Scorpion Pass
Scorpion pass — defeat the outside knee hook, deny the hip extension sweep, and pass the lower-leg-shift half guard.
Adapted from the original page. Grappling.Games did not write this. Sources.
The scorpion pass defeats the scorpion guard — a half guard variant where the bottom player’s trapping leg has moved from inside the top player’s thighs to the outside, hooking over the outside of the top player’s near knee. This outside hook changes the sweep geometry: instead of sweeping through the centre (as in standard half guard), the scorpion sweep pulls from the outside, extending the top player’s hip laterally to collapse the base.
The position creates a dilemma for the top player: defend the outside-hook sweep and the bottom player takes the back via the underhook; defend the back take and the outside hook sweep arrives. The pass must address both threats simultaneously by removing the outside hook’s leverage before either threat matures.
The scorpion is a transitional position — the bottom player typically arrives from standard half guard or Z-guard by shifting the trapping leg to the outside. Recognising the shift early gives the top player the widest passing window. Once the outside hook is set and the underhook is established, the scorpion’s dilemma is fully loaded.
Ruleset context This technique is legal in all major competitive formats.
INV-G01Invariant "The bottom player must maintain their feet between or at the line of the top player's knees. Losing this line allows the top player to advance without engaging the guard."
Why it works hereThe scorpion is an unconventional foot-line position: the bottom player has put a foot outside the passer's knee instead of between or at the line. Read from the top, this means standard half-guard passing logic (driving the knee inward) drives into the hook rather than away from it, because the hook is on the outside. The pass must address the outside hook directly — pinning it to the floor or stripping it — before the line is functionally clear.
See full invariant page → The scorpion’s outside hook is an unconventional foot-line position. Standard half guard traps the foot between the thighs; the scorpion puts it outside the knee. This means the standard half guard passing response (driving the knee inward) does not work — the hook is on the outside, so inward knee pressure drives into the hook rather than away from it. The pass must address the outside hook specifically.
INV-13Invariant "Destabilisation precedes control. An opponent who retains structural balance can generate defensive force regardless of the position they are in."