YR Sports Lab
The stack pass drives the opponent's knees toward their own face, lifts the hips off the mat and folds the spine into a C shape, so the legs lose the power to push you away before you walk around to pass. It is one of the most basic pressure passes in the instructional literature, most often used against closed guard. BJJEE notes that many people, usually beginners or blue belts, object, "with one arm in, won't I get triangled?" This entry pulls together the shared descriptions from Grapplearts, Evolve University, Digitsu and BJJEE, the pass scoring in the June 2024 IBJJF rulebook, and the safety lines you need to know when you are pressing on someone's spine.
1. Origin and Story: No Verifiable Inventor, but a Long-Running Argument
Let's be clear up front: no reliable record says who invented the stack pass or when. The instructional sources I checked (Grapplearts, Evolve University, Digitsu, BJJEE) 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 its pedigree: in a March 2019 Grapplearts article, Stephan Kesting wrote that the stack pass is one of the first guard passes in jiu-jitsu and is still one of the best weapons against closed guard.
The demonstrator in that article is Fabio Gurgel, whom Kesting calls a four-time world champion. English Wikipedia likewise records four world championship titles for him, which matches Kesting's "four-time." Evolve University also names him alongside André Galvão as a long-time competition user of the stack pass. Separately, a BJJEE article of September 1, 2024 presents a video of Rickson Gracie demonstrating the arm-in stack pass and calls it "the most basic guard pass in Jiu-Jitsu"; the article does not say which instructional the clip comes from. To stress the point: these people are demonstrators and users, not confirmed inventors.
Why do some people call it "dirty jitsu"?
On August 19, 2022, BJJEE published a guest article by Max De Michelis that cites Priit Mihkelson's view: stacking inside closed guard is often considered "bad jiu jitsu" and even called "dirty Jitsu," yet it is used a lot in MMA. The article gives examples such as Ken Shamrock against Royce Gracie at UFC 4 and Georges St-Pierre against Carlos Condit, and argues that a complete game should cover both ends: standing up and stacking in.
That is one black belt's opinion, not a research finding, and the article itself concedes that stacking is not the single best way to beat closed guard.
2. Mechanics: Stand, Walk the Feet, Fold, Pick the Exit
The descriptions from Evolve University and Digitsu combine into the flow below. The two sources order the steps slightly differently, so the shared parts are grouped here:
| Stage | Key points |
|---|---|
| ① Posture and grips | Keep a straight back inside the closed guard; Evolve University recommends gripping near the hip or the sleeve, and using both |
| ② Stand to open the legs | Digitsu's version: grab the legs, pants or lapels and stand briefly to break the closed guard or the foot placement |
| ③ Walk the feet, hips into the thighs | Step one foot beside the opponent's hip, walk both feet forward and drive your hips into the backs of the thighs; Digitsu warns that hips left too far back give insufficient pressure |
| ④ Pick a side, clear the legs with a shoulder | Walk laterally to choose a side and use your shoulder against the thigh to clear the legs; Digitsu lists stacking straight forward with no angle as a common error, because it lets the opponent keep a centered guard |
| ⑤ Control the arms first | Digitsu says to pin the arms (or underhook the legs) before stacking; otherwise the opponent frames on your hips or biceps and exposes you to collar chokes, triangles and omoplatas |
| ⑥ Drop weight, pass | Evolve University: bring your weight down on your toes so it is directed at the opponent, grab the pants to control the hip, move to the side of the hooked leg and push the hip with your belly to complete the pass; Digitsu adds securing a crossface or underhook through the transition |
A short BJJEE write-up of April 24, 2024 (Crazy & unique Stack Pass Submission; reference 11) shows an advanced use: after stacking, isolate an arm or the neck and flow into a kimura, armbar or even a choke, combining the pass and the submission in one compressed position. The piece is a video summary without grip details, so it is not expanded here.
3. Entry Timing and Setups
First, when you are stuck inside closed guard. This is the classic scene. Evolve University and Kesting both use closed guard as the example, and Kesting warns that staying inside a skilled opponent's closed guard means being squeezed toward chokes and armlocks. The stack pass is one way to leave on your own terms.
Second, when the opponent's legs leave your torso. Digitsu lists Double Unders, the Triangle Escape Position and a range of top-side guard positions, such as the tops of Butterfly, De La Riva, Spider and Lasso, as starting positions for the stack. So it is not limited to closed guard.
Third, as part of a passing chain. Digitsu lists it as a starting point for the Knee Cut Pass, Long Step Pass and Over-Under Pass, and describes the sequences "Stack Pass to Over-Under Pass to side control" and a Double Stack. De Michelis mentions the Sao Paulo Pass and its variations from the stacked position. For the whole category, see the BJJ guard passing guide.
4. Strengths and Limits
| Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|
| Evolve University says that because you pass from a lower position, it can nullify many modern competition guards | Evolve University says the main downside of pressure passing is susceptibility to upper-body submissions, especially the triangle choke and kimura |
| Digitsu: heavy chest-to-thigh contact removes space and prevents guard retention or inversion counters | Digitsu: stacking without controlling the arms first exposes you to collar chokes, triangles and omoplatas |
| A short BJJEE piece (2024/04/24) says that after stacking you can isolate an arm or the neck and flow into a kimura, armbar or choke | De Michelis does not claim the stack is the single best answer to closed guard; Digitsu adds that stacking straight forward with no angle lets the opponent keep a centered guard |
5. Common Counters and Defenses
Defensive material comes mainly from two sources: Digitsu's Stack Defense entry, and Jon Thomas's advice as summarized by BJJEE on August 9, 2021.
Counter 1: handle the grips before your legs are lifted. When the opponent has grabbed your hips and is about to stack, Jon Thomas calls the most important point grabbing both of the opponent's sleeves and stiff-arming them. Then drop your hips as low as possible and widen your legs, so the opponent has to lift your hips to pass. Next, insert your legs back between you and the opponent to retain guard and start attacking.
Counter 2: catch the triangle when an arm is inside. The controversy BJJEE describes is that with one arm in and one out, the stacker is most exposed to a triangle; the article even says most grapplers who go for this pass actually bait the triangle by putting the arm in. Its rebuttal is that skilled passers finish before the legs can close, so timing is the key. Separately, Digitsu lists failing to control the arms first as what exposes the passer to triangles, collar chokes and omoplatas, and Evolve University's pass sequence uses the knee to block the opponent's leg and force a recovery to the other side (that article does not tie this step to the triangle).
Counter 3: Stack Defense once you are folded. Digitsu's other entry describes what to do from the bottom when you are being controlled: notice the legs tightening, the hips rotating or an arm being isolated, then use a gable grip or hold the opponent's legs, keep the elbows tight, step your feet close to the opponent's body and walk forward off your toes so the opponent's hips rise over the shoulders. The entry warns that stacking without secure grips, or pausing after a successful stack, lets the opponent regain the angle or switch to an omoplata.
Follow-ups After a Counter (Top Player's View)
The opponent frames the arms and the legs are reinserted: rather than forcing it, switch to the Knee Cut Pass or Long Step Pass (Digitsu lists both as passes that can follow the stack).
The knees are driven toward the chest and the arms are still controlled: flow to the Over-Under Pass; Digitsu describes the route as Stack Pass to Over-Under to side control.
6. Frequency in Competition and Rules
IBJJF and ADCC publish only placings and brackets, not usage statistics for individual passes, and I found no instructional or media source giving a frequency figure specifically for the stack pass (queried 2026/10), so no percentage is given here. Qualitatively, instructors file it as a fundamental pass, Evolve University calls it a classic technique used by many BJJ champions, and it is common in MMA.
On scoring, I read the official IBJJF rulebook, June 2024 edition (the inner pages are marked Version 6.1; queried 2026/10; I found no newer edition). Article 4.2: the top athlete who surmounts the bottom athlete's legs (guard or half-guard) and maintains side control or north-south for 3 seconds earns 3 points. Article 5 says an advantage point is awarded when an athlete reaches a point-scoring pass position but cannot hold the 3 seconds; one of the guard pass advantage examples in 5.6.2 is a passer who stacks the opponent, or lets the opponent roll back, and controls the opponent's back in a four-point kneeling position with at least one knee on the ground.
On illegal moves, the rulebook's technical fouls table lists a Slam and a Spinal lock without choke, and another clause forbids suplex movements that force the opponent's head or neck into the ground. The stack itself is not on the table, but the table varies by belt and age division (this article cannot reproduce it cell by cell), so check the current year's official rulebook before competing.
7. Safety Notes
Digitsu's definition of the stack pass says outright that it folds the opponent and compresses the spine. That is part of the design and also the safety point: the person underneath has the neck and lower back forced into flexion, and the IBJJF rulebook's illegal-move table also lists slams and spinal locks.
On medical literature, I found no study that quantifies injuries from the stack pass specifically. What can be cited is general data: Scoggin et al. (2014) analyzed on-site medical records from 8 Hawaii jiu-jitsu tournaments between 2005 and 2011 and found 46 injuries in 5,022 match participations (9.2 per 1,000 exposures); orthopaedic injuries made up 78%, the elbow was the most commonly injured joint, and the armbar was the leading mechanism. That study did not break out guard passing or stacking. For the mechanics and rehab of neck and spine injuries, see BJJ cervical spine risks and protection and neck cranks and the IBJJF ban.
・Add pressure gradually; do not drop all your bodyweight toward your partner's knees and face at once
・The person underneath should tap immediately if the neck, lower back or hips feel strained, and the top player should release at once
・Do not drop or fling your partner; if they try to roll, let them roll instead of pinning the head and neck
・Partners with limited flexibility or an old neck or lumbar injury should go slowly or skip this technique
・Check the current year's official IBJJF rulebook for the scope of illegal moves instead of relying on instructional videos alone
FAQ
Who invented the stack pass?
No reliable record names an inventor. Stephan Kesting only says it is one of the first guard passes in jiu-jitsu and still a strong weapon against closed guard. Fabio Gurgel and Rickson Gracie have both been filmed demonstrating it, but they are demonstrators, not confirmed inventors.
Can you get triangled while stacking?
Yes, and it is a commonly raised risk. Digitsu advises controlling the arms before stacking, and BJJEE says the key is to finish before the legs lock; the arm-in, arm-out position is the one a triangle targets most easily.
How do you defend when you are being stacked?
When the opponent has grabbed your hips to stack you, grab both of their sleeves and stiff-arm them, drop your hips as low as possible with your legs wide, then reinsert your legs between you and the opponent to rebuild guard. This is Jon Thomas's advice as summarized by BJJEE; if the opponent just throws your legs aside, put a hand on their elbow to keep distance.
Is the stack pass allowed in IBJJF competition?
Yes. The rulebook does not list stacking as illegal, and a pass held for 3 seconds earns 3 points. However, the illegal-move table lists slams and spinal locks without a choke, so the stack must not turn into either; check the current rulebook for which belts and ages each rule covers.
References
1. Kesting S. How to Pass Closed Guard with the Stack Pass. Grapplearts, 2019/03/19. grapplearts.com (queried 2026/10; supports "one of the first guard passes," the Fabio Gurgel demonstration and four-time world champion description, and the risk of staying in closed guard)
2. Evolve University. What Is The Stack Pass In BJJ? (the page shows no publication date). evolve-university.com (queried 2026/10; independent of the previous source; supports grips and steps, upper-body submission risk, and use by Gurgel and Galvão)
3. Digitsu. Stack Pass (BJJ technique database entry; the page shows no publication date). digitsu.com (queried 2026/10; supports starting positions, the five steps, three common errors, chained passes and defense names)
4. Digitsu. Stack Defense (BJJ technique database entry; the page shows no publication date). digitsu.com (queried 2026/10; supports the bottom-position Stack Defense steps and common mistakes)
5. BJJEE. How To Defend Against Stack Passing? Here's The Answer (2021/08/09, advice from Jon Thomas). bjjee.com (queried 2026/10; supports sleeve grips with stiff arms, lowering the hips, reinserting the legs and the hand on the elbow)
6. BJJEE. Rickson Gracie Shows Arm-in Stack Pass That Confuses Newbies (2024/09/01). bjjee.com (queried 2026/10; supports the arm-in stack pass being called the most basic pass, and the triangle concern and timing argument; the article does not give the source of the video)
7. De Michelis M. Stacking the Closed Guard Is Actually Very Effective Guard Pass. BJJEE, 2022/08/19. bjjee.com (queried 2026/10; supports the "dirty jitsu" debate, the MMA examples and the link to the Sao Paulo Pass; a personal opinion, not statistics)
8. Wikipedia contributors. Fábio Gurgel. en.wikipedia.org (queried 2026/10; supports the record of four world championship titles for Gurgel)
9. IBJJF. Rules Book, June 2024 (Version 6.1). ibjjf.com/rules (official rulebook, queried 2026/10, no newer edition found; supports Article 4.2 pass points and the 3-second hold, Articles 5 and 5.6.2 advantages, and the Slam and Spinal lock entries in the illegal-move table)
10. Scoggin JF 3rd et al. (2014). Assessment of Injuries During Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Competition. Orthop J Sports Med;2(2):2325967114522184. PubMed 26535299 (46 injuries in 5,022 participations across 8 tournaments, 9.2 per 1,000, orthopaedic injuries 78%, elbow most commonly injured with the armbar as the main mechanism; guard passing not analyzed separately)
11. BJJEE. Crazy & unique Stack Pass Submission (2024/04/24). bjjee.com (queried 2026/10; supports isolating an arm or the neck after the stack and flowing into a kimura, armbar or choke; a short video summary without grip details)