31/10/2022 - Teaching | Mount | Heel drag escape

Teaching #Evening
Artemis BJJ (7 Easton Rd), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 31/10/2022




Short Version:

• Get one leg flat on the floor, other knee raised
• Turn slightly on your side, just lifting your shoulder
• Step your raised-knee leg over both your flat leg and their leg
• Using your elbow to help pry their leg up, drag their foot over your leg with your heel, also bringing your flat leg knee up
• Turn your hips out to the flat leg side: you can then go to half guard, or shrimp to full guard

Full Version: My personal favourite mount escape is the heel drag, by far the highest percentage way for me to get out from under mount. It's also quite simple, another reason I like it so much. You're in mount, your elbows in a good place for defence, down by their knees. For this escape to work, you need to have one of your legs out flat, just like before. Again, you also need to get on your side: a slight bridging motion will help.



The big danger at this point is that the person on top will switch to technical mount. I recommend just lifting your shoulder slightly, rather than turning all the way on your side: that prevents exposing your back too much. Make sure that your neck is safe if you mess up and they do manage to start turning to technical mount. You also don't want to let them settle into technical mount: immediately prepare your frames to start escaping before they secure the position. You may even be able to disrupt them as they try to shift, using that window of opportunity as they're adjusting their base to enter into your escape.

If they don't get to technical mount (or you're able to work back to the previous position where you'll slightly on your side), wedge an elbow inside their knee. You can either make a frame against their hips, or if you're concerned about your neck, adjust so that you can still pry your elbow under their knee while protecting your collar with your hands (I prefer the latter). As well as chokes, you also need to be wary of their cross-face. If they can control your head, they can flatten you back out, which will make the escape less effective. Use a combination of your elbow and shrimping to shove their knee backwards, on your flat leg side.



Bring your other foot over both your flat leg and the leg they have next to it. That means you can use the heel of that foot to drag their leg over your flat leg. As soon as you get it over, lock half guard and shrimp towards their trapped leg. In half guard, you want to get onto your side as quickly as possible: if you stay flat on your back, you've already done their work for them, as they will want to flatten you out in order to pass half guard. If you're comfortable in half guard, you could stay there and work your attacks.

Alternatively, keep shrimping in the other direction, in order to free your other leg, just like you would with an elbow escape. It's also worth noting that some people, like Roy Dean, recommend just pinching your knees rather than fully triangling your legs around theirs, so that's worth trying too. To help recover full guard, you can also bring your arm across to their opposite shoulder, impeding their movement while aiding yours. Emily Kwok has a handy tip too: if their foot is too flat, making it hard to get your heel in for a drag, slide your flat leg outside to roll their heel up. That will create the space you need in order to insert your heel between their foot and the mat.



A very similar escape, which I don't use much, is the foot lift. Dean shows these two escapes in sequence on his excellent Blue Belt Requirements. The foot lift is for when they have some space underneath their in-step. People won't often do that, in my experience, but if they do, this time just step over your flat leg. Use your foot to hook underneath their instep and lift it over, then as before lock up half guard (your legs are already in position), or shrimp to recover full guard.

Make sure that you pay particular attention to shoving on their knee with this variation, as it is easier for them to slip free (though if that happens, you can always switch to the heel drag). With both escapes, it is important to get the knee of their trapped leg back behind your legs. If they still have their knee past your legs, it makes it much easier for them to move straight into a half guard pass, by driving their knee to the mat and sliding through.


________________
Teaching Notes: I can't think of anything I forgot. Emphasising the leverage of the three motions (elbow under knee, knee to elbow and push down on ankle) is handy, I think that's a good one to keep highlighting.

09/12/2019 - Teaching | Mount | Escape from technical mount to deep half

Teaching #922
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/12/2019

Deep half can be a bit tricky for beginners to get their head around, so I will often show a simple method to get there from under technical mount. This can work as a technical mount escape too. From technical mount, reach your arm behind their leg. Bump, while at the same time pushing their ankle with your other hand to trap their leg between yours.

Protect your neck with your 'bottom' hand, as otherwise they'll have a clear route to choke you. Alternative option to the above is to work on widening any space between the back of their knee and your torso, inserting your top arm into that space. Once you can get your arm through into the gap behind their knee, reach in and grab your gi trousers, by your knee. Start moving your legs towards your head, until there is an opportunity to shove their leg between yours and switch to deep half guard, controlling that leg with both of your own.



Your aim is to get your entire body underneath their leg, accomplished by your swivelling motion. You may need to push off their hip with your other hand, to help that wriggle underneath them. Once you've swivelled, reach your first hand around the outside of their leg, gripping the inside of their knee. You other hand tucks underneath their leg, so they can't grab it.

Finally, your legs are trapping their one leg. Make sure at least one of your legs is hooked over the top, so they can't just remove their leg and pass. Your other leg could be locking your other, or some people prefer to hook under their opponent's leg, meaning they can lift.

_________________
Teaching Notes: The technical mount intro is definitely easier, so I think that works as a simple method for showing deep half. People weren't always staying tight enough, maybe show more of a pass at the end? Though the important part is getting them used to deep half. I could talk more about keeping the legs tight: Faria triangles his legs and squeezes, to prevent them pulling their leg out.

18/09/2019 - Teaching | Mount | Heel drag escape

Teaching #906
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 18/09/2019



Short Version:

• Get one leg flat on the floor, other knee raised
• Turn slightly on your side, just lifting your shoulder
• Step your raised-knee leg over both your flat leg and their leg
• Using your elbow to help pry their leg up, drag their foot over your leg with your heel, also bringing your flat leg knee up
• Turn your hips out to the flat leg side: you can then go to half guard, or shrimp to full guard

Full Version: My personal favourite mount escape is the heel drag, by far the highest percentage way for me to get out from under mount. It's also quite simple, another reason I like it so much. You're in mount, your elbows in a good place for defence, down by their knees. For this escape to work, you need to have one of your legs out flat, just like before. Again, you also need to get on your side: a slight bridging motion will help.



The big danger at this point is that the person on top will switch to technical mount. I recommend just lifting your shoulder slightly, rather than turning all the way on your side: that prevents exposing your back too much. Make sure that your neck is safe if you mess up and they do manage to start turning to technical mount. You also don't want to let them settle into technical mount: immediately prepare your frames to start escaping before they secure the position. You may even be able to disrupt them as they try to shift, using that window of opportunity as they're adjusting their base to enter into your escape.

If they don't get to technical mount (or you're able to work back to the previous position where you'll slightly on your side), wedge an elbow inside their knee. You can either make a frame against their hips, or if you're concerned about your neck, adjust so that you can still pry your elbow under their knee while protecting your collar with your hands (I prefer the latter). As well as chokes, you also need to be wary of their cross-face. If they can control your head, they can flatten you back out, which will make the escape less effective. Use a combination of your elbow and shrimping to shove their knee backwards, on your flat leg side.



Bring your other foot over both your flat leg and the leg they have next to it. That means you can use the heel of that foot to drag their leg over your flat leg. As soon as you get it over, lock half guard and shrimp towards their trapped leg. In half guard, you want to get onto your side as quickly as possible: if you stay flat on your back, you've already done their work for them, as they will want to flatten you out in order to pass half guard. If you're comfortable in half guard, you could stay there and work your attacks.

Alternatively, keep shrimping in the other direction, in order to free your other leg, just like you would with an elbow escape. It's also worth noting that some people, like Roy Dean, recommend just pinching your knees rather than fully triangling your legs around theirs, so that's worth trying too. To help recover full guard, you can also bring your arm across to their opposite shoulder, impeding their movement while aiding yours. Emily Kwok has a handy tip too: if their foot is too flat, making it hard to get your heel in for a drag, slide your flat leg outside to roll their heel up. That will create the space you need in order to insert your heel between their foot and the mat.



A very similar escape, which I don't use much, is the foot lift. Dean shows these two escapes in sequence on his excellent Blue Belt Requirements. The foot lift is for when they have some space underneath their in-step. People won't often do that, in my experience, but if they do, this time just step over your flat leg. Use your foot to hook underneath their instep and lift it over, then as before lock up half guard (your legs are already in position), or shrimp to recover full guard.

Make sure that you pay particular attention to shoving on their knee with this variation, as it is easier for them to slip free (though if that happens, you can always switch to the heel drag). With both escapes, it is important to get the knee of their trapped leg back behind your legs. If they still have their knee past your legs, it makes it much easier for them to move straight into a half guard pass, by driving their knee to the mat and sliding through.


________________
Teaching Notes: Still not sure if that half guard to full guard part is too complex for beginners. Simple way to think about it is elbow under leg, push between. Something to keep practicing, particularly with beginners.

16/09/2019 - Teaching | Mount | Trap & roll

Teaching #905
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/09/2019

Short Version:

• Bump to knock their weight forwards
• Secure their arm to your chest
• Push their trapped-arm side knee back with your elbow
• Step your same-side foot over that leg, slide it towards your other bum cheek
• Bridge up and into them to roll, then immediately posture up

Full Version: For the trap and roll escape (commonly called the 'upa', which presumably means something in Portuguese), a typical starting point would be when they try to establish their first grip on your collar (or your neck, if you aren't wearing a gi) for a choke. That provides you with a chance to trap their arm. The usual grip would be to grab their wrist with your opposite hand, then just above their elbow with your other hand. This is the preferred grip on Gracie Combatives. The reasoning is that this grip prevents your opponent from drawing back their arm for a punch.

There are various other possibilities, such as the option I first learned, which was gripping their wrist with your same side hand, then grabbing the crook of their elbow with your opposite hand. That has the advantage of helping you wedge your elbow and arm into their chest, which provides additional leverage when rolling them over. Having said that, you can still use your elbow with the Gracie Combatives grip, it's just slightly less effective as your arm starts further away from their torso.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 25, 2017 at 12:48am PDT

Whatever grip you choose, you then need to trap their leg on that same side. Otherwise, they will be able to use their leg for base as you attempt to roll them. In order to prevent that, step your same side foot over their lower leg, hooking it in tightly to your bum. This means they are now like a chair with two of its legs missing. If you aren't too flexible and therefore can't easily bring your leg back, push it back with your other leg. For some extra control, slide your controlling foot horizontally across towards your bum, which should eat up some more space. If you aren't flexible, you could try pushing it in place with your other foot (a tip I learned from my student Jim the first time I taught this to him, as he's had part of his hamstring removed).

Even if they can't post with their leg, they might be able to use their knee, so you want to have their leg as tightly locked to your body as possible. Also, be careful that you don't end up hooking both their feet, or leave your other leg in range of their hook. It is possible for the person on top to defend this escape by securing a hook with their free leg, under your non-trapping leg. Therefore, try to keep the leg they might be able to control out of range.

A common problem is that you're having trouble trapping their foot, because it is too high up. If that happens, try using your elbow (or even your hand, if you need more reach, but that could leave your neck vulnerable) to shove their knee backwards, until their lower leg is in range. This is an advantage of the Gracie Combatives grip, as putting a hand behind their triceps puts your elbow in a good position for shoving back their knee.

Yet another option, if their arm is not in range, is to bridge enough to bump them forward, nudging them in the bum with your knee if you want more leverage. That should mean they are forced to post out their hands for balance, a difficult instinct to ignore. That puts their arm within reach. You can then wrap both of your arms around one of theirs, gable gripping your hands (palm to palm). Suck that arm into your chest, clamping it at the elbow.

To finish, you're going to bridge towards that trapped side. As with basic side control escapes, get your heels close to your bum first for maximum leverage. Bridge up and over your shoulder, turning to your knees: this puts you inside their guard. Make sure that you're bridging over your shoulder and not simply rolling over to your side. If you don't raise your hips properly, you may merely give up your back.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 26, 2017 at 1:15am PDT

If you find you need more leverage, most commonly if they are posting with their free hand to stop your roll, you could attempt to dislodge that by pushing their arm off the ground. Alternatively, Rickson Gracie has a great detail, which he demonstrated in a video a while ago. Simply angle your head away from the shoulder you're rolling over: this increases your range of motion.



When you've successfully rolled them over, that puts you in the guard position. Remember to posture up immediately as you reach that position: if you are leaning forwards, they can control your posture, putting you at risk of a submission.
________________
Teaching Notes: Forgot to do the bridging drills, that's important. Getting that angled bridge, could also emphasise it during the side control escape drills, noting how it's got broader applicability? Also, nice details by Matt Thornton: angling trapping leg out, shoulder towards hip.

01/05/2019 - Teaching | Mount | Heel drag escape

Teaching #857
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 01/05/2019

Short Version:

• Get one leg flat on the floor, other knee raised
• Turn slightly on your side, just lifting your shoulder
• Step your raised-knee leg over both your flat leg and their leg
• Using your elbow to help pry their leg up, drag their foot over your leg with your heel, also bringing your flat leg knee up
• Turn your hips out to the flat leg side: you can then go to half guard, or shrimp to full guard

Full Version: My personal favourite mount escape is the heel drag, by far the highest percentage way for me to get out from under mount. It's also quite simple, another reason I like it so much. You're in mount, your elbows in a good place for defence, down by their knees. For this escape to work, you need to have one of your legs out flat, just like before. Again, you also need to get on your side: a slight bridging motion will help.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 6, 2018 at 12:46am PDT

The big danger at this point is that the person on top will switch to technical mount. I recommend just lifting your shoulder slightly, rather than turning all the way on your side: that prevents exposing your back too much. Make sure that your neck is safe if you mess up and they do manage to start turning to technical mount. You also don't want to let them settle into technical mount: immediately prepare your frames to start escaping before they secure the position. You may even be able to disrupt them as they try to shift, using that window of opportunity as they're adjusting their base to enter into your escape.

If they don't get to technical mount (or you're able to work back to the previous position where you'll slightly on your side), wedge an elbow inside their knee. You can either make a frame against their hips, or if you're concerned about your neck, adjust so that you can still pry your elbow under their knee while protecting your collar with your hands (I prefer the latter). As well as chokes, you also need to be wary of their cross-face. If they can control your head, they can flatten you back out, which will make the escape less effective. Use a combination of your elbow and shrimping to shove their knee backwards, on your flat leg side.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 7, 2018 at 12:50am PDT

Bring your other foot over both your flat leg and the leg they have next to it. That means you can use the heel of that foot to drag their leg over your flat leg. As soon as you get it over, lock half guard and shrimp towards their trapped leg. In half guard, you want to get onto your side as quickly as possible: if you stay flat on your back, you've already done their work for them, as they will want to flatten you out in order to pass half guard. If you're comfortable in half guard, you could stay there and work your attacks.

Alternatively, keep shrimping in the other direction, in order to free your other leg, just like you would with an elbow escape. It's also worth noting that some people, like Roy Dean, recommend just pinching your knees rather than fully triangling your legs around theirs, so that's worth trying too. To help recover full guard, you can also bring your arm across to their opposite shoulder, impeding their movement while aiding yours. Emily Kwok has a handy tip too: if their foot is too flat, making it hard to get your heel in for a drag, slide your flat leg outside to roll their heel up. That will create the space you need in order to insert your heel between their foot and the mat.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 7, 2018 at 9:05pm PDT

A very similar escape, which I don't use much, is the foot lift. Dean shows these two escapes in sequence on his excellent Blue Belt Requirements. The foot lift is for when they have some space underneath their in-step. People won't often do that, in my experience, but if they do, this time just step over your flat leg. Use your foot to hook underneath their instep and lift it over, then as before lock up half guard (your legs are already in position), or shrimp to recover full guard.

Make sure that you pay particular attention to shoving on their knee with this variation, as it is easier for them to slip free (though if that happens, you can always switch to the heel drag). With both escapes, it is important to get the knee of their trapped leg back behind your legs. If they still have their knee past your legs, it makes it much easier for them to move straight into a half guard pass, by driving their knee to the mat and sliding through.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 27, 2017 at 12:34am PDT

________________
Teaching Notes: Technically it is now into side control month, but I wanted to make sure I'd covered the heel drag escape from mount given we've had lots of new members recently (I think mainly due to the new venue). Elbow under leg, push between.

29/04/2019 - Teaching | Mount | Trap & roll escape (upa)

Teaching #856
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/04/2019

Short Version:

• Bump to knock their weight forwards
• Secure their arm to your chest
• Push their trapped-arm side knee back with your elbow
• Step your same-side foot over that leg, slide it towards your other bum cheek
• Bridge up and into them to roll, then immediately posture up

Full Version: For the trap and roll escape (commonly called the 'upa', which presumably means something in Portuguese), a typical starting point would be when they try to establish their first grip on your collar (or your neck, if you aren't wearing a gi) for a choke. That provides you with a chance to trap their arm. The usual grip would be to grab their wrist with your opposite hand, then just above their elbow with your other hand. This is the preferred grip on Gracie Combatives. The reasoning is that this grip prevents your opponent from drawing back their arm for a punch.

There are various other possibilities, such as the option I first learned, which was gripping their wrist with your same side hand, then grabbing the crook of their elbow with your opposite hand. That has the advantage of helping you wedge your elbow and arm into their chest, which provides additional leverage when rolling them over. Having said that, you can still use your elbow with the Gracie Combatives grip, it's just slightly less effective as your arm starts further away from their torso.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 25, 2017 at 12:48am PDT

Whatever grip you choose, you then need to trap their leg on that same side. Otherwise, they will be able to use their leg for base as you attempt to roll them. In order to prevent that, step your same side foot over their lower leg, hooking it in tightly to your bum. This means they are now like a chair with two of its legs missing. If you aren't too flexible and therefore can't easily bring your leg back, push it back with your other leg. For some extra control, slide your controlling foot horizontally across towards your bum, which should eat up some more space. If you aren't flexible, you could try pushing it in place with your other foot (a tip I learned from my student Jim the first time I taught this to him, as he's had part of his hamstring removed).

Even if they can't post with their leg, they might be able to use their knee, so you want to have their leg as tightly locked to your body as possible. Also, be careful that you don't end up hooking both their feet, or leave your other leg in range of their hook. It is possible for the person on top to defend this escape by securing a hook with their free leg, under your non-trapping leg. Therefore, try to keep the leg they might be able to control out of range.

A common problem is that you're having trouble trapping their foot, because it is too high up. If that happens, try using your elbow (or even your hand, if you need more reach, but that could leave your neck vulnerable) to shove their knee backwards, until their lower leg is in range. This is an advantage of the Gracie Combatives grip, as putting a hand behind their triceps puts your elbow in a good position for shoving back their knee.

Yet another option, if their arm is not in range, is to bridge enough to bump them forward, nudging them in the bum with your knee if you want more leverage. That should mean they are forced to post out their hands for balance, a difficult instinct to ignore. That puts their arm within reach. You can then wrap both of your arms around one of theirs, gable gripping your hands (palm to palm). Suck that arm into your chest, clamping it at the elbow.

To finish, you're going to bridge towards that trapped side. As with basic side control escapes, get your heels close to your bum first for maximum leverage. Bridge up and over your shoulder, turning to your knees: this puts you inside their guard. Make sure that you're bridging over your shoulder and not simply rolling over to your side. If you don't raise your hips properly, you may merely give up your back.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 26, 2017 at 1:15am PDT

If you find you need more leverage, most commonly if they are posting with their free hand to stop your roll, you could attempt to dislodge that by pushing their arm off the ground. Alternatively, Rickson Gracie has a great detail, which he demonstrated in a video a while ago. Simply angle your head away from the shoulder you're rolling over: this increases your range of motion.



When you've successfully rolled them over, that puts you in the guard position. Remember to posture up immediately as you reach that position: if you are leaning forwards, they can control your posture, putting you at risk of a submission.
________________
Teaching Notes: Forgot to do the bridging drills, that's important. Getting that angled bridge, could also emphasise it during the side control escape drills, noting how it's got broader applicability? Also, nice details by Matt Thornton: angling trapping leg out, shoulder towards hip.

31/10/2018 - Teaching | Mount | Heel Drag Escape

Teaching #809
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 31/10/2018

Short Version:

• Get one leg flat on the floor, other knee raised
• Turn slightly on your side, just lifting your shoulder
• Step your raised-knee leg over both your flat leg and their leg
• Using your elbow to help pry their leg up, drag their foot over your leg with your heel, also bringing your flat leg knee up
• Turn your hips out to the flat leg side: you can then go to half guard, or shrimp to full guard

Full Version: My personal favourite mount escape is the heel drag, by far the highest percentage way for me to get out from under mount. It's also quite simple, another reason I like it so much. You're in mount, your elbows in a good place for defence, down by their knees. For this escape to work, you need to have one of your legs out flat, just like before. Again, you also need to get on your side: a slight bridging motion will help.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 6, 2018 at 12:46am PDT

The big danger at this point is that the person on top will switch to technical mount. I recommend just lifting your shoulder slightly, rather than turning all the way on your side: that prevents exposing your back too much. Make sure that your neck is safe if you mess up and they do manage to start turning to technical mount. You also don't want to let them settle into technical mount: immediately prepare your frames to start escaping before they secure the position. You may even be able to disrupt them as they try to shift, using that window of opportunity as they're adjusting their base to enter into your escape.

If they don't get to technical mount (or you're able to work back to the previous position where you'll slightly on your side), wedge an elbow inside their knee. You can either make a frame against their hips, or if you're concerned about your neck, adjust so that you can still pry your elbow under their knee while protecting your collar with your hands (I prefer the latter). As well as chokes, you also need to be wary of their cross-face. If they can control your head, they can flatten you back out, which will make the escape less effective. Use a combination of your elbow and shrimping to shove their knee backwards, on your flat leg side.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 7, 2018 at 12:50am PDT

Bring your other foot over both your flat leg and the leg they have next to it. That means you can use the heel of that foot to drag their leg over your flat leg. As soon as you get it over, lock half guard and shrimp towards their trapped leg. In half guard, you want to get onto your side as quickly as possible: if you stay flat on your back, you've already done their work for them, as they will want to flatten you out in order to pass half guard. If you're comfortable in half guard, you could stay there and work your attacks.

Alternatively, keep shrimping in the other direction, in order to free your other leg, just like you would with an elbow escape. It's also worth noting that some people, like Roy Dean, recommend just pinching your knees rather than fully triangling your legs around theirs, so that's worth trying too. To help recover full guard, you can also bring your arm across to their opposite shoulder, impeding their movement while aiding yours. Emily Kwok has a handy tip too: if their foot is too flat, making it hard to get your heel in for a drag, slide your flat leg outside to roll their heel up. That will create the space you need in order to insert your heel between their foot and the mat.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 7, 2018 at 9:05pm PDT

A very similar escape, which I don't use much, is the foot lift. Dean shows these two escapes in sequence on his excellent Blue Belt Requirements. The foot lift is for when they have some space underneath their in-step. People won't often do that, in my experience, but if they do, this time just step over your flat leg. Use your foot to hook underneath their instep and lift it over, then as before lock up half guard (your legs are already in position), or shrimp to recover full guard.

Make sure that you pay particular attention to shoving on their knee with this variation, as it is easier for them to slip free (though if that happens, you can always switch to the heel drag). With both escapes, it is important to get the knee of their trapped leg back behind your legs. If they still have their knee past your legs, it makes it much easier for them to move straight into a half guard pass, by driving their knee to the mat and sliding through.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 27, 2017 at 12:34am PDT

_______________________
Teaching Notes: The half guard bit is confusing people, I need to make clear it is just one leg hooking over their leg, rather than a sort of backwards kickstand over your own leg. The most difficult part of this for people is normally getting their leg over the top, a problem that can be solved by them turning more on their side. It is important to not turn so much that you give up your back, but that can also be mitigated by blocking their hip with your elbow. I often don't mention that option during the teaching, but it would be worth throwing that in with a note that it's useful if you find it hard to get your leg in place. That's mainly therefore for people who are either sufficiently tall that their leg won't get there without a turn, or they're less flexible.

Pushing the leg down further helps with that too, as long as you're careful with the neck. A more brutish option is to simply grab their leg and lift it, which works too, but could expose your neck to attack if you don't leave a hand behind to defend it.

29/10/2018 - Teaching | Mount | Trap & Roll

Teaching #808
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/10/2018

Short Version:

• Bump to knock their weight forwards
• Secure their arm to your chest
• Push their trapped-arm side knee back with your elbow
• Step your same-side foot over that leg, slide it towards your other bum cheek
• Bridge up and into them to roll, then immediately posture up

Full Version: For the trap and roll escape (commonly called the 'upa', which presumably means something in Portuguese), a typical starting point would be when they try to establish their first grip on your collar (or your neck, if you aren't wearing a gi) for a choke. That provides you with a chance to trap their arm. The usual grip would be to grab their wrist with your opposite hand, then just above their elbow with your other hand. This is the preferred grip on Gracie Combatives. The reasoning is that this grip prevents your opponent from drawing back their arm for a punch.

There are various other possibilities, such as the option I first learned, which was gripping their wrist with your same side hand, then grabbing the crook of their elbow with your opposite hand. That has the advantage of helping you wedge your elbow and arm into their chest, which provides additional leverage when rolling them over. Having said that, you can still use your elbow with the Gracie Combatives grip, it's just slightly less effective as your arm starts further away from their torso.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 25, 2017 at 12:48am PDT

Whatever grip you choose, you then need to trap their leg on that same side. Otherwise, they will be able to use their leg for base as you attempt to roll them. In order to prevent that, step your same side foot over their lower leg, hooking it in tightly to your bum. This means they are now like a chair with two of its legs missing. If you aren't too flexible and therefore can't easily bring your leg back, push it back with your other leg. For some extra control, slide your controlling foot horizontally across towards your bum, which should eat up some more space. If you aren't flexible, you could try pushing it in place with your other foot (a tip I learned from my student Jim the first time I taught this to him, as he's had part of his hamstring removed).

Even if they can't post with their leg, they might be able to use their knee, so you want to have their leg as tightly locked to your body as possible. Also, be careful that you don't end up hooking both their feet, or leave your other leg in range of their hook. It is possible for the person on top to defend this escape by securing a hook with their free leg, under your non-trapping leg. Therefore, try to keep the leg they might be able to control out of range.

A common problem is that you're having trouble trapping their foot, because it is too high up. If that happens, try using your elbow (or even your hand, if you need more reach, but that could leave your neck vulnerable) to shove their knee backwards, until their lower leg is in range. This is an advantage of the Gracie Combatives grip, as putting a hand behind their triceps puts your elbow in a good position for shoving back their knee.

Yet another option, if their arm is not in range, is to bridge enough to bump them forward, nudging them in the bum with your knee if you want more leverage. That should mean they are forced to post out their hands for balance, a difficult instinct to ignore. That puts their arm within reach. You can then wrap both of your arms around one of theirs, gable gripping your hands (palm to palm). Suck that arm into your chest, clamping it at the elbow.

To finish, you're going to bridge towards that trapped side. As with basic side control escapes, get your heels close to your bum first for maximum leverage. Bridge up and over your shoulder, turning to your knees: this puts you inside their guard. Make sure that you're bridging over your shoulder and not simply rolling over to your side. If you don't raise your hips properly, you may merely give up your back.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 26, 2017 at 1:15am PDT

If you find you need more leverage, most commonly if they are posting with their free hand to stop your roll, you could attempt to dislodge that by pushing their arm off the ground. Alternatively, Rickson Gracie has a great detail, which he demonstrated in a video a while ago. Simply angle your head away from the shoulder you're rolling over: this increases your range of motion.



When you've successfully rolled them over, that puts you in the guard position. Remember to posture up immediately as you reach that position: if you are leaning forwards, they can control your posture, putting you at risk of a submission.
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Teaching Notes: If they block by posting on their hand, you can bump past it by off-balancing them again. However, bump to which plane of force? Show the bump past the hand.

30/05/2018 - Teaching | Mount | Heel Drag Escape

Teaching #782
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/05/2018

Short Version:

• Get one leg flat on the floor, other knee raised
• Turn slightly on your side, just lifting your shoulder
• Step your raised-knee leg over both your flat leg and their leg
• Using your elbow to help pry their leg up, drag their foot over your leg with your heel, also bringing your flat leg knee up
• Turn your hips out to the flat leg side: you can then go to half guard, or shrimp to full guard

Full Version: My personal favourite mount escape is the heel drag, by far the highest percentage way for me to get out from under mount. It's also quite simple, another reason I like it so much. You're in mount, your elbows in a good place for defence, down by their knees. For this escape to work, you need to have one of your legs out flat, just like before. Again, you also need to get on your side: a slight bridging motion will help.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 6, 2018 at 12:46am PDT

The big danger at this point is that the person on top will switch to technical mount. I recommend just lifting your shoulder slightly, rather than turning all the way on your side: that prevents exposing your back too much. Make sure that your neck is safe if you mess up and they do manage to start turning to technical mount. You also don't want to let them settle into technical mount: immediately prepare your frames to start escaping before they secure the position. You may even be able to disrupt them as they try to shift, using that window of opportunity as they're adjusting their base to enter into your escape.

If they don't get to technical mount (or you're able to work back to the previous position where you'll slightly on your side), wedge an elbow inside their knee. You can either make a frame against their hips, or if you're concerned about your neck, adjust so that you can still pry your elbow under their knee while protecting your collar with your hands (I prefer the latter). As well as chokes, you also need to be wary of their cross-face. If they can control your head, they can flatten you back out, which will make the escape less effective. Use a combination of your elbow and shrimping to shove their knee backwards, on your flat leg side.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 7, 2018 at 12:50am PDT

Bring your other foot over both your flat leg and the leg they have next to it. That means you can use the heel of that foot to drag their leg over your flat leg. As soon as you get it over, lock half guard and shrimp towards their trapped leg. In half guard, you want to get onto your side as quickly as possible: if you stay flat on your back, you've already done their work for them, as they will want to flatten you out in order to pass half guard. If you're comfortable in half guard, you could stay there and work your attacks.

Alternatively, keep shrimping in the other direction, in order to free your other leg, just like you would with an elbow escape. It's also worth noting that some people, like Roy Dean, recommend just pinching your knees rather than fully triangling your legs around theirs, so that's worth trying too. To help recover full guard, you can also bring your arm across to their opposite shoulder, impeding their movement while aiding yours. Emily Kwok has a handy tip too: if their foot is too flat, making it hard to get your heel in for a drag, slide your flat leg outside to roll their heel up. That will create the space you need in order to insert your heel between their foot and the mat.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jun 7, 2018 at 9:05pm PDT

A very similar escape, which I don't use much, is the foot lift. Dean shows these two escapes in sequence on his excellent Blue Belt Requirements. The foot lift is for when they have some space underneath their in-step. People won't often do that, in my experience, but if they do, this time just step over your flat leg. Use your foot to hook underneath their instep and lift it over, then as before lock up half guard (your legs are already in position), or shrimp to recover full guard.

Make sure that you pay particular attention to shoving on their knee with this variation, as it is easier for them to slip free (though if that happens, you can always switch to the heel drag). With both escapes, it is important to get the knee of their trapped leg back behind your legs. If they still have their knee past your legs, it makes it much easier for them to move straight into a half guard pass, by driving their knee to the mat and sliding through.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 27, 2017 at 12:34am PDT

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Teaching Notes: The most difficult part of this for people appeared to be getting their leg over the top, a problem that going around in drilling was solved by them turning more on their side. It is important to not turn so much that you give up your back, but that can also be mitigated by blocking their hip with your elbow. I often don't mention that option during the teaching, but it would be worth throwing that in with a note that it's useful if you find it hard to get your leg in place. That's mainly therefore for people who are either sufficiently tall that their leg won't get there without a turn, or they're less flexible.

Pushing the leg down further helps with that too, as long as you're careful with the neck. A more brutish option is to simply grab their leg and lift it, which works too, but could expose your neck to attack if you don't leave a hand behind to defend it.

27/10/2017 - Teaching | Mount | Elbow Escape

Teaching #717
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 27/10/2017

Short Version:

• Get one leg flat on the floor, other knee raised
• Turn slightly on your side, just lifting your shoulder
• Pry their knee up with your elbow, bringing your knee up at the same time
• After pushing their leg over, shrimp your hips and bring your outside leg over/li>
  
• You can now either go to half guard, or keep shrimping to recover full guard

Full Version: As a general rule, if you're underneath, you don't want to be flat on your back. So, start your elbow escape by turning to your side, getting a shoulder off the floor (be careful of turning too far, or they will find it easier to slip to technical mount). Saulo notes that you should be doing this as early as possible: if they are working to mount from side control, set up your escape during the transition, rather than waiting for them to secure their mount.

Work an elbow inside their knee and set up your frame, in order to push into the leg. There are several ways of framing for that push. I personally like to keep defending my neck throughout, using my elbows to dig into their leg. That keeps my neck safe, but it does limit your range and reduce leverage: you'll need to curl in towards their leg to generate enough push.

The other main option is to extend your arms further towards their hip, leaving your neck vulnerable but considerably beefing up your leverage. That frame is also handy for stopping them moving up higher in mount. Xande teaches that frame on BJJ Library too, addressing my concern by showing how once you have the frame and you're on your side, any move they make should give you an opening to quickly upa and shove the leg back.

That frame also means you can choose whether to push with your elbow, as in my preferred version, or switch to the additional leverage of your hand. Either way, once you have shoved that leg up and over, immediately base on your outside foot to turn your knee inwards and get on your side. Underhook their armpit and bump, as you would in a basic half guard.

 When I went to the seminar with a Dutch black belt under Rickson, Michel Verhoeven, he began by reaching across to their opposite hip with his hand, keeping his arm slightly bent. He then pushed on the hip: if they were higher up, he would form a frame with his arms and push. The typical frame involves putting one arm across their hip (the hand is by one hip, the elbow by their other hip).

For extra leverage, brace that first arm with your other hand, against your wrist. Stephan Kesting recommends keeping the hand of the hip-arm in a fist, to lock in the grip (so your second hand doesn't slide off as easily). To hinder them turning to technical mount, position your elbow slightly past their hip.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 30, 2017 at 1:29am PDT

Whichever option you use, the idea is to make enough space from the combination of your shrimp and bridge to pull your leg through. If you're going with the Rener version, you can use that little bump to help pull your leg either through or under their leg.

As with side control escapes, don't just bridge and plop back down, it needs to combine with your shrimp. The leg you're trying to pull free should be flat: if it isn't, they will be able to trap it with their leg. Having that leg flat also makes it easier to pull out. You other foot will be on the floor with the knee raised, in order to provide the push for your shrimp.

 After you're on your side, bump slightly, then you can also pry their leg open with your elbow. Aim to pop your knee through between their legs initially. If you can pull the whole leg out in one, great, but don't be greedy if you're having to strain.

Getting that first knee through will mean you can then brace your leg against their thigh, aiding your second shrimp to free your other leg. Once one of your legs is fully out, you can then use it to wrap around one of theirs and hook under their leg with your instep, or put your free leg around their back (be sure to clamp down if you do that).

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 30, 2017 at 10:15pm PDT

You now have the option of moving to half guard (especially if you've wrapped their leg, you're basically there already), open guard (e.g., butterfly) or continue working for full guard. Just push off your non-hooking foot to shrimp. As with escapes under side control, keep shrimping until you have the room to pull your leg free. Even if you can't wrap their leg, you can jam your outside leg tight to theirs, then use that for your base to shrimp.
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Teaching Notes: Pushing off the other foot seems to make sense for the shrimp, I'll keep describing it that way. Describing it as prying up their knee with your elbow might help too, a few people got a little confused as they were still thinking of the heel drag from earlier in the week.

25/10/2017 - Teaching | Mount | Heel Drag Escape

Teaching #715
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/10/2017

Short Version:

• Get one leg flat on the floor, other knee raised
• Turn slightly on your side, just lifting your shoulder
• Step your raised-knee leg over both your flat leg and their leg
• Using your elbow to help pry their leg up, drag their foot over your leg with your heel, also bringing your flat leg knee up
• Turn your hips out to the flat leg side: you can then go to half guard, or shrimp to full guard

Full Version: My personal favourite mount escape is the heel drag, by far the highest percentage way for me to get out from under mount. It's also quite simple, another reason I like it so much. You're in mount, your elbows in a good place for defence, down by their knees. For this escape to work, you need to have one of your legs out flat, just like before. Again, you also need to get on your side: a slight bridging motion will help.

The big danger at this point is that the person on top will switch to technical mount. I recommend just lifting your shoulder slightly, rather than turning all the way on your side: that prevents exposing your back too much. Make sure that your neck is safe if you mess up and they do manage to start turning to technical mount. You also don't want to let them settle into technical mount: immediately prepare your frames to start escaping before they secure the position. You may even be able to disrupt them as they try to shift, using that window of opportunity as they're adjusting their base to enter into your escape.

If they don't get to technical mount (or you're able to work back to the previous position where you'll slightly on your side), wedge an elbow inside their knee. You can either make a frame against their hips, or if you're concerned about your neck, adjust so that you can still pry your elbow under their knee while protecting your collar with your hands (I prefer the latter). As well as chokes, you also need to be wary of their cross-face. If they can control your head, they can flatten you back out, which will make the escape less effective. Use a combination of your elbow and shrimping to shove their knee backwards, on your flat leg side.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 27, 2017 at 12:34am PDT

Bring your other foot over both your flat leg and the leg they have next to it. That means you can use the heel of that foot to drag their leg over your flat leg. As soon as you get it over, lock half guard and shrimp towards their trapped leg. In half guard, you want to get onto your side as quickly as possible: if you stay flat on your back, you've already done their work for them, as they will want to flatten you out in order to pass half guard. If you're comfortable in half guard, you could stay there and work your attacks.

Alternatively, keep shrimping in the other direction, in order to free your other leg, just like you would with an elbow escape. It's also worth noting that some people, like Roy Dean, recommend just pinching your knees rather than fully triangling your legs around theirs, so that's worth trying too. To help recover full guard, you can also bring your arm across to their opposite shoulder, impeding their movement while aiding yours. Emily Kwok has a handy tip too: if their foot is too flat, making it hard to get your heel in for a drag, slide your flat leg outside to roll their heel up. That will create the space you need in order to insert your heel between their foot and the mat.

A very similar escape, which I don't use much, is the foot lift. Dean shows these two escapes in sequence on his excellent Blue Belt Requirements. The foot lift is for when they have some space underneath their in-step. People won't often do that, in my experience, but if they do, this time just step over your flat leg. Use your foot to hook underneath their instep and lift it over, then as before lock up half guard (your legs are already in position), or shrimp to recover full guard.

Make sure that you pay particular attention to shoving on their knee with this variation, as it is easier for them to slip free (though if that happens, you can always switch to the heel drag). With both escapes, it is important to get the knee of their trapped leg back behind your legs. If they still have their knee past your legs, it makes it much easier for them to move straight into a half guard pass, by driving their knee to the mat and sliding through.
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Teaching Notes: The complexity of that heel drag motion (which is three things at once: the drag, knee coming up and prying with your elbow) is still confusing beginners. I tried to simplify it by just stopping at half guard rather than going all the way to closed, but that then brought in fresh confusion for them as they aren't all familiar with half guard. So, I think I will stick with the elbow escape to start, then show the heel drag on a Friday some time (as that's my designated 'can do slightly more complex stuff if I want to' class ;D).

23/10/2017 - Teaching | Mount | Trap & Roll

Teaching #714
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 23/10/2017

Short Version:

• Bump to knock their weight forwards
• Secure their arm to your chest
• Push their trapped-arm side knee back with your elbow
• Step your same-side foot over that leg, slide it towards your other bum cheek
• Bridge up and into them to roll, then immediately posture up

Full Version: For the trap and roll escape (commonly called the 'upa', which presumably means something in Portuguese), a typical starting point would be when they try to establish their first grip on your collar (or your neck, if you aren't wearing a gi) for a choke. That provides you with a chance to trap their arm. The usual grip would be to grab their wrist with your opposite hand, then just above their elbow with your other hand. This is the preferred grip on Gracie Combatives. The reasoning is that this grip prevents your opponent from drawing back their arm for a punch.

There are various other possibilities, such as the option I first learned, which was gripping their wrist with your same side hand, then grabbing the crook of their elbow with your opposite hand. That has the advantage of helping you wedge your elbow and arm into their chest, which provides additional leverage when rolling them over. Having said that, you can still use your elbow with the Gracie Combatives grip, it's just slightly less effective as your arm starts further away from their torso.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 25, 2017 at 12:48am PDT

Whatever grip you choose, you then need to trap their leg on that same side. Otherwise, they will be able to use their leg for base as you attempt to roll them. In order to prevent that, step your same side foot over their lower leg, hooking it in tightly to your bum. This means they are now like a chair with two of its legs missing. If you aren't too flexible and therefore can't easily bring your leg back, push it back with your other leg. For some extra control, slide your controlling foot horizontally across towards your bum, which should eat up some more space. If you aren't flexible, you could try pushing it in place with your other foot (a tip I learned from my student Jim the first time I taught this to him, as he's had part of his hamstring removed).

Even if they can't post with their leg, they might be able to use their knee, so you want to have their leg as tightly locked to your body as possible. Also, be careful that you don't end up hooking both their feet, or leave your other leg in range of their hook. It is possible for the person on top to defend this escape by securing a hook with their free leg, under your non-trapping leg. Therefore, try to keep the leg they might be able to control out of range.

A common problem is that you're having trouble trapping their foot, because it is too high up. If that happens, try using your elbow (or even your hand, if you need more reach, but that could leave your neck vulnerable) to shove their knee backwards, until their lower leg is in range. This is an advantage of the Gracie Combatives grip, as putting a hand behind their triceps puts your elbow in a good position for shoving back their knee.

Yet another option, if their arm is not in range, is to bridge enough to bump them forward, nudging them in the bum with your knee if you want more leverage. That should mean they are forced to post out their hands for balance, a difficult instinct to ignore. That puts their arm within reach. You can then wrap both of your arms around one of theirs, gable gripping your hands (palm to palm). Suck that arm into your chest, clamping it at the elbow.

To finish, you're going to bridge towards that trapped side. As with basic side control escapes, get your heels close to your bum first for maximum leverage. Bridge up and over your shoulder, turning to your knees: this puts you inside their guard. Make sure that you're bridging over your shoulder and not simply rolling over to your side. If you don't raise your hips properly, you may merely give up your back.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Oct 26, 2017 at 1:15am PDT

If you find you need more leverage, most commonly if they are posting with their free hand to stop your roll, you could attempt to dislodge that by pushing their arm off the ground. Alternatively, Rickson Gracie has a great detail, which he demonstrated in a video a while ago. Simply angle your head away from the shoulder you're rolling over: this increases your range of motion.



When you've successfully rolled them over, that puts you in the guard position. Remember to posture up immediately as you reach that position: if you are leaning forwards, they can control your posture, putting you at risk of a submission.
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Teaching Notes: Next time, I should include something about bumping to redirect their weight, particularly when they try and prevent the roll by posting their other arm or using their forehead on the mat. That could potentially add enough extra detail to split the trap and roll into two lessons, with the basic variation plus details, then the other variations (e.g., bumping forwards to get them to post arms, trapping arm when they've wrapped up your head, removing grapevines, etc) into another lesson.

It would be good to teach Mike C's option, where you use the elbow to trap and angle trapping leg knee out. A few people had questions on grips, but I don't think that matters too much as long as you are controlling the arm. I like certain grips so my elbow is in place to push the knee, so that's the one I normally show.