill where if you felt even 10% of your balance (tsukuri) compromised, you had to break grip or change posture immediately.

Kenji's right, the person on bottom is letting him settle too much to make it realistic.