BJJ Tips: Escaping the mounted position

Stuck?

In his fantastic book : Jiu-jitsu University: The Daddy of BJJ books!, Saulo Ribeiro tells a story about his meeting with Helio Gracie. The short of it is: Helio told Saulo that irrespective of the latter’s athletic ability and youth he (Saulo) wouldn’t be able to defeat Helio. Helio didn’t say that he could defeat Saulo: Only that he wouldn’t be defeated. Helio was confident that he would survive!

Before you start looking at escaping from side control (or any position for that matter) ask yourself if you are doing all you need to do to survive in the position:

Are you stopping him from anchoring his weight to you with his arms?
Are you stopping him from controlling your neck?
Are you stopping him from controlling your nearside arm?
Are you stopping him from controlling your farside arm?
Are you stopping him from controlling your hips?

Once you have answered yes to these questions, you should find yourself in a position where you can start bridging and creating space between you and your partner (the most important component of escapes). Follow that bridge with a good shrimping motion to connect your nearside elbow and knee and your more than half way to Freeville!

If you want a better (much!) description and more, I highly recommend Saulo’s book and, of course, all his DVDs. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this backdoor escape from the technical mount that I've been working on for a couple of months. It's demonstrated here by a hero of mine Mr Roy Harris with a much younger Mr Roy Dean/




--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters