Back escapes
Learn how to get out of back control, step by step, and end up on top. Back control is one of the most dangerous places to be, so this escape matters early.
Which arm chokes
Back control: the other person is behind you with their feet hooked inside your thighs. These feet are called hooks.
Loading 3D view
You are in blue, and they sit behind you with both hooks in. Back Control in the library ›
Their grip is the seatbelt: one arm over your shoulder and one arm under your armpit. The arm over your shoulder is the choking arm.
| Their arm | What it does |
|---|---|
| Over your shoulder: the over arm | Chokes. It can slide under your chin. |
| Under your armpit: the under arm | Holds your body. It cannot reach your neck. |
Fall to the safe side
The whole escape is built on one idea. Get your shoulders and head to the mat on the safe side.
The safe side is the side of their under arm. When you fall there, the choking arm is pinned on your shoulder, away from your neck.
Their right arm is over your right shoulder. Their left arm is under your left armpit. You fall to your left, the under arm side.
You fall to the safe side. Now their over arm lies on top of your shoulder and presses down. Is this good for you?
The escape, step by step
- Chin down, both hands on the choking arm.
- Scoot your hips and fall to the under arm side.
- Put your shoulders and head on the mat.
- Clear the top hook: the leg lying over your top leg.
- Slide your hips over their bottom leg.
- Turn into them and come up in side control or in their half guard.
One hand stays on the choking arm the whole time. The free hand works on the hook.
If they keep a leg on you as you turn, you land on top in their half guard. That is fine: you have left back control.
Body triangle and double underhooks
Body triangle: one of their legs goes across your belly and the foot locks behind their other knee. It holds your hips better than hooks.
Against the body triangle, fall toward the side of the locked foot. Pin the lock under your weight, free the foot, then slide your hips out.
Double underhooks: both of their arms go under your armpits, hands on your chest. No arm is over your shoulder, but they can switch to the seatbelt fast.
They drop the seatbelt and lock double underhooks. You trap one of their arms with both of yours and pin it low. Then you put your shoulders on the mat on the other side.
Before the hooks go in
Sometimes you are on all fours and they have the seatbelt, but no hooks yet. This position is still turtle, not back control. Escape now, before the hooks go in.
Loading 3D view
You are on all fours with the seatbelt on you, but no hooks in yet. Seatbelt in the library ›
- Protect your neck and keep your knees tight.
- Post a hand on the mat, away from the seatbelt arm.
- Sit through to the open side, hips under you.
- Face them and put your legs between you.
Common mistakes
- Falling toward the over arm. This puts your neck into the choke.
- Lifting your head off the mat to look. The choking arm slides under your chin.
- Turning onto your belly to crawl away. They put the hook back in.
- Bridging straight back into them. They ride it and your chin comes up for the choke.
- Reaching back to push their head. They can trap that arm with a leg.
You are on the safe side. You take both hands off the choking arm to push the top hook away. What is the problem?
Train it on the Path
Reading is the first step. The Back escapes unit has 5 short lessons: you see a position and pick the best move.
Back escapes is part of the Blue belt, included in Rolla Plus. Start free with Foundations and the white belt.