Top Mount Basics

Mount

Posture

Staying on top
“It doesn’t matter how many attacks you know from here if you don’t know how to stay here.” Cesar Gracie on the mount

Arms

• Keep your arms free to post. See this video at 2.23.
  
  
  
• Use a swimming motion (breast stroke) through his arms or legs to disentangle yourself.
• If one arm is caught shift your weight slightly over to the other side to destroy his bridging leverage.
• If O catches one arm and bridges before you can shift your weight or you simply cannot stop his bridge, you can base with your head. This is to be done from a low posture as you do not want to be slamming your head into the mat from any great height (or even worse onto concrete!).
• Pull up on O’s head to destroy his bridging leverage. Erik Paulson shows how in this video.
  
  
  

Knees
If he is good, O will likely adopt a very tight guarded posture with his elbows tight to his body and his hands protecting his neck

• Keep your knees tight to his sides.
• Do not sit on top of his arms or he will escape “out the back door”.
• Do not let him jam an elbow inside your knee for the elbow escape.
• Move your knees up under his armpits when possible (any time O raises his arms) - ideally go to the knee clamp position. Try setting up the knee clamp by threatening a choke (O will raise his hands to defend).
• Hold the top of his head to stop him wriggling away from you – Erik Paulson shows how in this clip.
  
  
  

Weight

• Stay loose and relaxed.
• You don't have to sit down heavily on O, doing so will actually give him more bridging power.
• Keep your feet tight to O's body to give you extra "grip" when he bucks.
• Let the guy on the bottom tire himself out trying to escape, inexperienced guys will likely panic when mounted and expend lots of energy trying to buck you off.
• Be ready to lean back, post out or shift your weight slightly to one side to deal with the bridge.
• Be ready to turn to the kneeling mount shown here.
  
  
  

Demonstration
The swimming motion and the lean are demonstrated by Cesar Gracie at the start of this clip. Cesar also demonstrates the knee clamp, how to set it up and two submissions (armbar and Americana).

Clip no longer available...

Basic Escapes
Everyone uses these and you will have to know how to deal with them. Below each escape I list the various motions you can use to counter.

Bridge (upa)

• Lean back.
• Post out with your arm(s).
• Base with your head.
• Shift your weight slightly to one side.
• Pull up on his head.

Elbow escape

• Keep knees tight.
• Turn to kneeling mount.
• Counter with Brabo.

Giving you the back

• Take the back and flatten him out.
• Turn into the kneeling mount.

Double/Single leg escape (O brings his leg(s) around your chest to lever you off)

• See a single leg version here (awful sound).
  
  
  

• “Swim” with a breast stroke motion through the legs.
• Be aware of it, the faster you can respond to this one, the more likely you are to retain mount.
  

Back door

• Don’t sit on his arms.
• Turn around very fast if he gets out.

More escapes
Play around with these Roy Harris escapes with resistance - see what you come up with.
Roy Harris Foot Drag escape

Roy Harris Foot Drag escape 2

Roy Harris Foot Turn escape

Roy Harris Kneeling mount escape