half guard passing – Once you control the head you can focus upon extracting your leg: The ultimate goal of every half guard pass is to extract your leg and pass either to the two sides of your opponent or straight up the middle to the mount. A crucial step on the path to that goal is to pin the head and shoulders. This is usually done via crossface and/or underhook, though there are other good methods as well. Here, gordon ryan uses only a cross face without an under hook. This means he must pay extra attention to keeping his opponents hips flat on the mat so that he is stable enough to begin extracting his leg. Don't think the cross face alone is enough to flatten an opponent and keep him flat – your hips are an important part of that process also. Walking your hips forward into his is an excellent way to use your legs to keep him flat rather than rely exclusively on your arm.
