The mount position is one of the most basic positions in BJJ. If you have been present at a few training sessions, then you definitely know what it is. It’s when a BJJ practitioner is sitting on top of the belly area of his opponent. This is a very dominant position for the person above and there are many attacking moves that one can perform from here. The triangle, Kimura, Americana, various chokes( Ezekiel, arm triangle etc.) – all of them are ready for the taking. But if there is one thing that’s difficult to do in BJJ, then it’s to escape from the mount. But this is not something that’s impossible. Below you will learn more about BJJ mount escapes.
Variations of the mount escapes
You don’t even need to use the gi for many of the mount escapes – meaning you can use them in a no-gi environment as well. The first thing that you could try is to push your opponent at the hip level with the help of your arms. Extend your arms and then do the most powerful hip thrust (or bridge) that you can muster from the position. Depending on the weight of your opponent, this can be a very difficult thing to do at times.
Once you see your opening – you need to immediately perform a shrimp and put in one knee outside of the mount. After this, it will be easy for you to at least get to half-guard – which is a much better position for you than the bottom mount.
There are a few other variations that are a bit more complicated than this one. For the second variation of the BJJ mount escape, you need to grab your opponent’s opposite arm at the elbow and pull the elbow towards your belly. If performed properly, this will neutralize your opponent’s chance of posting with his hand. Then you need to block your opponent’s leg on the same side with your own leg, from the outside. Finally, you need to bridge and push your opponent to the side where he can’t post with his arm. If done properly, then you will topple your opponent’s base and end up in top closed-guard or better.
There is one unorthodox escape from the mount position that you could also try out – perhaps it will succeed in a critical situation. But you need to be a bit more flexible in order to apply this move. Starting from the bottom mount position, you need to throw your legs behind and put your feet on the chest of your opponent. If done speedily enough, this can catch your opponent off guard. Few people are trained to be mindful of this move because of how uncommon it is. Then you can use your legs to push your opponent away so that he will lose his base and to get a more favorable position. But, to say the least, this is not a high-percentage move.
Defending the mount escapes
If you have mounted your opponent – good job. You are well on your way to dominating the bout. But you must not be too careless when in the mount. While the fact of the matter is that your opponent will have the brunt of the work while trying to perform the mount escapes – it’s also true that you can just sit around idly. You need to be mindful of what your opponent can do. One of the best options that you could try out in order to neutralize your opponent’s escape plans is to do the high mount. Isolate your opponent’s arms and climb higher on his chest with your butt. He will be powerless. Another variant is the S mount where you will put one of your legs under your opponent’s head. If performed properly – this will neutralize any movement of your opponent.
Check also:
- Side Control Escapes That you Must Learn
- Basic Guard Passes every White Belt should learn
- Basic Jiu Jitsu moves every white belt should know
- Heel hook: How to Do and Defend this Leg Lock
