Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Flashcards
Low Mount
Description: In the low mount, you sit on your opponent’s abdomen, with your weight forward and hips low. Your knees are typically squeezed against their sides, and your feet are hooked under their legs to prevent them from escaping.
Purpose: This variation is excellent for maintaining control and setting up arm locks or preparing to advance to a higher mount.
High Mount
Description: Here, you slide your knees up under your opponent’s armpits, elevating their arms and reducing their ability to defend. Your weight is distributed across their chest, and your feet can be crossed beneath their back or placed flat on the ground for balance.
Purpose: The high mount is advantageous for attacking with arm bars, triangle chokes, and other submissions due to the elevated control over the opponent’s upper body.
S-Mount
Description: The S-mount is a variation where you shift your weight to one side, placing one knee near your opponent’s head and the other foot by their hip, creating an ‘S’ shape with your legs.
Purpose: This position is particularly effective for setting up arm bars and triangle chokes. It provides a tight control and limits the opponent’s ability to escape.
Technical Mount
Description: Also known as the modified mount, you transition to this position when your opponent tries to escape by turning to their side. You follow their movement, placing your knee behind their head and your foot near their hip, facing the same direction as them.
Purpose: The technical mount is excellent for maintaining control when an opponent is actively trying to escape and allows for various submissions, including arm locks and back takes.
Mounted Triangle
Description: From the mount, you isolate an arm and transition one leg over their shoulder and under their neck, locking your ankle behind your knee of the other leg.
Purpose: This variation is a submission in itself, applying pressure on the neck and arm, leading to a choke or arm lock.
Grapevine Mount
Description: In this variation, you extend your legs and hook your feet inside your opponent’s thighs, stretching their legs out.
Purpose: The grapevine mount is effective for controlling an opponent’s movement and preventing them from bridging or escaping, setting up submissions or strikes.
Back Mount with Hooks
Description: You secure the position by wrapping your legs around your opponent’s waist with your heels hooking inside their thighs. Your arms are typically under their armpits, with one arm controlling their neck and the other arm controlling their arm or wrist.
Body Triangle (Lockdown)
Description: From the traditional back mount, you can transition to a body triangle by placing one leg across the waist and locking it under the knee of your other leg, effectively trapping your opponent’s torso.
Purpose: The body triangle tightens your control and can make it more difficult for your opponent to breathe, increasing their urge to escape and potentially exposing them to submissions. It’s particularly effective against opponents with a narrower waist.
Seat Belt Control
Description: Although not a variation of the legs, seat belt control is crucial for upper body control in the back mount. You secure one arm over your opponent’s shoulder and the other under their opposite arm, clasping your hands together.
Purpose: This grip provides strong control and sets up various chokes. It also helps prevent your opponent from escaping the back mount.
Arm Trap
Description: From the back mount, you can trap one of your opponent’s arms using your leg. By controlling one arm with your hand and then moving your leg over their arm and securing it, you effectively reduce their ability to defend against chokes.
Purpose: This variation aims to limit your opponent’s defensive options, making it easier to apply submissions, particularly chokes, as they have fewer limbs to protect their neck.
Traditional Side Control
Description: The practitioner is perpendicular to the opponent, with their chest pressing down on the opponent’s chest. One arm is under the opponent’s head, and the other arm controls the opponent’s near arm, often placing the hand on the mat for additional control. The practitioner’s knees are wide for stability, with one knee close to the opponent’s hip and the other near the head to prevent escapes.
Purpose: To maintain heavy pressure and control over the opponent, allowing for attacks such as arm locks or transitioning to more dominant positions.
Knee on Belly
Description: The practitioner places one knee on the opponent’s stomach, with the foot posted on the mat for balance, while maintaining an upright posture to apply pressure with their shin.
Purpose: To control the opponent while applying pressure, making breathing difficult. It allows for quick transitions to mount or attacks such as arm bars and chokes, and forces reactions that create openings for further control or submissions.
North-South
Description: The practitioner is positioned over the opponent’s head, with their body aligned in the opposite direction (180 degrees from traditional side control), controlling the opponent’s arms and shoulders.
Purpose: To isolate the opponent’s arms for submissions like kimuras, arm bars, and north-south chokes, while also offering the chance to switch to other side controls or mount positions.
Reverse Side Control
Description: The practitioner faces the opponent’s legs, controlling the hips and potentially one or both legs, often with grips on the pants or belt.
Purpose: To set up leg locks or transition to the back, exploiting the opponent’s defensive openings when they focus on defending against traditional side control attacks.
Kesa Gatame (Scarf Hold)
Description: The top practitioner wraps their arm around the opponent’s head with the opponent’s arm trapped in the armpit, gripping their own thigh or belt. The practitioner’s legs are spread wide for base, and their hips are dropped to apply pressure.
Purpose: This position focuses on controlling the opponent’s upper body and head, offering opportunities for arm locks, chokes, and transitions to other positions while minimizing the opponent’s ability to escape.
Modified Scarf Hold (Kuzure Kesa Gatame)
Description: Similar to the traditional scarf hold but with variations in grip and leg position, such as holding the opponent’s near leg or placing the controlling arm under the opponent’s arm instead of around the neck.
Purpose: To offer more control and submission options than the traditional scarf hold, adjusting to th
Closed Guard
Description: The practitioner wraps their legs around the opponent’s waist from the bottom, with ankles crossed to prevent the opponent from standing up or passing the guard.
Purpose: To control the opponent’s posture and movement, setting up submissions like arm bars, chokes, and sweeps to reverse positions.
Open Guard
Description: Unlike the closed guard, the legs are not locked around the opponent. Instead, the practitioner uses their legs flexibly to control the opponent’s body, often by placing feet on the opponent’s hips, biceps, or using hooks inside the opponent’s thighs.
Purpose: To create offensive opportunities for sweeps and submissions while maintaining the flexibility to adjust to the opponent’s attempts to pass the guard
