Lachlan Giles is an ADCC veteran who is known for his fantastic guard, but also has an incredibly deep understanding of the body lock pass as well. The pass itself is one of the most common that you will see at the highest level of the no gi grappling and dozens of elite competitors have found a lot of success with it. Giles himself is known for being one of the best coaches in the sport and we recently sat down with his instructional on the body lock pass in order to give an honest review of it.
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Lachlan Giles: The Body Lock Pass Review
The Body Lock Pass instructional by Lachlan Giles is split into 6 different sections and he has done a great job of structuring it. Each section is themed and it flows from general concepts and principles that make the body lock pass work in to specific entries and consolidating the pass, before moving on to narrated rolling and troubleshooting. It’s a pass that you can see top competitors use over and over again, so there’s plenty of other footage out there to see it in action at the highest level as well.
General Concepts And Principles
The opening to the instructional is a generalised overlook of the body lock pass but even people experienced with the pass will be able to get something out of it. Although every part is important, Giles’ segment breaking down the 5 stages of the body lock pass is vital to understanding what follows on in the next sections. He also includes some of the common defenses and key things like head positioning, weight distribution, and tripoding. Lachlan Giles finishes the first section off with a guide on how best to learn the body lock pass, and it’s an approach that competitors should take on to learning any technique or system.
Entries And Finishing The Pass
The second section is focused on entries to the body lock pass and Lachlan Giles covers a huge range of different starting points. Although butterfly guard is probably the most common entry-point that we see, Giles covers everything all the way down to reverse de la riva and how to force butterfly guard. The third section is an in-depth look at common problems encountered during the pass and counters, before the fourth section dives in to finishing the pass and ways to consolidate the position. This is the real meat of the instructional with over 3 hours of content covering everything that can happen from start to finish.
The Sao Paulo Open
The fifth section is something that really stands out, because Lachlan Giles also covers an element of the body lock pass which is often overlooked. The Sao Paulo Open is a method of breaking open closed guard that is very closely linked to the body lock pass and can be connected with it very easily. This section is a fantastic addition as it’s a whole other hour that could have been released as a separate instructional, but it’s incredibly beneficial for working on the body lock pass. By including this section, Giles is providing an incredibly comprehensive overview of body lock passing and he’s ensuring that it can be practiced from anywhere.
Narrated Rolling and Troubleshooting
This is really where Giles shines and where the most experienced grapplers will get a lot out of this instructional. It’s unfortunately very rare to find narrated rolling but it’s actually one of the most beneficial things that an instructor can provide. It’s often overlooked as it isn’t going to show you anything new, but it does give you a glimpse into how a technique will look when done in a live scenario. Giles not only narrates his own rolls in this instructional but he also breaks down some of his students’ attempts at body lock passing as well. This is a great opportunity to see how they could have solved the problems they encountered, hopefully speeding up the learning process for those watching.
Lachlan Giles: The Body Lock Pass Review Conclusion
Lachlan Giles: The Body Lock Pass is a fantastic instructional that offers something for everyone regardless of the level they’re at. If you’re completely new to the idea of body lock passing then there’s enough content to have you covered for months of training, taking you all the way to having a solid method of passing anyone’s guard. If you’re already comfortable with body lock passing then you’re likely to find entries you haven’t seen before and fine details you might be missing, really taking your passing game to a high level.
Click here to purchase Lachlan Giles: The Body Lock Pass instructional on BJJ Fanatics.
