Yes, yes, I know, this should be about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu…but it won’t hurt to have a Judo inspired submission in your arsenal!
This specific setup is a wonderful tool to have, because it allows you to test your own abilities from a tough spot, as opposed to just going for any hold that you see.
Attacking from the back mount calls for timing, body placement, and most importantly, proper grip strength. When all of these work together, you’ll find yourself earning easy wins.
The Importance of Sternum Placement
When obtaining and fighting out of the back mount, you quickly realize that body placement is everything, and could lead to potential disaster if you aren’t careful enough.
In this particular case, we have obtained the back mount and on the mat, with our opponent obviously intent on escaping and getting rid of our grasp. There are a couple of things you should expect en route to going for the submission finish.
They’ll fight to get out by turning away, which will present a challenge for you. The importance of proper sternum placement can’t be stated heavily enough in this scenario. It allows you to exert more force when you go for the hold, so when they start to escape and turn away, your sternum is now removed from their back.
If you allow them to, your opponent can easily escape by turning out, engaging in a scramble. Now, a scramble isn’t the worst outcome, but it puts you and your opponent on level playing fields, when you had them reeling just moments before.
A good check point is to make sure that their elbow doesn’t pass your sternum! This will come into play when you go for the hold, and you can leverage this for the submission.
Relying On The Gi Grip For The Finish
Naturally, when your opponent is faced with a potential submission attempt, they will do all that they can to not only escape the hold but the entire position as well. While you begin fighting for this setup, a strong focus should be placed on the Gi grip that you should have on the lapel of your opponent.
Strong grip strength is a must for any Gi grappler looking to excel at the higher levels of grappling. There will be matches when you have to rely strictly on this ability, and can either win or lose you a match. Any grappler can work on their grip strength so when I saw the Finger Master Grip Strengthener hit the market I was all over it. I did a full review on this little devil and I certainly think you should give it a look.
With a high endurance level with your gripping ability, you will be able to weather some serious storms, such as this specific scenario.
As they begin to fight out, and you maintain that grip, you’ll want to remember that check point of your sternum and their shoulder. By driving your sternum into their shoulder, you’ll be able to start to isolate their arm. Once you have accomplished this, reach with your top hand and place it behind their skull.
The key to this is to make sure that your knuckles are facing in and are at the base of their skull. Once you have this in place and snug, begin to extend that arm while driving your sternum into their shoulder. This will create enough pressure, causing them no choice but to tap out to the submission hold.
Dan Faggella
