Someone writing or otherwise describing Anderson Silva's approach to fighting said something that now, months later, I think is applicable to my approach to passing the guard from standing.
I think the writer was talking about the Silva-Griffin fight as a textbook example of how Anderson measures his opponents reach and timing, his instincts and reactions. Depending on the situation, that sizing up may take a few minutes (as with Griffin, Franklin and Leben) or a whole round (as with Marquardt, Lutter and Henderson). But make no mistake that this is what Silva does.
I'm starting to see the value of a similar approach when it comes to passing the guard from standing. By applying my blocks and my base, keeping the guys legs either fully contracted or fully extended, and always staying one step ahead of my vulnerabilities in terms of balance, I feel as if I can pass the guard as a sort of "counter-game", spotting - and hopefully frustrating - the guard player's initial and likely favorite moves en route to a guard pass that, like the perfect submission, is ultimately just a compliment to superior positioning, superior leverage and superior timing in the minutes before the pass actually takes place.
It's harder to describe than it is to feel. But the more time I spend passing the guard from standing, the more sense this way of seeing things makes. When it comes to the guard, more often than not, my internal monologue for 2010 needs to be: "You cannot submit me because I'm already standing. And you cannot sweep me because I'm already passing."
