Escape from the Guard (Stacking)

Starting Position: Attacker is on his back, holding you tight in his guard.

Drive forward and make constant attacks to his face with punches, hammerfists, headbutts, scratches, eye gouges, etc. Be sure to protect against arm bars by holding your elbows in tight.

Drive your weight forward to “roll” or “stack” him so that his hips are higher than his head. Your hips should lie against the backs of his thighs so that he bears your weight as well as his own. Squeeze your knees against his legs. Your feet should move up and spread out to stabilize you.

Deliver more counterattacks. You should be in a better position to deliver more punches.

If he releases his guard, get up and out.

Variation: If he loosens, but does not release, his guard, try to kneel back down with your weight back. You’ll still be in the guard, but you will now have space to punch to the groin.

Tips: Don’t lean your weight too far forward or you’ll get rolled. Don’t bring your feet too far forward or he’ll grab them.

Side Mount (Basic Position)

Side mount is an excellent position from the top. It’s often more stable than a full mount because the attacker (on bottom) is less able to use his hips to buck you off.

The Hold: With the attacker on the ground, sprawl your upper body over his torso. Put your weight through your chest onto his body, keeping your elbows pressed in against his body and head to keep him tight.

Pull your bottom knee (the one closest to his hip) up so it presses tightly against his body and hip, and extend your top leg (the one closest to his head) out so that your hip touches the floor.

Variation: It is also acceptable to do a side mount by having both knees up and under you. This position allows for better striking, but removes some of the pressure from the attacker’s chest, allowing him more freedom of movement. If you adopt this position, be sure that the top knee is pressed close to his upper body, and that your hands and arms are positioned to stop him from shifting his hips away to create space.

Tips: Your goal is to remove any space between you and the attacker (remember, space equals escape!).

Side Mount (Arm Lock)

This technique is good if you feel the need to control the attacker (or, alternately, break his arm) rather than strike.

Starting Position: Assume a side mount (page 214) on the attacker’s right side so that his left arm is on the outside.

With your left hand, push down on the attacker’s left wrist using a thumb-less grip.

With the back of his hand on the floor, reach underneath his arm with your right hand and catch your own wrist—again, using the thumb-less grip. Keep your body and knee(s) close to him so that he cannot pivot away, and keep your weight on top of him. One of his defenses will be to turn his body to relieve the pressure.

Keeping the back of his hand on the ground, slide his hand toward his hip. At the same time, lift your right elbow, which will crank his left elbow, causing extreme pressure on his shoulder.