YR Sports Lab
The folding pass sends both of the opponent's knees to the same side of your body, then drops your hip weight onto the legs so they stay folded and cannot re-extend. It does not chase the legs. It first builds a position the opponent cannot move out of, then lets you choose: climb to mount, slide through to side control, or take the back if they turn away. This article pulls together what Stephan Kesting, BJJEE and other instructional sources agree on, plus the competitive background of Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida, the athlete most often used to demonstrate it.
1. Origin and Story: No Verifiable Inventor, but Buchecha Put It in the Spotlight
Let's be clear up front: no reliable record says who invented the folding pass or when. The instructional sources I checked (Grapplearts, BJJEE, Digitsu) only describe the movement and do not discuss its origin, so this article names no inventor and makes up no story. What is certain is that it is a pressure pass instructors treat as a fundamental: in a 2020 Grapplearts article, Stephan Kesting calls it a "bread and butter guard pass that everyone should know" and says it works in gi BJJ, no-gi submission grappling and MMA.
The athlete most associated with the pass in recent years is Brazil's Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida. BJJEE ran two features built around his demonstrations, in December 2019 and March 2020, and the later one calls the position his "Game Over position." Kesting's article uses Fabio Gurgel as the demonstrator and mentions Gurgel's black belt Demian Maia demonstrating the pass in MMA. What these sources show is a pass used by several top athletes and coaches, not the story of a single inventor.
Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida's Competitive Background
English Wikipedia and FloGrappling's feature (2019/12/31) list the same black belt World Championship title years for Buchecha: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 (FloGrappling explicitly labels these as gi Worlds, and adds no-gi titles in 2010 and 2011). For ADCC, both list a 2013 title; 2017 appears in both as a title and also as a 3rd place, which contradicts itself, so this article uses only the 2013 entry on which both lists agree, does not cite the 2017 placing, and does not cite any "total number of titles."
In other words, instructional sources use him as a demonstrator because he repeatedly showed this pressure game working at the highest level, which is not the same as saying he invented the folding pass.
2. Mechanics: Fold the Legs, Drop the Hips, Then Pick the Exit
The descriptions from three independent sources (Kesting at Grapplearts, BJJEE and Digitsu) combine into the following flow:
| Stage | Key points |
|---|---|
| ① Send both knees to one side | Against a butterfly guard or a flattened knee shield, steer both knees together to one side of your body, across the opponent's midline |
| ② Drop hip weight | Put your hip weight onto the folded legs; BJJEE describes Buchecha's key as concentrating bodyweight at one spot (the first article says between the opponent's hip and knee, the second says on the opponent's hip) |
| ③ Grips and elbows | BJJEE describes keeping the hands off the mat, using a double collar grip, and keeping the elbows tied to your own hips while moving the legs to the side |
| ④ Anchor the upper body | Digitsu advises securing an upper-body anchor such as the far shoulder, collar or an underhook before chasing position, or the opponent will shrimp free |
| ⑤ Read the reaction, choose the exit | Kesting lists three finishes: climb straight to mount, insert one knee and then climb to mount, or pass directly to side control; he also mentions circling to the back from the starting position |
BJJEE's 2019 demonstration is set against Worm Guard: turn the targeted knee away and take a lapel grip, grab the opponent's foot and push it down, take a Long Step Pass step, then drop full weight between the opponent's hip and knee, bend the opponent into a "C" shape with the back flat on the mat, tuck the knee behind the legs, and pull the lapel tight to reach side control. That demonstration shows the folding pass is often not a stand-alone move but the finishing pressure after other passing actions.
3. Entry Timing and Setups
First, when the opponent sits and hooks you with butterfly guard. Kesting's demonstration starts from Butterfly Guard: push both knees to one side together, then pin the legs with your hips. The key is that both knees go to the same side at once, rather than being handled one at a time.
Second, when the knee shield has been flattened and the knees can still be steered. Digitsu lists a "butterfly smash," a "defended toreando" and a "beaten knee shield" as starting positions from which the knees can be driven over the centerline.
Third, after another passing action. BJJEE's demonstration against Worm Guard grabs the foot, pushes the leg down, takes a long step, then drops weight between the opponent's hip and knee to finish, so the folding pressure can follow other passing actions. How it chains with pressure passes such as the Body Lock Pass is not clearly described in the sources, so no conclusion is drawn here.
4. Strengths and Limitations
| Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Kesting notes the same pressure works in gi, no-gi and MMA | Digitsu notes that folding the legs without putting weight on them lets the opponent frame and re-extend |
| Builds stable pressure first, then reads the reaction to climb to mount, insert a knee or pass to side control, so there are several exits | Passing wide around the fold instead of over it gives up the pressure that makes the pass work (listed by Digitsu as a common mistake) |
| Kesting says this kind of pressure pass suits older grapplers without the energy to chase opponents, winning through positional pressure rather than speed | Chasing side control before securing an upper-body anchor lets the opponent shrimp away |
5. Common Counters and Responses
The instructional sources say little about counters. Here is what has a source, with the items inferred from the "common mistakes" list marked as such:
Counter one: build a frame before the knees cross the midline. Read in reverse, Digitsu's common-mistakes list is the defender's opening: if the passer folds the legs without putting weight on them, the defender can frame and re-extend the legs. The window is short, so the defender must act before the knees are flattened.
Counter two: turn to turtle as the fold lands. Digitsu states that "their strongest answer is turning to turtle as the fold lands" and advises the passer to attack the back exposure that turn creates. The price of this counter is giving up the back, so whether it works depends on the opponent's back-taking ability.
Counter three (inferred from the above): shrimp away while the anchor is not yet secured. Digitsu says that if the passer chases side control before securing an upper-body anchor, the opponent shrimps free, so the defender can act in the gap while the passer changes position. This one is an inference, not a counter the source gives directly.
Follow-Up Options After a Counter (Passer's View)
The opponent frames and re-extends the legs: return to other passes, such as the Long Step Pass (BJJEE's demonstration also enters the fold from a long step) or the Knee Cut.
The opponent turns to turtle: following Digitsu's advice, shift your weight toward the exposed back and go for the back take. Success rates depend on body types and reactions, and the sources give no data.
6. Frequency in Competition
The IBJJF and ADCC publish only placings and brackets, not usage statistics for individual passes, and I found no appearance-rate figure for the folding pass in the instructional or media sources I checked (queried 2026/10), so no percentage is given here. What can be said qualitatively is that media have long linked it to top-level athletes such as Buchecha, and Kesting describes it as a fundamentals-level pass.
On scoring, according to the IBJJF rules summary published by BJJEE (2026/09/15; the article does not name a rule version; queried 2026/10), a completed guard pass earns 3 points, but the final position must be held for 3 seconds under a visible referee count; if the opponent creates space or recovers a leg before control is established, the full score does not count. Always check the current official rulebook before competing.
7. Safety Notes
The folding pass is not a submission, and this article cites no medical literature, so no injury rates are given. What deserves attention is the movement itself: BJJEE's demonstration bends the opponent into a "C" shape so that the knees and nose approach each other. My inference is that this increases neck and lower-back flexion and compression for the person being pressed, so go slowly with partners who are less flexible or carry old injuries.
・Practice slowly and add weight gradually; do not drop all your bodyweight onto your partner's hips or knees at once
・While folding, watch your partner's neck and lower back, and bring the knees toward the face only as far as the partner is comfortable
・The person being pressed should tap immediately if the knees, hips or lower back feel strained
・Check the current year's official IBJJF rulebook for rule details instead of relying on instructional videos alone
FAQ
Who invented the folding pass?
No reliable record names an inventor. The instructional sources I checked only describe the movement and do not give its origin. The athlete most often used to demonstrate it in recent years is Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida, and Stephan Kesting's article uses Fabio Gurgel as the demonstrator; both are users, not confirmed inventors.
Can you use the folding pass without a gi?
Yes. Stephan Kesting says the folding pass works in gi BJJ, no-gi submission grappling and MMA. The core is steering both knees to one side and pinning them with your hips; the sources I checked do not detail grip choices for no-gi.
What is the most common reason the folding pass fails?
The most common reason is folding the legs without putting weight on them. Digitsu says this lets the opponent frame and re-extend the legs; two other common errors are passing wide around the fold instead of over it, and chasing side control before securing an upper-body anchor.
What if the opponent turns to turtle?
Attack the back that the turn exposes. Digitsu lists turning to turtle as the opponent's strongest answer as the fold lands and advises going after the back exposure it creates, which means taking the back instead of chasing side control.
References
1. Kesting S. The Folding Guard Pass for No Gi and MMA. Grapplearts, 2020/04/27. grapplearts.com (queried 2026/10; supports sending both knees to one side, pinning with the hips, the three finishes, Fabio Gurgel's demonstration, use in gi, no-gi and MMA, and Demian Maia as a Gurgel black belt)
2. BJJEE. Do The Folding Pass Every Single Time On Any Type Of Guard With Buchecha (2019/12/07) and Buchecha Shows His 'Game Over' Position: Hip Smash/Folding Pass (2020/03/31). bjjee.com, first article, second article (queried 2026/10; independent of the previous source; supports the long step into the fold against Worm Guard, weight between hip and knee, double collar grip, elbows tied to the hips, and the C-shape pressure)
3. Digitsu. Folding Pass (BJJ technique database entry; the page shows no publication date). digitsu.com (queried 2026/10; supports the butterfly smash and beaten knee shield starting positions, the three common mistakes, and turning to turtle as the strongest answer)
4. Wikipedia contributors. Marcus Almeida. en.wikipedia.org (queried 2026/10; supports the black belt World Championship years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 (gi not labeled) and the 2013 ADCC title; the 2017 placing is recorded inconsistently and is not cited)
5. Smith R. Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida, Grappler Of The Decade. FloGrappling, 2019/12/31. flograppling.com (queried 2026/10; cross-checks the title years against the previous entry; the article's placings and totals are internally inconsistent, so they are not cited here)
6. BJJEE. IBJJF Three-Second Rule for Guard Passes and Points (2026/09/15). bjjee.com (third-party rules summary, rule version not stated, queried 2026/10; supports 3 points for a pass and the 3-second hold)