Mastering the Knee Cut Pass with Nelson Puentes | Guard Passing Concepts
Passing the guard has endless layers. One of the most important (and frustrating) challenges is dealing with knee shields. Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Nelson Puentes, founder of Inverted Gear Academy, to learn some of his passing concepts — and we focused on the knee cut.
Here’s what I learned from Nelson about solving common problems in the knee cut, especially when you encounter a solid knee shield.
Watch the full video here ↓
Understanding the Headquarters and Knee Cut Positions
When you’re working from headquarters or looking to knee cut, the battle often comes down to what Nelson calls the knee position game. As Nelson explained:
“If I can keep the knees apart, it’s an easy knee cut. But once the knees come together, now there’s a knee shield, and that changes everything.”
This is a simple but powerful concept. Most beginners — and even intermediate players — get stuck trying to knee cut when the opponent’s knees are already tight and defensive. That’s a losing battle.
Step one is always assessing whether the knees are apart or together. Your passing strategy starts from there.
Option One: Split the Knees
If the knees are apart, go for the knee cut immediately.
“Whenever we are in headquarters or starting to knee cut, I’m looking for that moment when the knees are apart. If I can separate them, the pass becomes easy.”
Your goal is to capitalize before the defender closes their frames and knees together.
Option Two: Collapse the Knees Together
If the knees are already together and you can’t separate them?
“I’ll work on collapsing the knees together. Once the knees are tight, their mobility drops and it’s much easier to clear your hips and establish a pin.”
Nelson showed how to use body positioning and pressure to either:
Smash the knees together for passing routes like smash passes and leg weaves.
Manipulate the knees apart for standard knee cuts or back takes.
Pro Tip: Don’t just think side to side. Nelson emphasized thinking vertically and backward. For example, rewinding the opponent’s hips by walking backwards to flatten them out and kill their guard recovery.
Knee Cut Direction and Hip Control
When I asked Nelson about the directionality of his passes, he pointed out a crucial detail:
“If the defender is sideways, they can recover guard much easier. So when I knee cut or pass, I want to rewind their hips backward and establish my chest-to-chest pin.”
If you don’t pay attention to this, even a successful knee cut can result in the opponent reguarding or turtling.
Solving Common Problems
When I asked about typical roadblocks, like when the knee shield is locked and you can’t knee cut either direction, Nelson gave a few simple solutions:
Smash the knees together using a weave pass or tight body pressure.
Separate the knees by getting a C-cup grip on the ankle and pushing the knee out.
Work your elbow inside to break open the shield or collapse it.
Switch passing styles: Go from knee cut to headquarters, back and forth, to create openings.
“It doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple adjustments to manipulate the knees can open up most passes.”
Final Thoughts
Passing is a science. You can’t always force your preferred pass. You have to read what the knees are doing and choose the right reaction.
Training with Nelson at Inverted Gear Academy was a great reminder that the best guard passes aren’t necessarily the flashiest — they’re the smartest.
Big thanks to Nelson for sharing these details with all of us!
You can follow Nelson on Instagram invertedgearnelson and check out his products at invertedgear.com.
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