In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the art of escaping bad positions is often overlooked, especially by beginners who are more focused on learning submissions or offensive techniques. However, mastering the ability to escape from inferior or pinned positions is essential to becoming a well-rounded grappler. The truth is that no matter how skilled you are, at some point in your BJJ journey, you will find yourself in bad positions, whether it’s in training or competition. The key to improving as a BJJ practitioner lies in your ability to escape from these positions and turn the tables on your opponent. Today, we will discuss why escaping bad positions is critical in one’s BJJ development.
The Importance Of Escaping Bad Positions
Escaping bad positions is one of the most fundamental aspects of BJJ. The reason for this is simple, no matter how skilled you are offensively, if you can’t escape from a dominant position, you leave yourself vulnerable to being controlled and submitted. Being stuck in a bad position is not only frustrating but can also be exhausting. The ability to escape efficiently allows you to conserve energy, regain a neutral or dominant position, and return to attacking.
Escaping bad positions also sharpens your defensive skills. You learn how to survive and defend against submissions, sweeps, and transitions when you are at a disadvantage. This ultimately makes you a more resilient and adaptable grappler. While submitting an opponent is important, surviving and escaping when you are being dominated is equally, if not more, critical to your long-term development in BJJ.
Many of today’s top coaches and instructors place a lot of emphasis on developing basic defensive skills. This is a great approach, as a cast-iron defense can create opportunities for counter-offense. If you are looking for ways to improve your defensive skills in BJJ, then we encourage you to read on.
The mount is one of the most dominant positions in BJJ. When your opponent is on top of you in the mount, they have control over your body, making it difficult for you to move or escape. Worse, from the mount, your opponent can launch submissions or even transition to the back.
One of the most effective ways to escape the mount is the “upa” or bridge escape. This technique involves bucking your hips upwards to off-balance your opponent, trapping one of their arms and their foot on the same side, and then rolling them over. The upa escape works because it uses the power of your hips to disrupt your opponent’s balance, making it easier to escape.
Another option is the elbow escape, which focuses on creating space by using your elbow to wedge under your opponent’s knee and regaining half-guard or closed guard. Both escapes require a good sense of body awareness and movement to be effective. The key to escaping the mount is to stay calm, protect your neck and arms from submissions, and create space through controlled movements.
2) Escaping Back Control
Back control is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous positions in BJJ. When your opponent has your back, they are in an excellent position to apply submissions like the RNC or transition into even more dominant holds. Escaping back control requires a combination of patience and proper technique.
One of the primary methods for escaping back control is to address the hooks (your opponent’s legs that are controlling your hips) and flatten yourself to the mat. By removing your opponent’s hooks, you reduce their ability to control your lower body. From there, you can work to turn into them and regain guard or escape completely.
Another important aspect of back escapes is controlling your opponent’s choking arm. By using both hands to control the arm that is threatening your neck, you prevent your opponent from securing the choke. Once you’ve neutralized the choke, you can work on escaping the position.
Escaping back control is challenging, but it teaches you to remain composed, even in high-pressure situations. Developing a solid back escape game will make you more difficult to submit and allow you to survive against advanced opponents.
3) Escaping Side Control
Side control is another dominant position in BJJ where your opponent controls your upper body while pinning you to the mat. In this position, your opponent can apply various submissions, and transitions, and maintain heavy pressure, which makes it difficult for you to escape.
One of the most effective escapes from side control is the “shrimp” or hip escape. This involves framing against your opponent’s hips or shoulders and using your legs to push your hips away, creating space to recover guard. The shrimp escape relies heavily on hip movement and proper framing, as you must use your arms and hips in tandem to escape the pin.
Another escape option is the “bridge and roll,” where you use a strong bridge to off-balance (Kuzushi) your opponent, allowing you to roll them over or create space to regain guard. The key to escaping side control is to stay active, avoid letting your opponent settle their weight, and work on creating frames to maintain space between you and your opponent.
4) Escaping Knee On Belly
Knee on belly is a transitional position where your opponent places their knee on your torso while keeping their weight balanced. From here, they can easily switch between other dominant positions or attack with submissions. The knee on belly position creates crushing pressure, making it uncomfortable and difficult to move.
To escape from knee on belly, one of the most common strategies is to shrimp away from your opponent, using your hands to push against their knee and frame against their body to create space. The key to escaping knee on belly is to avoid panicking under pressure and focus on creating space to escape. Using proper frames and effective hip movement will make it easier to break free from this uncomfortable position.
5) Escaping Closed Guard
While the closed guard is typically considered a defensive position, if you find yourself in your opponent’s closed guard, you are at risk of being swept or submitted. Your goal in this situation should be to escape the closed guard and transition to a more dominant position.
One of the most effective ways to escape closed guard is to posture up and break your opponent’s grip on your upper body. By maintaining good posture and avoiding leaning forward, you reduce the chances of being submitted with a triangle or armbar. Once you’ve postured up, you can work on opening your opponent’s guard by standing up or passing using pressure.
Conclusion
The art of escaping bad positions is just as important as offensive techniques. The ability to escape from dominant positions allows you to stay in the fight longer and potentially turn the tables on your opponent.
By focusing on improving your escapes, you’ll not only become more difficult to submit but also more confident and composed in pressure situations. Escaping bad positions is a skill that takes time to develop, but it is one of the most important aspects of BJJ.
You may also like:
