http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmIkMgeoR8k (Watch this video here!)
When it comes to live grappling, we know all too well that anything can happen if you aren’t careful. While you can defend yourself most of the time, there are specific moments in which you become very vulnerable to attack.
For instance, I can defend my legs and arms with rather ease; however, it’s a different story when discussing your back. Back takes can happen in the blink of an eye and can be match-ending depending on the level of grappler in which you are facing.
Sometimes we may not be able to defend the transition, for instance, a berimbolo. However, there are ways you can go about defending yourself once your opponent has latched on to your back and is looking for the finish. Luckily, Raphael Chaves and Macrus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida have a fantastic video breaking down how to intelligently—and calmly—defend yourself from back mount.
Fighting For Hand Positioning
While it may seem insignificant, the very first thing you want to make sure you do is begin to fight for hand dominance! By this I mean you must begin to pull downward on the arm, so they are not able to fit it snugly on your neck.
When they apply their over/under, you want to clamp down on the side in which their under hook is applied to. From here, again, make sure that you are focusing in on their hand position. From here, lean off to the same side you are focusing in on. As you begin to lean off to the side, post up and push your hips to the ceiling.
After placing your head on theirs, slide it back onto the mat. While staying high on your opponent, slide your back onto the mat. From here, shrimp out until you find yourself in the dominant position.
Defending Their Defense
That may be a little bit of a tongue twister, but it’s a key component to this process. Say you look to shrimp out; they lock their feet in a body lock fashion. There are a couple of things you must do to break free:
Take your far foot, and hook his extended leg directly on top of his foot.
Pull it towards you, creating pressure.
Triangle your feet and go for the submission, or forcing him to give up the hold.
This is a fantastic defense to use, as it will put him right into the frying pan. Here they are, thinking they have you at the end of your ropes, and then you pull a fast one on them and flip the script.
The torque and tension created from this will be more than enough to cause the tap out.
This is a fantastic video, as it breaks everything down nicely and in an orderly fashion. Soak this one up, readers! You won’t regret it.
Dan Faggella
PS: A special thanks to Marcus “Buchecha” and his instructor for sharing these videos. Recently I did a review right here at BJJLegends of his long-awaited “Total Control System” BJJ DVD – which you can read about here. Good luck at the worlds this year Buchecha!
