Torreando Pass in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

What surprises a lot of beginners, myself included, is just how draining passing guard can be in Brazilian jiu jitsu. When you first learn the torreando pass, on paper it seems simple: control the legs, move laterally, clear the hips, pin the opponent. But on the mat, especially at a higher pace, your forearms light up, your grip fades, and your ability to apply pressure vanishes exactly when you need it. I want to dig into why that happens, what the torreando pass actually demands of your body, and how to make your training more effective if you want this pass to work for you when it matters.

Core Mechanics of the Torreando Pass

The torreando pass, sometimes called the bullfighter pass, relies on controlling your opponent’s legs at the knees or pants cuffs. The goal is to redirect their frames across their body while you step laterally, moving your own hips off-line and circling around their guard. If you think about it biomechanically, you’re trying to remove their ability to connect their feet, knees, or shins to your torso. Once their frames are gone, you can pressure down into side control.

There’s a reason this pass is taught early in Brazilian jiu jitsu but used at all levels: it doesn’t rely on overwhelming strength. You’re using use and angles. But the problem, especially in live training, is that resisting legs have a lot of power, and if you squeeze or pull too hard, your own grip and shoulder gas tank empty fast.

Execution Details, Where Things Fall Apart

The devil is in the details, and the torreando is a perfect example. Try to muscle through a strong guard player, and your wrists and forearms will be done in a minute. The real efficiency comes from timing and movement, not static strength.

• Gripping: You want a “hook and shelf” grip, think of your hands as steering, not towing. If you’re curling or clamping with max force, you’re burning through your phosphocreatine stores (the quick-release energy your muscles use for maximal effort) and you’ll get that classic grip burn. Instead, initiate contact, redirect, and then immediately move your body, not just your hands, so you’re not fighting their leg strength head-on.
• Footwork: Newer grapplers (I was guilty too) often forget to move their feet as actively as their arms. You have to step off-line, circle, and almost chase your own hands around their hips. If you just try to bench-press their legs while standing still, you lose all the rotational use the pass is built on.
• Body position: Stay low. If your hips are too high and your knees locked out, the pass becomes an arm battle. Lowering your center of gravity lets you drive your bodyweight through your arms, and more importantly, lets you recover balance if your opponent tries to re-guard.

Common Errors That Drain You

Everyone who tries this at live speed hits the same wall: your grip goes before your brain does. If you’re squeezing hard for control and not ready to move, the lactic acid piles up in your forearms. The grips end up failing long before your heart rate would suggest it’s time to slow down.

• Over-squeezing: Don’t death-grip the pants. You are not winning a deadlift competition, relax your hands between bursts of action.
• Staring at the feet: You lose connection to their hips and miss when their guard is opening up. The pass starts with the legs, but finishes by dominating the hips.
• Flat-footed movement: If you’re not moving your feet, you’re fighting the strongest part of their guard with your weakest muscles.

When the Torreando Pass Makes Sense

The torreando shines when your partner is playing open guard and isn’t locked onto you with strong grips or hooks. If you can get two-on-one control of their legs, you can pull this pass off even against a heavier or stronger opponent, provided your timing is right. It breaks down badly if they’ve attached to your sleeves, lapels, or legs. In those cases, you need to clear their grips before you even think about circling to the side.

If you’re rolling at a high tempo, think open mat rounds or tournament pace, the torreando is useful because it doesn’t commit your whole body forward. You can bail out, reset your base, and try again without being stuck in their half guard.

Training Scenarios: How to Actually Improve

I remember my first few months, trying to “bullfight” past a blue belt’s guard. No matter what, my hands felt like bricks after two attempts. After talking to higher belts and digging into sports physiology, I realized I was treating the pass like a max-effort isometric hold. That’s a fast track to failure, your phosphocreatine system only lasts about 10–15 seconds at full effort. After that, you’re burning sugar without oxygen and your local muscle fatigue hits hard.

Try this in training: Instead of holding on for dear life, break your rolling down into bursts. Grip, redirect, move, then let go, reset, and repeat. This mimics the interval-style effort actually used in BJJ. Your grip can recover (thanks to blood flow and switching muscle groups), and you train your body to work in cycles, not one long grind. If you’re drilling, focus on covering distance laterally, not just pushing legs to the side. Try “pass-and-release” rounds where you attempt the torreando, then reset instantly, rather than holding side control forever. This conditions both your technique and your recovery pathways.

If your endurance is lagging, pay attention to your forearm fatigue more than your general cardio. Most people have plenty of cardiovascular fitness, they just can’t clear lactate from their forearms fast enough. This is where grip-specific intervals or moderate weight training (farmer’s carries, towel pull-ups) can help.

Where Technique Meets Physiology

The torreando pass in Brazilian jiu jitsu is a technical, high-reward guard pass, but it’s limited by how you use your whole body, not just your hands. If you notice yourself getting “grip smoked” or losing steam halfway into every pass, it’s probably not that you’re out of shape, it’s that you’re working against your own endurance system. Break your passing up into intervals, train your body to relax between efforts, and let your hips and feet do more of the work. Getting better at the torreando is about learning to move with use, not hold on with hope.

And if you ever find yourself with burning forearms, shaking hands, and a foggy head after a tough round, welcome to the club. Now you know what your body’s telling you, and you can train for it.