Back mount escapes

The moment they ask us to choose between two different paths, the implicit message is that we can only follow one. -Daniele Bolelli, On The Warrior’s Path



Wednesday lunchtime BJJ at Gracie Sea.


Bad guy begins in side control, switches to scarf, starts punching your face. You block bicep, hip up (Do *NOT* shrimp- needed a mental nudge every time), bring BOTTOM knee in onto hir chest. Bring other leg over hir head and push down to armbar. Grab the near knee, Gable grip so that you have both arm and leg. I did not want to gable grip at first because (among other reasons) I am fixated on rotating the opponent's thumb to the ceiling. It is not a WRONG fixation, but it does take both hands, when your hands are as small as mine. As Cindy has many times demo'ed (on me, not a few), as long as your knees are pinched together, you can finish armbar by pushing in three different directions. You do not need to have the thumb to the ceiling. I need to work harder to remember to keep my knees pinched.

Lindsey thanked me for the tattoos on my left shin because it gave her something to look at while she was being armbarred.

Opponent has back mount with double-under lapel grips. You trap one of hir hands by pinning it in your armpit, hold the other in your hand. Bridge, turn to the side you're holding with the hand, let go so that you can remove one hook. Get both feet out (still having a hard time with this), turn and grip opponent's thighs while you are facing hir feet. You can grab that other leg and throw it away (I was having a little trouble with that part as well).

Next, opponent tries to throw hir far leg over and go to front mount when you remove the hook. You grab the leg and shove it between your own legs for half guard, turn in to hir, get underhook, push that other knee out and replace full guard.

We've been doing a number of back mount techniques these last two weeks, and today is the second time a lower-ranked, small-size woman has asked me in puzzled frustration about keeping back mount. I have nothing helpful to give them. I know that you're supposed to have one hook higher than the other (I gave Lindsey that detail today), but frankly I don't even try to hold back mount unless I can sink a sub-worthy choke IMMEDIATELY (even then, I go ahead and remove my hooks because it doesn't matter at that point). If I can't choke instantly, I just thrust the opponent on hir side and try to roll into front mount, which I have reasonable success at with less-then-purples. When you're a short woman, you really can't stop them from reaching down and removing at least one of your hooks... which is where I often get stymied with even a medium-sized man, if he arches his back. I can't reach the damn foot. Occasionally I can lift it up with my thigh and grab it, if I do it quickly before he realizes what I'm about. Retaining back mount on larger people would be a good topic to ask Cindy about. Of course, one of the downsides of her being slurped back into the GB Borg is that now she has a curriculum imposed on her, and I can't just ask if we can work on such-and-such. I can always ask during open mat, though.