Toreando pass (bullfighter) in BJJ: a standing pass in which you press the opponent’s legs aside. IBJJF passing rule, the pant-grip foul and safety notes.
The toreando pass (also torero or bullfighter pass) is a standing pass in which your partner's legs are pressed aside like a cape. That is how the DOMISPORTS skill catalogue describes it, and the name recalls bullfighting. Where exactly you press, which grips you set and how you stand is shown by your coach. It depends on the school, and these details are deliberately not included here because they cannot be conveyed seriously without in-person instruction.
The honest answer: the toreando is a pass for beginners because it starts standing and you are not immediately lying in your partner's guard. That does not mean it is easy. It presupposes that you reach an opened guard at all, and that is the topic of the guide on opening the closed guard. How long you need for the first successful pass cannot be stated; there is no study on it.
The purpose is clear in the rulebook. Under Art. 4.2 of the IBJJF rulebook (version 6.1, 2024) a guard pass scores 3 points when you surmount the opponent's legs and hold side control or north-south for 3 seconds [1]. Guard is defined there as the use of one or more legs to stop the opponent from reaching side control or north-south [1]. A pass is therefore only complete when, after surmounting the legs, you arrive in a control position and hold it.
A second rule concerns the fabric: whoever in the gi grips the opening of the sleeve or pant leg with fingers inside commits a serious foul under Art. 6.2.2, even during a sweep or other action [1]. Especially in passes where you grip your partner's pants, this point belongs in your head.
The order follows the catalogue's description: open, press the legs, pass sideways, secure control. Footwork and grips are shown by your coach.
You open the closed guard and come to standing. Milestone: five times in a row you come from the guard to a stable stand without your partner pulling you back.
You set your grips as your coach shows and make sure no fingers lie in the opening of sleeve or pant leg [1]. Milestone: five repetitions without a rule violation, checked by your coach.
You press your partner's legs aside. The catalogue describes the image of the cape. Milestone: five slow repetitions per side against a passive partner.
After surmounting the legs you arrive in side control or north-south. For scoring, 3 seconds of control count [1]. Milestone: you hold control for 3 seconds before you release it.
Your partner pulls his legs back or turns away. How you react is shown by your coach. Milestone: you pass in three of ten attempts or return with control to a safe posture.
In the toreando you press your partner's legs sideways, which loads the knees and hips of those legs. The knee is the most affected region in BJJ: 27.1% of injuries in a survey of 1,140 athletes, mostly meniscus, anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament [2]. In a Dutch survey of 881 participants the share was 25%, and 79% of training injuries occurred in sparring [3]. A study of 198 athletes found no significant difference in injury frequency between passers and guard players, but knee and shoulder were in front for both groups [4]. There are no figures for the toreando itself. As an inference: press the legs only as far as they move, and never against a joint. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Swap roles in positional rounds. One partner passes, the other keeps the guard open, after two minutes you swap. That way you also experience the pass from the other side and learn what feels uncomfortable for the defender. That is practice, not a study, but it helps you choose your paths. After every session write one line: which side worked, where did you lose control? After ten sessions you see a pattern.
A standing pass in which you press your partner's legs aside like a cape. That is how the DOMISPORTS skill catalogue describes it.
3 points when you surmount the opponent's legs and hold side control or north-south for 3 seconds [1].
Yes, but not with fingers inside the opening of the pant leg or sleeve. Under the IBJJF rulebook that is a serious foul [1].
According to the catalogue, opening the closed guard. Without this step you do not reach the starting situation.
Double Under Pass in BJJ: Stack the Legs and Pass to the Side