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BJJ Fundamentals

Lesson 8 – Triangle Escapes

Warm Up (5min)

Open Guard Triangle

  1. Start in collar, sleeve & bicep guard
  2. Bring uke’s posture down so that their hand is forced to post on the mat
  3. Bring your leg inside of uke’s posted arm and lock a trap-triangle around their head and arm
  4. Keep uke’s posture down and scoop grip on their leg to turn to an angle
    • You can either hold uke’s head, or grip your own shin to control their posture
    • Make full use of the scoop grip on uke’s leg to turn your body under uke’s shoulder
  5. Lock your triangle fully and squeeze to finish the submission

    Lesson (25min)

      Duck-Under Escape

      1. Continue from trap-triangle (uke is now the person applying the submission)
      2. Use your elbow to lock uke’s hips down, preventing them from getting to an angle
        • Maintain constant downward pressure, don’t relax your arm
      3. Stand up with your head down, tucking your chin to your chest
        • You have a leg that uke can scoop grip to get to a finishing angle; don’t expose that leg – turn the other way as you stand up and offer the other leg
      4. Step back and wiggle your head out of uke’s trap triangle, leaving just one arm inside
      5. Duck under uke’s legs and connect your escape to a guard pass if possible

      Step-Over Escape

      1. Continue from trap-triangle (tighter than last time)
      2. Cross-grip uke’s sleeve with your outside arm
      3. Stand up and sit back, stepping your legs over uke’s body
        • As before, don’t expose the wrong leg to a scoop grip; throw the other leg over first
      4. Use a bridging motion to open uke’s trap-triangle
      5. Control uke’s legs as you finish the escape
        • You can either transition to leg locks from here, or stand up and go into guard passing

      Turning Escape

      1. Continue from trap-triangle (even tighter; almost fully locked)
      2. Grip uke’s knee on the side of your head
      3. Turn your upper body, bringing uke’s knee down to the mat
        • This motion should be performed quickly and decisively, it’s not like the other escapes where you can take your time a bit more
      4. Uke transitions to an armbar
      5. Get inside position on uke’s knee to escape the armbar