Escape: Elbow Escape

The elbow escape, also known as the hip escape or “shrimping” motion, is one of the most fundamental and widely practiced techniques for escaping the mount position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Here is an introduction to the elbow escape from mount:

  1. Importance of the elbow escape: The mount is a highly dominant position that offers the top player numerous submission and striking opportunities. Escaping mount is crucial for self-defense and competition scenarios, as it allows you to regain a more favorable position and neutralize your opponent’s attacks. The elbow escape is a versatile and effective technique that can be used against a variety of mount styles.
  2. Key concepts: The elbow escape relies on a combination of defensive posture, hip movement, and precise framing to create space and ultimately recover guard. Proper body positioning, timing, and leverage are essential components of a successful elbow escape.
  3. Defensive posture: When caught in the mount position, it’s important to protect your upper body and limbs from potential submissions and strikes. Keep your elbows close to your body, hands up to defend your face, and chin tucked to protect your neck.
  4. Creating frames: Establishing frames is a critical aspect of the elbow escape, as they help to create space between you and your opponent. Utilize your forearms and elbows to create barriers against your opponent’s hips and upper body.
  5. Hip movement: The hip escape or “shrimping” motion is the driving force behind the elbow escape. By bridging and moving your hips away from your opponent, you create the necessary space to insert your knee and recover guard.
  6. Recovery and transition: Once sufficient space has been created, you can insert your knee between you and your opponent to recover half guard or full guard. From there, you can work to establish control and transition to a more dominant position or set up submissions.
  7. Drilling and practice: As with any Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique, consistent drilling and practice are essential for developing an effective elbow escape. Focusing on proper body mechanics, precise timing, and smooth transitions will help you build the necessary muscle memory and confidence to execute the elbow escape during live rolling or competition.

 

The elbow escape from mount is a fundamental and effective technique that every BJJ practitioner should strive to master. It relies on proper defensive posture, the creation of frames, efficient hip movement, and the ability to recover guard in order to escape from one of the most dominant positions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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Perfect Elbow Escape from Mount

The key steps and principles involved in executing the Elbow Escape from the bottom mount position:

  1. Establish defensive posture: While in the bottom mount position, ensure that your elbows are tight to your body, protecting your ribs, and your hands are up, ready to defend against potential submissions. Tuck your chin to protect your neck from chokes.
  2. Create frames: Place your forearms against your opponent’s hips, with your palms facing their thighs, to establish frames that will help you create the necessary space for the escape. Be mindful not to extend your arms too far, as this can expose you to armlock attacks.
  3. Plant your feet: Plant both feet on the ground, close to your hips, with your knees bent. This position will help you generate the power and mobility needed for the shrimping movement.
  4. Shrimp movement: Initiate the escape by performing a shrimping movement. To do this, bridge your hips slightly off the ground, and then, while keeping one side of your hip on the mat, slide your hips away from your opponent. This movement should create space between you and your opponent, allowing you to insert your knee.
  5. Insert your knee: As you create space with your shrimp movement, bring the knee of the side you shrimped away from your opponent up toward your chest and slide it under your opponent’s thigh, aiming to recover half guard or full guard. It’s important to maintain your frames during this step to prevent your opponent from closing the distance again.
  6. Recover guard: Once your knee is under your opponent’s thigh, continue to move your hips and extend your leg to establish either a full guard or a half guard position. From there, you can work to establish grips and control over your opponent, neutralizing their offense and transitioning to a more advantageous position.

 

When practicing the Elbow Escape, focus on maintaining proper defensive posture, creating effective frames, and mastering the shrimping movement to ensure the success of the technique. As with any Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique, consistent drilling and practice will help you develop a strong and reliable mount escape game.