Defending Difficult Positions

[MJS]

Ever get into those difficult positions during grappling? I'm talking about those that have you thinking, "Ok, sometime today, I'll get out of here!" Now, some may have an easier time defending certain ones compared to others, but I thought we could discuss some positions that we may have been caught in that gave us a hard time and what escapes worked best.

For me, the majority of the time its the side mount. Seems like everyone that I roll with always manages to catch me with this at some point and I have to say, its the one position that always seems to take me the longest to escape. I'm usually able to start working for a half guard and then full guard, but for me anyways, its not an easy task.

Anyone else out there have some stories to tell!

Mike

 

[desousae]

Always have a problem giving up my back. Going for a take down at the wrong time and having the opponent sprawl good enough to defend, take me down and then take my back. When I was in the service, this guy would always get me on it. Then I would waste all my energy trying my hardest to roll out of it. However, I did find if I was able to get my leg out, I could set up for more power off my roll.

 

[trueaspirer]

For me, if someone gets my arm behind my back, me face down, I have a really hard time getting out of it. Other people tell me that it's not such a hard position, but I alsways have a hard time. Maybe its because I'm unwilling to put myself through extra pain. Some of those ways of getting put can get you hurt too...

 

[FuriousGeorge]

north south bottom is my worst position...I always end up stalling until the guy tries somethning eles...if i'm rolling against someone a lot better than me, i'm screwed.

 

[Eternal Beginner]

I had one of those nights last night where it seemed all I did was defend difficult positions.:wah:

I started off with a 220 pound guy and then proceeded to partner, in succession, 3 more guys - none of which weighed less than 210! (note:I'm a "smallish" female) It was an evening of defending my back, escaping from side control and preventing full mount.

As difficult as it was, I think it was one of the most productive sessions I have had in months. Getting put in these horrible positions and defending them is great practice. Learning how to stay small, not lay flat on my back and to keep moving has saved my bacon innumerable times.

 

[WilliamJ]

The best way to learn to escape them is to get into the position, let your training partner establish and then work your way out. It sucks, it's hard, but you will get better at it.

I used to roll out and give my back a lot, from mount and side control. I learned better escapes and stopped doing it though. One thing that helped was learning two opposing escapes so you can switch back and forth until one of them works.

 

[FuriousGeorge]

getting schooled is one of the best ways to learn!!!

 

[Aesopian]

If you're having trouble with escapes, you should consider focusing on them in isolation. I don't mean putting in a ton of static repetitions, though that can be useful if you're really making a point of paying attention to the details and improving with each rep. Most people find that too boring to get too much out of it. I think you'll get better results if don't overdo static drilling and instead work on isolated positional sparring from wherever you're having trouble.

For example, start under side control and try to escape (return to guard, go to knees and takedown or reverse/roll them) while they try to pin and submit you and improve position. Reset and restart if either achieves their goal.

You can ease the learning curve by using progressive resistance, i.e. starting at 10% resistance and working up to 100% gradually as you succeed at lower percentages. Starting at full blast might be great fun for the top guy, but that's not what is going to help you learn and improve your escapes very well.

You can also refine the purpose of this drilling. You can also take this approach and apply it to really specific problems. If you're having trouble with escaping side control, figure out a specific problem you are having. Look at your posture, the placement of your head, hands, elbows, hips, knees, feet, etc. Where are they ending up? Where should they be? How can you get them there? Once you've worked this out and developed a solution, do isolated sparring for just that single point. Maybe even forget the rest of the escape for the time being and just work on that single issue.

As an example, you might find that you're ending up with your near hand out of posture. Analyse the situation and figure out some ways of getting it back where it should be. To drill this, you start out of posture under side control, with the goal of regaining proper posture; your partner tries to keep you out of posture. Reset and restart once you've achieved your goal or if the positions change enough to take you outside the scope of the drill.

It also helps to have a willing and helpful training partner. If he keeps getting you with something, he should be happy to explain how he's doing it. He doesn't need to feed you all the answers, but the learning stops if he just keeps trying to "beat" you without then telling you what he's doing and give suggestions on how to counter it. There should be a sense of cooperation and development.

I think training like this can be very beneficial, though most people don't put in the time and effort to do it. I know I could sure do a lot more of it.

 

[WilliamJ]

We do drills just like that where I train. You are in the middle for 5-7 minutes, someone takes side control, you escape, the next person jumps in and takes side control. It feels like an eternity while you are in the middle. Fresh opponents always starting in side control. And you have to GIVE the position, no starting with elbows in or underhooks. You start flat on your back, arms out. It's tough but my escapes and cofidence in the position have gotten a ton better as a result.

 

[MJS]

If you're having trouble with escapes, you should consider focusing on them in isolation. I don't mean putting in a ton of static repetitions, though that can be useful if you're really making a point of paying attention to the details and improving with each rep. Most people find that too boring to get too much out of it. I think you'll get better results if don't overdo static drilling and instead work on isolated positional sparring from wherever you're having trouble.

For example, start under side control and try to escape (return to guard, go to knees and takedown or reverse/roll them) while they try to pin and submit you and improve position. Reset and restart if either achieves their goal.

You can ease the learning curve by using progressive resistance, i.e. starting at 10% resistance and working up to 100% gradually as you succeed at lower percentages. Starting at full blast might be great fun for the top guy, but that's not what is going to help you learn and improve your escapes very well.

You can also refine the purpose of this drilling. You can also take this approach and apply it to really specific problems. If you're having trouble with escaping side control, figure out a specific problem you are having. Look at your posture, the placement of your head, hands, elbows, hips, knees, feet, etc. Where are they ending up? Where should they be? How can you get them there? Once you've worked this out and developed a solution, do isolated sparring for just that single point. Maybe even forget the rest of the escape for the time being and just work on that single issue.

As an example, you might find that you're ending up with your near hand out of posture. Analyse the situation and figure out some ways of getting it back where it should be. To drill this, you start out of posture under side control, with the goal of regaining proper posture; your partner tries to keep you out of posture. Reset and restart once you've achieved your goal or if the positions change enough to take you outside the scope of the drill.

It also helps to have a willing and helpful training partner. If he keeps getting you with something, he should be happy to explain how he's doing it. He doesn't need to feed you all the answers, but the learning stops if he just keeps trying to "beat" you without then telling you what he's doing and give suggestions on how to counter it. There should be a sense of cooperation and development.

I think training like this can be very beneficial, though most people don't put in the time and effort to do it. I know I could sure do a lot more of it.

Great thread everyone! I agree strongly with the above statements. I will do this during my training sessions. I'll pick a position that I need to work on or put myself in the less dominant position, ie: under the mount, in the guard, and work from there. Practice, practice and more practice is really what it all comes down to. Certainly not going to get better by not training.

Mike

 

[bladenosh]

When they get my side mount, I assume you are referring to the 4 corners mount from the side, right? I find you have to use both of your hands to push their hips directing them into your guard. Works flawlessly for me in grappling matches. (In a street fight, grab arms for a hammerlock or something for better positioning or you'll get hit in the face)

If you mean side mount by just their knee on my side, and them trying to grab my arms or something, under their head and flip them over of course.