Getting your back taken can be very dangerous in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The back is the most dominant position your opponent can achieve and the easiest position to get submitted from. In addition, your opponent can reinforce his control by locking a body triangle around your waist. A body triangle is a figure-four lock where your opponent has protected his bottom hook, and it can be very challenging to escape, especially if your opponent has long and skinny legs. You can escape from this position in several ways, but the most effective way is to turn inside your opponent’s lock and end up in closed guard. In this article, we will examine this escape as explained by ADCC champion Giancarlo Bodoni.

To escape the body triangle, you should first put your hand inside so your opponent has double underhooks instead of the regular seatbelt control. By doing this, you will make it more difficult for your opponent to choke you and will be able to buy yourself some time. Furthermore, if you can separate his hands and put your hands on top of his, it will help you a lot with escaping. After this, aim to put your head and shoulders above your opponent’s head as you perform a bridge. From there, you can grab his head and rotate towards him to end in the closed guard. One additional detail you can do is to hold your opponent’s hand so he can’t push you back. Once you have this control, scissor your legs and get the top position. Ensure you immediately pull your hands back so you don’t get caught in an armbar or any similar attack.

One problem that can happen with this escape is your opponent trying to get to the mount position. If you ever see this happening, avoid trying to get up on top, as you can end up in a worse position than you were in. Instead, let your opponent try to mount you and put your frames inside. Ensure that your forearm covers your opponent’s hip line and that you have one hand on his knee, as you would for a regular elbow escape from the mount. Once he starts coming up, counter him with a small bridge and get your knees inside. 

Tim Kennedy used this escape in his fight against Roger Gracie. I hope you enjoyed the article and will use it in your training! I wish you good luck and safe training! My name is Milos, I am the owner and head coach of Fort Jiu-Jitsu! See you soon!

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