Smash pass (half guard pass) in BJJ: a pressure pass against the half guard. Rulebook definition of half guard, advantage and points, safety for ribs and knees.
The smash pass (also half guard pass) is a pressure pass that flattens your partner's half guard and frees your trapped leg. That is how the DOMISPORTS skill catalogue describes it. As variants the catalogue lists the knee slice from half guard and the tripod pass. Which of them your coach teaches depends on the school, and this guide does not describe them in detail.
The honest answer: the smash pass is a move for intermediate students, not because it looks complicated but because you have to understand the half guard from both sides. As a prerequisite the catalogue names the half guard. Whoever plays it himself knows what your partner does underneath. How long you need for a safe pass cannot be stated; there is no study on it.
The rulebook supplies the frame. The IBJJF rulebook (version 6.1, 2024) defines the half guard this way: the athlete on the bottom lies on back or side and has one leg of the top athlete trapped so that he cannot reach side control or north-south [1]. A variant is called reverse half guard, depending on how the top athlete's legs are placed [1]. A guard pass scores 3 points when you surmount the legs, including in half guard, and hold side control or north-south for 3 seconds [1].
Two subtleties help you plan. First: if from a guard situation you reach half guard control but do not consolidate the pass, Art. 5.6.2 gives an advantage [1]. Second: the half guard does not count as an advantage when you complete the pass [1]. So it matters how you actually finish the position.
The order follows the description in the catalogue: recognise the half guard, flatten, free the leg, secure control. Footwork details are shown by your coach.
You recognise when your partner has trapped a leg and which side it is. Milestone: after every repetition you name whether it was half guard or reverse half guard [1].
You flatten the half guard. Dose the pressure so that your partner can breathe. Milestone: five repetitions with pressure that your partner confirms as controlled.
You free your trapped leg. How is shown by your coach. Milestone: you free the leg in three of ten attempts against light resistance.
You move past the legs into a control position. Milestone: five slow passes against a passive partner.
Under Art. 4.2, 3 seconds of side control or north-south count [1]. Milestone: you hold 3 seconds before releasing.
In the smash pass you press with weight on your partner's chest and ribs, and his leg is trapped in the half guard. A systematic review names knee as well as chest and rib region as frequently affected regions, followed by the shoulder [2]. In the tournament data from Hawaii, 7 of 46 recorded injuries were rib or costochondral injuries [3]. In the survey of 1,140 athletes the knee was in front at 27.1%, above all meniscus, anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament [4]. There are no data on the smash pass itself. As an inference: press with dosage, watch the leg in the half guard, and release your weight at once when your partner taps. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Practise positional rounds from the half guard: the top player tries the pass, the bottom player tries a sweep or recovery. After two minutes you swap. That way you learn when your partner holds the half guard and when not. In a competition analysis high-intensity actions lasted about 4 seconds at an effort-to-pause ratio of 6:1 [5]. As a guide for your training that means: short pressure phases, then release and set up again, not constant pressure. That is not a training study but a description of competitions.
A pressure pass that flattens the half guard and frees the leg. That is how the DOMISPORTS skill catalogue describes it.
The athlete on the bottom lies on back or side and has one leg of the top athlete trapped so that he cannot reach side control or north-south [1].
3 points when you surmount the legs and hold side control or north-south for 3 seconds [1].
The catalogue lists it as a variant of the smash pass. How it is performed is shown by your coach.
Leg Drag Pass in BJJ: Drag the Legs Across Your Hip and Control