A hands-on review of Craig Jones’ fatigue-based guard passing system, breaking down what works, what doesn’t, and who should buy it.
Last updated: March 2026
Power Top: Penetrate and Pull Out of Dangerous Entanglements
Craig Jones’ fatigue-based passing system: exhaust your opponent before committing to any pass.
- ⏰ ~5 hours across 6 volumes
- 📅 Released 2023
- 🎯 Craig Jones
- 🥋 No-gi only
- 🏆 Intermediate to advanced
- 💰 $197 retail (frequent sales)
What Is Power Top Actually About?
The subtitle says “Penetrate and Pull Out of Dangerous Entanglements,” which suggests leg lock defense content. Don’t be fooled. There’s one short section on clearing single X guard, and that’s it. Power Top is a guard passing instructional built around one idea: exhaust the bottom player before you commit to any pass.
This is not a traditional guard passing instructional where you learn how to pass de la riva, closed guard, half guard, etc. Instead, Craig’s philosophy is to prevent the bottom player from ever establishing a guard in the first place. You learn to pressure and disengage (“penetrate and pull out”) until the bottom player is too tired to mount any real guard offense.
Craig organizes everything around three types of guard players and how to shut each one down:
| Guard Player Type | Craig’s Strategy | Key Techniques |
|---|---|---|
| On their back (supine) | Side-to-side passing to north-south pressure, forcing continuous crunches | Stepping around, foot placement details, north-south style positions from standing |
| Seated | Push them to their back repeatedly, threaten body lock passes as they try to recover | Body lock pass threats, shin-on-shin prevention |
| Trying to stand up | Prevent getups with the underhook, break them down systematically | Underhook control, 4-point to turtle to hip to pin sequence |
Volume-by-Volume Breakdown
Volume 1: Passing Philosophy & Approaching Seated Guards
- Core “power top” mentality: never give the bottom player anything
- Craig’s framework: the 3 types of guard players requiring different approaches
- How to push seated players to their back and fatigue them
- Body lock pass threats as opponents try to stand back up
Volume 2: Passing Supine (On-Back) Guards
- Side-to-side passing against players lying on their back
- Stepping around to north-south style positions while standing
- Specific foot placement details for maximum pressure with minimum effort
- Forcing the bottom player to do continuous crunches until they gas
Volume 3: Managing Standing Opponents
- Preventing getups with the underhook
- Breaking people down from 4-point position to turtle, to hip, then to pin
- Wrestling-based approaches to re-engaging from standing
- Controlling MMA-style explosive athletes who won’t stay down
Volume 4: Specific Passing Techniques
- Leg drags, stacks, and torreandos
- Body lock passes and north-south pressure transitions
- How these passes integrate with the fatigue-first philosophy
Volume 5: Leg Entanglement Defense
- Clearing shin-on-shin and escaping ashi garami
- Getting out of single X guard
- Note: This is the shortest and thinnest section despite the subtitle promising more
Volume 6: Integration & Combinations
- Combining passing with pinning (connects to Craig’s Power Ride system)
- Transitional sequences between volumes
- Competition-specific strategies for no-gi
What Makes Power Top Stand Out
The fatigue strategy is the real innovation here. Most passing instructionals teach you how to solve each guard individually. Craig’s approach is different: tire the opponent out before committing to any specific pass. You pressure from standing, force them to crunch and re-guard repeatedly, and only commit when they’re gassed.
This mirrors how Kade Ruotolo defeated Lachlan Giles at ADCC 2022. Lachlan is arguably one of the best guard players from his back in no-gi, and Kade broke him down using exactly this pressure-and-fatigue approach. Craig developed this system through ADCC preparation and B-Team competition training, and it represents the current meta in no-gi competition passing.
Power Top is also part of a trilogy with Power Ride (pinning) and Power Bottom (guard). Together they form Craig’s complete positional game. Power Top handles the passing, Power Ride handles what you do once you’ve passed.
And true to form, Craig makes the material genuinely entertaining. The sex jokes are relentless. If you share his terribly childish sense of humor (I do), you’ll enjoy the watch even on sections you can’t immediately apply.
What the Community Says
“Craig is funny, interesting and to the point.”
Max, BJJMore review“Craig Jones DVDs offers lots of variety, particularly in terms of passing.”
Ognen Dzabirski, BJJ World (rated 8/10 as part of Down Under Top Game bundle)The community reception is mixed but honest. No-gi competitors who face a lot of seated and supine guard players report strong results. Grapplers who train primarily in the gi or whose training partners don’t play these guard styles find less immediate value.
My Verdict
I tried to give you a lot of objective information about Power Top, because I personally didn’t love this instructional, but I can see how other people can love it.
If you focus more on no-gi and on winning competitions than I do, this is a great instructional. It gives an overview of modern guard passing, exactly how you saw it at ADCC 2022. Craig’s a great teacher as always, with great details, jokes here and there and not too much repetition.
But it didn’t fully land for me, for a few specific reasons:
- Not many of my training partners play supine guard – I play this style of guard a lot myself, so it’s interesting to see how people should pass me. But I can’t practice these techniques on other people consistently.
- Too no-gi specific for my training – I train in the gi half the time, and Craig himself says this style doesn’t work as well in the gi because people can get spider guard.
- The “pulling out” strategy slows my learning – I understand that disengaging before the opponent establishes guard is effective for competition. But I feel like I learn slower if I spend half my rolls pulling out rather than engaging. Great for tournaments, less great for daily training.
✅ What’s Great
- Unique philosophical framework organizing passing around 3 guard player types
- Fatigue-based strategy is the current meta in ADCC/no-gi competition
- Competition-proven: mirrors Kade Ruotolo’s ADCC 2022 approach
- Craig is an efficient, entertaining teacher (5 hours, no filler)
- Complements Power Ride perfectly for a complete top game system
❌ What Could Be Better
- Very no-gi specific; Craig acknowledges limited gi applicability (spider guard breaks the system)
- Not a guard-by-guard passing system – won’t teach you how to pass de la riva, closed guard, etc.
- Leg entanglement section is underdeveloped despite the subtitle promising more
- Mixed applicability depending on your training partners’ guard styles
- Less complete than Gordon Ryan’s Systematically Attacking from Top (20+ hours) or Lachlan Giles’ Guard Passing Anthology
Who Should Buy Power Top (And Who Should Skip It)
| Buy If… | Skip If… |
|---|---|
| You compete in no-gi or sub-only events | You train primarily in the gi |
| Your opponents play a lot of seated or supine guard | You want a systematic A-Z passing encyclopedia |
| You want the current ADCC-style pressure passing approach | You’re a beginner who needs to learn basic guard passing first |
| You already own Power Ride and want the companion passing system | You want deep leg lock defense (the subtitle is misleading) |
| You learn well from high-level conceptual frameworks | You need something that works equally in gi and no-gi |
Best pairing: Buy Power Top together with Power Ride. Power Top teaches you how to pass, Power Ride teaches you how to control once you’ve passed. Together they form Craig’s complete top game system.
Related Craig Jones Instructionals
FAQ: Craig Jones Power Top
What is Power Top by Craig Jones about?
Power Top is a no-gi guard passing instructional built around a fatigue-based philosophy. Instead of teaching you how to pass individual guards (de la riva, closed guard, etc.), Craig teaches you to exhaust the bottom player through relentless pressure before committing to any pass. He organizes his approach around three types of guard players: those on their back, seated players, and those trying to stand up. Each requires a different strategy.
Is Power Top good for beginners?
Not really. The concepts are high-level and assume you already have basic passing skills. If you’re a white belt, you’ll get more value from a traditional guard passing instructional that teaches you how to pass specific guards first. If you’re a blue belt or higher with solid no-gi fundamentals, Power Top’s framework will click much faster. Craig also doesn’t spend time explaining basic positions or grips.
What’s the difference between Power Top and Power Bottom?
Power Top is about guard passing (playing top against different guard styles), while Power Bottom is Craig’s guard playing instructional. Together with Power Ride (pinning/control), they form Craig’s complete positional trilogy. If you’re buying just one, pick the one that matches your biggest weakness. If you’re buying two, Power Top + Power Ride gives you a complete top game system.
How long is Power Top?
Approximately 5 hours across 6 volumes. Individual volumes range from about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Volume 5 (leg entanglement defense) is the shortest. Craig keeps the instruction efficient with minimal repetition, which is typical of his teaching style.
What is the best Craig Jones passing instructional?
Power Top is Craig’s most complete passing instructional, covering his full no-gi passing philosophy. His Higher Tripod Passing is more focused and technical, covering specific pressure passing sequences in more detail. For a complete top game, pair Power Top with Power Ride. If you want more comprehensive passing coverage beyond Craig’s material, Gordon Ryan’s Systematically Attacking from Top is the most thorough option at 20+ hours.
Does Power Top work in the gi?
Craig himself acknowledges it doesn’t work as well in the gi. The side-to-side passing against supine guards relies on the opponent not being able to establish grips, but in the gi, spider guard and other grip-based guards break the strategy. If you train in the gi more than half the time, this instructional will have limited direct applicability.
Ready to Pass Like Craig Jones?
Power Top teaches the fatigue-based passing system that’s dominating no-gi competition. If you compete no-gi, this is the current meta.
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