Watch: Danielle Kelly teaches how to pass half-guard with simple three-step technique

ONE Championship athlete and jiu-jitsu star Danielle Kelly is a marvel on the mats and is always keen to share her knowledge with everyone. The American grappling savvant recently started posting instructional videos on Instagram and we're all thankful for it.

In a video shared by ONE Championship, Danielle shared her technique on how to pass from half-guard to either mount or side control.

Here's the video:

"Danielle Kelly has it all planned out 🧠 @daniellekellybjj"⁠

Kelly's grasp of the fundamentals is world-class. To secure a powerful pass from half-guard, one has to dominate the far-side underhook first.

Kelly explained a very strong yet simple way of killing the bottom fighter's underhook. Once you've secured the underhook on the far side, you can secure the cross-face which will then allow for the no-arm pass to either side control or mount.

Better start drilling this move in practice soon. You can thank Danielle Kelly later.

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Danielle Kelly reveals 'Buchecha's advice to her with regards to her eventual transition to MMA

Jiu-jitsu star Danielle Kelly has been vocal about her eventual transition into MMA. Since ONE Championship allows its athletes to jump from one combat sport to another, Kelly intends to fight in MMA while still competing in submission grappling today.

One of the major figures that serves as a guiding light for Kelly in her transition is none other than 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida.

'Buchecha' is currently 4-0 in pro MMA and has a 100% finishing rate inside the circle. He is perhaps the best person to look up to when it comes to effectively translating world-class jiu-jitsu skills into full-blown cagefighting.

'Buchecha' met Kelly in LA for ONE's press conference to promote its Amazon Prime Video partnership. In an interview with ONE Championship, Kelly spoke about what 'Buchecha' told her:

“We briefly talked when we were in LA. He told me he was a little nervous at first. It was new to him because he’s used to jiu-jitsu and the gi. He was just telling me it’s still new, but over time it’s kind of like jiu-jitsu. You get used to grappling through doing sparring rounds, so you can get used to MMA."

Danielle Kelly continued:

“The more you spar, the more you get used to getting punched in the face and the technique battles from standing – because everything changes once you’re getting punched in the face.”

Almeida's words are simple but couldn't be more true. MMA, much like jiu-jitsu or any other combat sport, is largely a game of repetition. One must keep doing the same things to develop muscle memory and elevate their skills to a competitive level.

If Kelly wants to have a successful run in MMA, she really needs to put in the hard sparring rounds in the gym. No other way around it.