Today I’m going to swing the topic over to my favorite position in Jiu-Jitsu: the mount.
And here’s the proposition I’d like to start with: it should be yours too!
I’ve mentioned before that most BJJ practitioners prefer top positions like side control to the mount (including most upper belts and instructors)….
Typically that’s because they feel side control is not only more versatile for attacking, but also easier to maintain. By comparison, when playing from mount top, you always hear people expressing frustration over getting rolled too easily or being put back into guard.
But these aren’t shortcomings of the mount position, they’re symptoms of not having developed proper control and positional maintenance.
Think of it this way: there’s a reason that the points structure of Jiu-Jitsu competitions weighs the mount (along with the back) so heavily…
It’s the best position for fighting.
And I’d argue that (taking a cue from the Jiu-Jitsu competition GOAT, Roger Gracie) it’s the best for sport as well as for self-defense.
But for it to be the best position in your game, first you need to be able to OWN it!
As I illustrate in the video below, this all starts with your initial positioning (where most go wrong before they ever get to attacks):
1. Pinch your knees in tight to your opponent’s hips (this not only prevents them from being able to get their elbow in between their body and your knee to initiate an elbow escape, it also allows you to slow down and read any of their defensive movements on bottom).
2. Sit up off of them, not on them (this helps to prevent their ability to create a connection to you with their hips, negating the effectiveness of their bridge)
3. Touch your feet together under your opponent’s butt (this helps you to “bite” onto their body with your legs to greatly increase your control, and to prevent them from easily manipulating your lower leg to feed escapes; as I show below, if they don’t allow you to do this initially, you can do it once they try to bridge)
4. Lean your shoulders slightly forward of your hips (so that you’re not vulnerable to a forceful push backwards) You can see this in action here:
