BJJ Stack Pass Technique Guide: Master Guard Passing with Pressure

**Establish Grips and Posture:** Begin kneeling, securing strong grips on your opponent's pants near their knees or ankles, and maintain good posture with your head up.
**Elevate and Stack:** Drive forward, lifting your opponent's hips off the mat and pushing their legs towards their head, creating a tight 'stack' where their knees are near their chest.
**Apply Pressure and Head Position:** Maintain heavy chest pressure on their diaphragm, ensuring your head is on the side you intend to pass to, denying space and establishing a strong base.
**Unravel the Guard:** With constant pressure, begin to peel away their grips or unravel their closed/Half Guard by pushing their knees or shins down and away.
**Clear the Legs and Transition:** Once their legs are cleared, swiftly move your hips and knees around their legs, driving towards the side you chose.
**Secure Top Position:** Finish by establishing a dominant top position such as side control or knee-on-belly, ensuring your opponent cannot re-guard.

**Head Position is Crucial:** Always keep your head on the side you are passing to, creating a solid base and blocking your opponent's Hip Escapes.
**Hip Control is Key:** Maintain constant control over your opponent's hips with your weight and grips to prevent them from re-guarding or sweeping you.
**Weight Distribution:** Focus your weight directly onto your opponent's diaphragm and chest, making it difficult for them to breathe and move effectively.
**Common Mistake:** Failing to stack high enough or releasing pressure too soon, allowing your opponent to recover their guard or launch an attack.

**Closed Guard Stack Pass:** Driving into a high stack from closed guard to break the leg entanglement.
**Half Guard Stack Pass:** Using the stack to flatten and pass the half guard, often leading to a leg weave pass.
**Stack to Leg Drag:** If your opponent attempts to hip escape during the stack, transition your grips to secure a leg drag pass.

The Stack Pass is highly effective when your opponent has a strong closed guard, making it difficult to open conventionally, or when they are actively trying to establish a half guard. It's also a great option when you want to apply overwhelming pressure and limit your opponent's mobility from the bottom, forcing them to defend rather than attack.

**Omoplata/Triangle Setups:** If the passer's head is low or they create space, the bottom player can attack with omoplatas or triangles.
**Hip Escapes and Re-guarding:** Aggressive hip escapes while pushing the passer's knees away can create space to re-guard or sweep.
**Leg Lock Entries:** If the passer's legs become exposed during the stack, a skilled bottom player might look for ankle locks or knee bars.