21/07/2013 - Study Hall (Mount Escapes)

Class #511
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Study Hall, Bristol, UK - 21/07/2013

Today I wanted to drill mount, mainly escapes but a bit of top as well (from the private earlier this week, though I didn't do much of that). That's because I'm teaching mount escapes next week, so wanted to have a play with the techniques to see if I could refine any details. I started off with the bump and frame to butterfly, a relatively basic technique. This isn't an option I often go for, but I do regularly use some of the principles, as per the drilling for some variations later on.

First of all you need to get their hips in range. It was difficult to land this escape if they're still upright, although in that case you would probably go for something else. Knock them forward with a bump and biffing them with your knee. As soon as they're horizontal, frame your arms into their hips and do a powerful bridge (heels as close to your bum as possible, pushing high, on your toes). Stiff arm into both their hips to keep them in the air long enough to bring both your knees through.

You can then kick forward with both legs, using the momentum to also sit up. This should put you directly into butterfly guard, where you can immediately sweep them. If they are still upright, you can sort of still do it sloppily by jamming as much of your knees as you can into the space you create. It ends up being one or one and a half knees, knocking them off to the side at best. Still, that can work too, and will almost certainly be better than staying stuck under mount.

Working on that same principle, I then wanted to do some drilling for technical mount escapes too. I think this particular technique is something I ended up doing naturally a while back, but I've also been taught it by Kev several years ago. The basic idea is wedging something under the leg that they've stepped over. I started off by grabbing it with both arms, shoving the leg forwards as I brought my knee into the space, then using that as a butterfly hook to knock them off.

You need to be careful that first they don't strip your grips (it is much harder to do with just one hand, but not impossible): keeping your elbows tight can help with that, but you also have to be aware of chokes. Secondly, be careful of them immediately passing as you try and knock them off with the butterfly hook. Thirdly, they may be able to scupper your escape completely if they grab lower on the leg you're trying to use to insert your knee before you get started.

Even if you only manage to get a bit of your knee under their leg, you might be able to switch into a sort of x-guard type thing by swinging the other leg around the outside to push on their hip. It looks like just the kind of position Mike would like, so quite possible he's studied something on the topic over at MGinAction: I'll have to ask him next time I see him.

If you get stuck, you could combine it with Saulo's technical mount escape. This isn't something I've tried much, as it feels risky, but I'm going to start drilling it more often as an alternative. Saulo stiff arms with one arm, the other staying back to help defend the neck. Having bent their leg outwards, he then simply sits up at an angle. I find that I end up in a vulnerable position inside their guard if I'm not careful of my pushing arm, as that can put you on your side asking to get your back taken. The principle works though, so just needs more drilling on my part to get used to it.