Alias · Guard Passing
Sao Paulo Pass
Also known as Tozi Pass — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Regional name used in some Brazilian grappling communities — refers to the same shoulder-under mechanic
BJJ — Sao Paulo-lineage name for the tozi pass
Sao Paulo Pass is the BJJ-vocabulary name for the tozi pass — a guard-pressure-passing technique in which the passer drives chest weight through the bottom player’s framing arms to flatten and pass.
Etymology. The “Sao Paulo” label attaches the technique to the Brazilian region where it was systematised in the 2000s and 2010s competitive BJJ scene — the city’s coaching lineage producing a recognisable pressure-passing style. “Tozi” — the canonical name on this site — attaches the technique to the specific practitioner most strongly associated with its 2010s instructional spread. Both labels coexist; “Sao Paulo Pass” is the regional-naming form, “tozi pass” is the person-naming form.
Mechanics. The pass works by destabilising the bottom player’s structural resistance through sustained chest pressure — the passer’s connection through the chest collapses the bottom player’s frames before any leg-line clearing motion begins. The pressure is the destabilisation; the clearance is the consequence.
Cross-reference. “Tozi pass” is the person-naming form. Full mechanical coverage on Tozi Pass.