Andrew Wiltse is a high level BJJ black belt who is also known for his equally high level teaching methods. Perhaps he is best known for his concept of ‘buzzsaw passing’ which you may have heard of. Having said this, BJJ is filled with fancy names and concepts. Still, this one is legit and helps explain the main idea of passing that so many practitioners don’t understand – that passing should be fluid and constant. So – what is buzzsaw passing exactly and how does it work?
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Buzzsaw passing is a concept based on actions and reactions
Andrew Wiltse said it best when he claimed, “A good BJJ player will never let you pass with your first attempt”. If you watch high level matches, then this certainly rings true. In other words, the idea of buzzsaw passing is the ability to successfully chain moves together to eventually create the pass. For those wondering, this style can be used in both the gi and no gi.
For example, let’s imagine you start in an open guard position whilst on top. Here, you make pant grips and try a torreando pass. At this point, the opponent counters by bringing their leg inside. Here, you may opt to jump the opposite way of their hips – or to leg drag in this direction instead.
The idea of this is to constantly keep your opponent adjusting their guard and countering their reactions. If done with enough intensity, you will complete the pass at some point. In short, variation of passes and anticipation of their reaction is key.
How do you buzzsaw pass correctly?
According to Wiltse, there are two main features that will enhance your buzzsaw passing. The first is the ability to pass relentlessly. This is done by improving your gas tank and cardio. There are many ways to improve your cardio for BJJ – but one of the best ways is to roll as much as possible.
Cardio will improve your passing
Put this way, if you and your opponent both start with 100% energy but you can last longer, eventually you will out-pace them. Obviously, cardio is important in all areas of BJJ, especially passing. So, if you want to improve your cardio for passing – then pass tough people more and more. If you think of your energy as a timer to zero, you want your opponent to tire out and reach zero quicker. From there, you can find holes to pass.
Drill different passes
Another big part of buzzsaw passing is learning passes so well, that you can do them as quickly as possible. Wiltse says you should drill so you can pass “at 100 miles per hour”. Again, this will require good cardio, and you should be able to perform things as quickly as possible without being sloppy.
Too often in BJJ, beginners try to rush passes and make mistakes as a consequence of sloppy technique. A good way to reduce sloppy passing is by starting a move slowly when drilling, only to later increase speed and intensity when you’ve got the move down. As you may have figured, this style sounds like a guard player’s worst nightmare.
Is buzzsaw passing a specific move?
Buzzsaw passing isn’t a singular, specific move – and it can range from torreando passes to knee slices and everything in between. With this said, it’s more of a theory and concept, rather than a singular pass. For example, you could say that an under-over pass is a singular technique that falls under the category of pressure passing.
So, like the idea of pressure passing, buzzsaw passing is basically an entire system, rather than on move that is done in isolation. Here, you constantly want to keep your opponent on alert, giving them different problems to solve whilst on the floor.
Grip fighting is key
Wiltse expands on this idea, that preferably, you should try to start with an advantageous position. So, if your opponent sits on their backside, immediately try to get better grips on their pants. Then, they will counter with grips of their own. Here, you should then react to these new grips and react with a better position of your own. Essentially, this is like cat and mouse, where you’re always trying to stay one move ahead.
Speaking of grips, a big part of buzzsaw passing is to always stay on the offensive and not to let the opponent rest or get a strong position of their own. Ideally, this means not giving easy access to your legs and getting slowed down. If this happens, you should quickly try to improve your position before the opponent improves their own position.
Conclusion
Overall, buzzsaw passing is an excellent way to improve your BJJ game. If you give it enough thought and practice, then your passing should improve quickly. Basically, the philosophy behind buzzsaw is to be able to put your opponent in constantly bad positions which ultimately leads to the pass.
It should be noted that this idea of passing existed long before Andrew Wiltse. However, it’s good to see someone put a clear and concise system together which should hopefully make it easier for people to pick up and learn.
