1. Striking the face: This often gets the opponent to unlock the ankles either to free up the legs to go for arm submissions/defense or the guard pops open just because he is distracted by the pain. From here, the guard is open and the double underpass, knee through thigh lock-down, etc, become available.
2. Bicep control/Stack attack: Guard escapee holds down biceps as the first step, and from there he can pop up, weight forward stacking the opponent in the guard. The guard is broken by simply shaking his legs to the ground and pushing (simple shake) and executing a knee through or throw the legs to the side standing pass. If the guard remains tight, he can crab walk over the opponent or flip him on his front by to stepping over to one side using knee-lock pressure.
3. Wedging and Grinding: After posturing up, escapee wedges out with one knee behind him – stretching out opponents legs, and grinds down on a leg with an elbow.

Below are several of the more common MMA guard passes, with videos and written tips on how to pull them off.

The knee through / Thigh lockdown Pass

The cool thing about this pass is that is so versitile. You can thread your knee through either side without too much modification. You can pass this way from wedging (vid 1) or via a guard stack (vid 2). One key is to keep your shin on his thigh, pressing it down hard. Make sure your knee is on the ground so the leg can’t escape up, and your foot is on the ground below trapping his leg in the crook of the ankle, keeping the leg from going down. As an added benefit, this will cause your opponent pain. If you don’t control that leg until you’re fully free, expect to be sucked back into half-guard.

Another key to remember is to grip the head and arm tightly and not leg go until both legs are free and clear. Weighting your opponent down will help assure you go into side control without a scramble.

Knee through from stack attack

Knee through via wedge

The under pass

The under pass is a MMA staple. You can do it double or single legged – my proffered is the double, as the single leg under pass works a lot better with a gi.

Stack attack: Crab Walk

Although not as common, there are a couple more attacks after stacking. After stacking an opponent in his guard, you can walk right over him and go for a knee/ankle lock. Another option after stacking him is to hold his right leg under your right armpit and step over his body with your right leg – rolling him over sideways onto his front.

Putting it all together

Here’s a 6 minitue vid showing a lot of what we’ve gone over above, with some added advice on striking. This vid really helps you see the transition of the pass all put it all together, flowing well.