Tripod Pass

The tripod pass is a standing guard pass that uses one foot on the bottom player’s hip and one shin/ankle grip as the control structure. From this tripod — one standing leg, one gripping arm, one posted foot on hip — the top player pushes the hip while pulling the shin/ankle, collapsing the bottom player’s frame and stepping through.

It works against seated and open guard configurations when the bottom player has their feet up but is not in a deep hook position. The name comes from the three-point base: standing foot, pushing foot on hip, pulling grip.

INV-P01Invariant "The top player must clear the line of the feet before advancing. Attempting to pass while the feet are active is attempting to pass through the guard rather than around it."

Why it works hereThe tripod handles the foot line directly: the foot on the hip and the shin or ankle grip work together to clear the bottom player's feet from the passing lane. The hip push prevents the bottom player from re-routing the foot back into position, while the grip removes the shin from the path of the passing knee. The two grips run in parallel — neither is sufficient alone, but together they vacate the foot line.

See full invariant page → The tripod pass resolves clear the feet directly: the foot on the hip and the shin/ankle pull work together to clear the bottom player’s feet from the passing lane. The hip push prevents the bottom player from re-routing the foot back into position, while the grip removes the shin from the path of the passing knee.

INV-P02Invariant "After clearing the feet, the top player must advance to and hold the line of the knees. This is the intermediate control position between the feet and the hips."

Why it works hereClearing the feet is half the task. After the folding action, the passer must step through to the knee line and hold it — pausing after the collapse without committing forward gives the bottom player time to recover a hook or return to seated guard. The knee line advance has to happen while the foot-clearing pressure is still active; once it lapses, the line is reclaimed.

See full invariant page → Clearing the feet is only half the task. After the folding action, the top player must step through to the knee line and establish it — if they pause after the collapse without committing forward, the bottom player has time to recover a hook or return to seated guard.