Adults: Escaping the Back
Warm-up
Chest-to-Back Hands Connected
Player A
Player A is going to start behind Player B with hands connected around the torso, under the arms. Their goal is to stay connected to the back of Player B and to get Player B’s hands to the mat.
Player B
Player B has Player A behind them. Player B’s objective is to break apart the hands and face Player A.
Win Condition(s)
If Player A gets hands to the mat or Player B faces Player A, then that’s a win, switch.
Back Control Escapes
Player A
Player A starts on the back. No submissions allowed. Just control. Maintain control for as long as possible. You can change and move your grips. As long as your chest is attached to the back, you’re on the back.
Player B
Player B has their back taken and is trying to escape and disconnect Player A’s chest from their back.
Win Condition(s)
If Player B escapes, switch top and bottom.
Back Control Escape to Advantageous Position
Player A
Player A starts on the back. Allows Player B to get back to the mat. Pause. Move from there. Try to either A) retake the back, B) advance into mount, or C) attack a submission, like an arm triangle.
Player B
Player B starts in the back escaping position. Player B’s objective is to either A) recover guard or B) get on top.
Win Condition(s)
If Player A gets to mount, gets back on the back, or gets a submission, switch. If Player B recovers guard or gets on top, switch.
Main Class
Weak Side
So, our first step is to always get our defensive hand in. Our strongest defensive hand is our hand opposite their choking arm. Get a thumb in grip, but also involve your other hand.
Our next step is to get our opponent on the weak control side. So, in no gi, that side is the choking arm on the bottom side. In the gi, people can grab the collar and choke with it, so it’s no longer the weak side. In no-gi, we don’t have the collar, so it is the weak side. Why is it the weak side? Anyone know?
If my elbow can touch the mat, then my shoulders can follow, and from my shoulders, my hips can follow. If our hips are facing different directions, then it’s really difficult for my opponent to choke me. My main objective from here is to get my shoulders onto the mat. If they are on the mat, that means my back is on the mat. If my back is on the mat, then my opponent can’t be on my back.
If my opponent lands on the strong, control side, so their choking arm is on top and they have an underhook under my bottom arm, I need to change that. If I just try to move from here and roll to the other side, it’s going to be really difficult because his legs are engaged. So, to transition, I’m going to pull my legs up under me, and then bridge and roll to the other side. I want the weight in his shoulders. When you do this bridge, ensure you keep your chin tucked, and you keep control of the arm.
Try both of those flavors and just get back to the mat. We’ll then add making sure we secure the position afterward.
Securing + Late Stage
Alright, to secure the position, I want to keep my hips on his bottom leg. The further his bottom knee is under my back, the more difficulty he’s going to have getting into mount. My first objective is to break apart his hands and any grips he has. So, if he has his hands connected, I’m going to dig in and break the grips apart. I’m then going to 2-on-1 his choking arm and get my head to the mat.
Once I’m here, my arm closest to him is going to drop into the hip. And my other arm is going to push on the top of the knee. I shrimp out and recover my guard.
One final note, the other strength of going weak side to escape is the late-stage escape that’s available to us. If someone does lock in the choke here, their locking arm is available to us. This is late stage, so this is, we messed up, he got under our neck, let’s try something. To escape, we’re going to look toward the locking arm and use our opposite side arm to pop the elbow.