Escape: Mount Escapes

Basic Principles

The effectiveness of mount escapes relies on a few key principles:

1. Protect Vulnerable Areas: When in the bottom mount position, it is vital to protect your neck, arms, and other vulnerable areas from potential submissions. Tuck your chin, keep your elbows tight to your body, and use your arms to create frames against your opponent.
2. Create Space and Hip Mobility: Hip movement and creating space are crucial components of mount escapes. Utilize bridging and shrimping movements to disrupt your opponent’s balance and generate the space needed for your escape.
3. Timing: Executing a mount escape at the opportune moment can make a significant difference in its success. Recognize when your opponent is shifting their weight, adjusting their position, or momentarily off-balance, and seize the opportunity to execute your escape.
4. Chain Escapes: Combining multiple escape techniques can increase your chances of success, as your opponent may be prepared to counter a single escape attempt. By chaining escapes together, you can keep your opponent guessing and potentially create the opening you need.

Mount Escapes Techniques

Several mount escape techniques can help you regain a more advantageous position:

1. Upa (Bridge and Roll) Escape: The Upa Escape involves bridging your hips upward to off-balance your opponent while trapping one of their arms and the corresponding leg on the same side. As you bridge, roll to the side of the trapped arm and leg, utilizing the momentum to reverse the position and end up in their guard.
2. Elbow Escape (Shrimping): The Elbow Escape requires creating frames against your opponent’s hips, planting your feet on the ground, and utilizing a shrimping movement to slide your knee under their leg, recovering a half guard or full guard position.
3. High Leg Escape: When your opponent has a high mount, the High Leg Escape involves bringing one of your legs up and over their trapped leg, hooking it with your instep. From here, use your hooked leg to drag their leg downward, allowing you to recover a half guard position.
4. Heel Drag Escape: In this escape, you utilize your heels to drag your opponent’s heels toward your hips, effectively lowering their mount position. Once their legs are close to your hips, use a combination of bridging and shrimping movements to insert your knee and recover guard.

By focusing on these principles and techniques, you can develop a robust mount escape game that will allow you to neutralize your opponent’s offense and regain a more advantageous position. Remember, protecting vulnerable areas, creating space and hip mobility, timing, and chaining escapes are essential elements for successfully escaping the mount position.