Escapes and Reversals

[Hardball]

What's your favorite escape or reversal? Yes, this is a how to thread.

I've noticed not many instructors focus on escapes and reversals; what would you teach if you were asked to give a 4 hour seminar on nothing but escapes and reversals?

[danfaggella]

triangle escapes, footlock escapes, side control/mount/back mount escapes, there are so many to pick from. I think the positional escapes are more basic and should be learned first.

[EmptyneSs]

one of my favorite escapes is when in about to be armbared from mount. i like to bait with my arm out and let the opponent start to move up and close in on my arm. right when he starts scooting up, ill try to slip out from underneath.

[Hardball]

triangle escapes, footlock escapes, side control/mount/back mount escapes, there are so many to pick from. I think the positional escapes are more basic and should be learned first.

I peeped your profile; did you learn more escapes in wrestling or BJJ?

[aseepish]

My favourite escape/reversal chain is this: My opponent is mounted on my chest. i) fake bridge and roll and use his reaction to get the elbow-knee escape. I now have half-guard. ii) I now get the arm on the side where his leg is trapped under his armpit, grabbing his back; the other hand grabs his pants on the inside of his knee (on his free leg). I'm on my side, balled up around his knees. I reverse him by unhooking his leg, pulling with the arm grabbing his back, and pushing with the arm grabbing his knee. I end up in cross-side.

I pull this off a lot - i) or ii) (or both) at least once per training session.

[Tom Yum]

What's your favorite escape or reversal? Yes, this is a how to thread.

I've noticed not many instructors focus on escapes and reversals; what would you teach if you were asked to give a 4 hour seminar on nothing but escapes and reversals?

Headlock escapes, bear hug, mount escapes etc.

You are more likely to get headlocked or bearhugged on the street than you are armbarred.

[aseepish]

one of my favorite escapes is when in about to be armbared from mount. i like to bait with my arm out and let the opponent start to move up and close in on my arm. right when he starts scooting up, ill try to slip out from underneath.

An armbar escape that I like is to grab my own opposite collar with the hand of the arm in danger. It's a pretty strong grip and buys you a little time. From there, as the other guy falls in to armbar position, my other hand grabs his pants of the leg over my face, pushing it so that it's behind my head. Then I bridge straight back so that my shoulderblades go over his leg, and my back touches the ground. I bridge and roll towards him, switch my leg position, and end up in his guard.

What I like to do if someone baits me by extending an arm is to either secure it by scooping it with the opposite arm (grab his tricep) and going to a high mount position (double attack/triple attack), or faking my own armbar, but rolling to a triangle choke as the other guy sits up - insert the foot that would have been the leg closest to his chest on the finished armbar inside his arms, this leg becomes the side and top of the triangle.

[Hardball]

Headlock escapes, bear hug, mount escapes etc.

You are more likely to get headlocked or bearhugged on the street than you are armbarred.

Are you prying your way out of the headlock? What method do you use to escape the bearhug? Arms trapped or arms free?

[7r14ngL3Ch0k3]

Mine are: Bridging upwards when youre on bottom when someone has(or had)sidecontrol on you. Its like in wrestling where your opponent has you pinned with a half or reverse half and you roll them over(by bridging)and you end up having the same dominant position they just had.

Also, when some has a side headlock and you lock hands and get in front of them and roll to the mat. Or when someone has a headlock(and has pinned you in sidecontrol), you hook your far leg with their near leg and roll. And there's a few more that i dont feel like posting.

[Tom Yum]

Are you prying your way out of the headlock? What method do you use to escape the bearhug? Arms trapped or arms free?

No its not force against force. There's a couple of good headlock escapes, depending on how the guy is holding you and if he's trying to roll you or just holding you.

You're in a headlock. The guy is just trying to hold you real tight, has his weight slightly forward and is clasping your head with both arms.

First thing is to take the hand behind his body and push his jaw away. Simultaneously scoop his closest leg. If its a friendly escape, you push the jaw away; if its not friendly, its a palm strike that drives through the head via the jaw.

Now that you've got both actions disrupting his balance, use your legs as your power source to drive him onto the ground (concrete, wood or what have you). You will likely land in a side mount. You can work from there, whether you are a striker or grappler.

I have used this a few times and it works. It works well against big and small alike.

[Tom Yum]

Also, when some has a side headlock and you lock hands and get in front of them and roll to the mat. Or when someone has a headlock(and has pinned you in sidecontrol), you hook your far leg with their near leg and roll. And there's a few more that i dont feel like posting.

The roll works well too, especially what technique you can throw into the roll...

Hey, this chop-sockey stuff don't work.

[7r14ngL3Ch0k3]

Hey, this chop-sockey stuff don't work....

What do you mean?

[Tom Yum]

What do you mean?

The chop-sokey thing was a joke, man. Just a joke.

There are alot of good techniques out there for escapes.

[7r14ngL3Ch0k3]

Oh, i thought you were implying something i said was wrong.....

[gregimotis]

I think the positional escapes are more basic and should be learned first.

/Agree - If I were teaching some people beginning grappling, I'd start with a position (mount probably), then show how to maintain the position and one or two escapes from it. Then we'd practice position control and escape back and forth.




My own favorite reversal is 'back sweep' (the name I learned for it). From guard, you sit up close to opponent, reach across his opposite shoulder and grab tricep, stuff you hip into his obliques as you twist that trapped arm into your body and flip him over into mount.
I like it because if it fails, it flows right into a gulliotine or another reversal which I don't know the name of (but I call 'spin out and hoist him over your head' ).