Body lock passing isn't exactly new, but it has been having a resurgence in the last 2 years in no-gi grappling. In the gi you have all these handles to work with and there is a ton of friction. In no-gi this isn't the case and often times holding on to someone can be harder than actually passing their guard. Most passes in no-gi are taken from the gi and just adapted by changing the grips, however the body lock pass seems to be primarily a no-gi pass used to defeat common no-gi problems. If you haven't been using it, I'd recommend checking it out and adding into your game.
Technique
Lachlan is the first place I'd recommend when it comes to the body lock pass. He is the first person to make an instructional on it and he goes into great detail on how to setup, control and finish the body lock. Here he goes over the different stages and I've found that thinking of it in this way actually helps a lot. This systematic approach helps keep you out of trouble and stops you from rushing the pass which will lead to your opponent getting the upper hand. The body lock isn't a pass that you need to rush through. You really need to do it step by step and control your opponent.
This is the video that got most people interested in body lock passing all those year ago. Some of the first examples of people using it are the Miyaos and Yuri Simoes. Watch how they use it to control their opponents in no-gi and give them no room to escape.
This is a great video by Shawn Williams that goes over some common problems and how to solve them. As strong as the body lock pass is, sometimes I've found myself spinning my wheels and unable to progress to the next step. Hopefully if you are in the same position this video will help you like it did me.
There seems to be 3 main ways to finish this position once you have established it.
1). The through the center half guard knee slice pass. Either you can beat their knee line outside(which is what Lachlan Giles recommends), Or bring your inside leg through their legs. This is the same finish as a knee slice pass from half guard, however your arms are in a different position.
2). The shin pin pass. For this pass you use both of your legs on one of your opponents. You squeeze you body lock and press both of your legs towards your arms and bring their heel to their butt. After you have their butterfly hook pinned like this you just walk around.
3). The jump over. Once you have their body flat and their legs pinned just hop over their legs. This is mainly used if they go to butterfly halfguard, but it can be used from normal butterfly too. This takes more timing and athleticism, but it can be very effective.
All of these approaches seem to work and perhaps it is best to mix them together. Anyway, lets check out how people are using this pass in high level competitions.
Examples
Lucas Barbosa vs William Tackett
In this one Hulk gets his hands around Tackett and then works to clasp his hands together. Notice that he keeps Tackett's left leg between his leg, so Tackett can't remove it and get into closed guard. From there Hulk tripods up and works to get over Tackett's knee line. After he has accomplished this he first tries a knee slice and then tries to swing his leg out into side control. Then once Tackett stops that he goes back to the knee slice pass. Once there the body lock allows him to control Tackett and keeps him from running away.
Lucas Barbosa at BJJBet
Lucas does some hand fighting and then tries to go into the body lock pass. After an attempt or 2 he gets his hands connected and goes to work. He is initially stuck in a knee shield style position, but works to get into the normal position. Once there he loosens his body lock to make space for his knee to come through the middle. From there he clears the knee line with his other leg and tries to move to side control, but his opponent frames him and tries to hip escape. Normally this would allow you to escape, but with the body lock Hulk stays glued to his opponent and causes his opponent to expose his back, which Hulk happily takes.
Lucas Barbosa vs Joseph Watson
Hulk comes down and puts his hands on his opponent's sides. When his opponent sits up he connects his hands for the body lock and starts working the pass. Hulk tripods up on his feet and starts walking around to get past his opponent's knee line. Once he has this his opponent inserts a butterfly hook. Hulk steps his leg high and removes it to pass the guard. His opponent tries to scoot back and escape, but that is difficult with the body lock on. Hulk follows him and then mounts as his opponent turns into him. From there he locks up the arm triangle and that's all she wrote.
Nicky Ryan vs Dante Leon
Nicky gets the double leg takedown and keeps the grip which lands him in the body lock pass. As he completes the takedown he is careful not to let Dante put him into full guard. This is the key to getting the body lock pass going as one of the strongest defenses is getting to closed guard. From their he leans his weight to the side to slide off one butterfly hook and then goes into half guard. Dante goes to butterfly half guard and Nicky windshield wipes his left leg into the entanglement in order to free his right leg. This creates a headquarters style position and makes it hard for Dante to generate offense. From there he pries open Dante's half guard and hops into side control. A few seconds later Dante recovers guard and Nicky goes right back to the body lock pass. This time Dante defends the knee slice pass and decides to try to stand. This shows the beauty of the body lock pass. It allows you to easily hit a mat return to a back take on your opponent. It is extremely hard to get away from.
Craig Jones rolling at the gym
Craig drops down from standing and locks his arms behind his opponent's back. Craig sees an opening from butterfly guard and hops his left leg over his opponent's butterfly hook. From there he pressures his opponent's back to the mat. As soon as his opponent is flat he flips his right leg off the butterfly hook and lands in side control. Watch that part carefully and notice the hip switch with the left leg. This allows Craig to remove his leg without worrying about being swept by the butterfly hook.
His opponent escapes and Craig goes back to it. He does the same thing as before, but this time instead of hip switching and flicking his right leg off, he does a "lock down" style position with both of his legs on his opponent's right leg. This allows him to hook that leg with his left leg and internally rotate it. This of course makes his opponent turn his hips away from Craig and makes his butterfly hook useless. From there he can easily climb over his opponent's other knee into mount. His opponent gets back into quarter guard, but Craig quickly puts on the pressure and passes back into mount.
Miyao at ACB
It starts from underhook control on one side, but a failure to get a crossface on the other. Miyao then gets the body lock and works to clear his opponent's knee line. Once he gets that he walks his legs back to straighten his opponent's legs and pummel's his leg into a headquarters style position. He tries to hit a floating pass, but misses and then changes from the body lock to a crossface on his left side. From there he tries to knee slice, misses and goes back to HQ position, which he uses to hit the floating pass.
Diego "Pato" Olivera at the WNO Championship
This video shows Pato at the WNO championship using the body lock pass in a different way. You can watch the breakdown yourself, but I think this is a really interesting one because here he combines float passing with the body lock. This goes to show that there are even more ways to combine passes that many people haven't even considered.
Strengths
The body lock pass is a pass that can be used to wear out your opponent and cause them pain and frustration. In no-gi you often worry about people getting away during or after your pass. With the body lock you don't need to worry about that. Typically you'll either get the pass or the back take if you get past their legs. It also has the advantage of being impervious to leg locks. It is extremely difficult to get into a position to hit a leg lock once you're in the body lock.
Another thing that makes it great is that it lands you in a position where you have a lot of control over your opponent. You already have your weight on them and have a good grip on their body. This makes stabilizing the pass fairly easy. Many time your opponents escapes will give a chance to take their back.
Weaknesses
Unfortunately the body lock isn't the easiest pass to enter. It is usually entered into from the knees, or you'll have to divebomb into your opponent to get it. If you mess up the entry it can become a disaster very quickly. Many times you start the pass from a position where you're opponent has butterfly hooks and it is easy to get elevated if you aren't careful. On top of that you can't use your hands to base out, so balance and proper weight distribution is even more of a problem.
Even though you don't have to worry about leg locks there are a few other submissions you need to watch out for. The guillotine and kimura can both be sunk in from the body lock if you aren't careful and defending them will leave you open for sweeps. The body lock requires you to be technical and precise in your body placement if you don't want to be countered. If you're the type of person that gets sloppy because of fatigue or emotions, you might have trouble with it.
Why you should add it to your game
The body lock pass is a useful pass that is great against many of the guards that are popular currently in no-gi BJJ. It makes it easy to avoid leglocks and put pressure on your opponent. If you're having problems keeping ahold of your opponent in no-gi or you're looking for a pass that doesn't require much agility, give this a try.
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