BJJ Beginners

Lesson 30 – Elbow Escape

Position:

Side Control

Overview:

If the bully is able to achieve the side mount, chances are they will be so eager to punch you that they will create space for you to execute the Shrimp Escape, which you learned in Lesson 21. If they are able to prevent the Shrimp Escape, the best thing to do is conserve energy and wait until they transition from the side mount to the full mount so that you can use the Elbow Escape to recompose the guard.

Technical Slices:

Knee Drive Variation

• Indicator: Bully attempts to transition to the full mount by driving their knee across your stomach.
• Essential Detail: Keep your leg flat and elbow blocking their knee at all times.
• Most Common Mistake: Failure to curl the body and escape at the right time.
• Safety Tip: Don’t crush the child’s stomach with your knee.
• Transfer Teaching Tip: Make the back leg heavier as their timing and confidence gets better.

Bully Battle

• Practice the Elbow Escape from the side mount in combination with all of the previously learned techniques at various intensity levels. Give special emphasis to the Haymaker Punch Defense (Lesson 27).

Final Thoughts

• If your partner achieves the side mount and you can’t escape using the Shrimp Escape, use the Elbow Escape to recompose the guard during their transition. If the side mount variation fails, you can immediately resort to the Elbow Escape from the mount (Lesson 10) to get you out. Timing is everything.