What the knee cut pass is
The knee cut pass, also called the knee slice, pins one of your partner’s legs under your shin while you pass over it. Your knee goes in between their legs onto the inside of one thigh, then crosses that thigh at an angle until it reaches the mat. You finish on the side of the leg you cut across, usually in side control, kesa gatame or mount. The pass works in the gi and in no-gi, and it is one of the passes in our guide to BJJ guard passing.
Against closed guard, the cut usually follows a standing guard break, once the legs open and your knee can get inside.
Grips and upper body control
The grips flatten your partner and change jobs as the pass goes on. The hand that pushes the knee down often moves to the lapel or digs for the underhook once the knee is out of the way.
Gi gripsNo-gi grips
- Keeps the leg from shieldingA hand on the pants at the knee pushes the leg down so it cannot come across your hips as a knee shield.A hand on the knee or lower thigh pushes the leg down so it cannot come across your hips as a knee shield.
- Flattens the far sideA collar or lapel grip, or an underhook on the far arm.An underhook on the far arm or a crossface.
- Lifts the near armA sleeve grip pulls the near elbow up off the mat, so your partner cannot frame with it or turn to their knees.A wrist or elbow grip pulls the near arm up off the mat.
How the bottom player counters it
- Knee shieldThe top knee comes across the passer's hip and the arms frame, holding the passer's weight off.
- Reverse De La RivaA leg hooks the cutting leg from the inside to stop it from sliding through.
- Underhook to the back or a wrestle-upWithout a crossface or far-side control from the passer, the bottom player wins the underhook and comes up or takes the back.
- Deep half guardThe bottom player goes underneath the passer instead of trying to hold them off.
The cut, the base and the trailing foot
Set the knee in close to your partner’s hips and angle it across the thigh toward the mat, rather than driving it straight ahead. Your other leg posts wide behind you for base. Keep your chest on your partner’s far shoulder, so their upper body stays pinned while the knee travels.
The foot of your cutting leg trails behind the knee and is the last part of you still between your partner’s legs. Free it by sliding or wiping it out from between their legs, then switch your hips as you come down into the pin.
Defending the knee cut
The bottom player has counters at every stage of the pass. Early on, instructors often describe the pass as a fight over the space between the bottom player’s elbow and knee. While the two stay connected, the passer has no room to bring the knee and chest through, and counters such as the knee shield start from keeping that space closed.
The trailing foot is the bottom player’s last chance. Holding it gives them half guard or quarter guard, and from there they can rebuild the guard or go underneath.
When your partner recovers half guard or hooks your leg partway through, avoid settling onto both knees. One answer is to post a hand on the mat to keep that arm away from a kimura, put the other hand on the hip, come up off the knees and land the knee back on the thigh to start the cut again.
Common knee cut mistakes
Cutting while upright is the first. With your chest high, your partner can frame against it and bring a leg back in front of you.
Landing the knee on the mat too early, with the hips driving forward, is the second. Your weight gets ahead of your base, and your partner can come up on a single leg or reach your back.
Letting your partner get their head under your chest is the third. From there they can come up into you or attack your legs. Some instructors drive their own head down to the mat beside their partner’s chin to stop it.
What a reviewer looks for in your knee cut
On video, a reviewer checks whether your partner’s knee was pinned before you cut, who won the underhook, where your chest was during the cut, and how long your foot stayed trapped afterward. In a roll review, a verified black belt marks each of those moments with timestamps and sets homework drills for the part of the pass that keeps stalling.