Knee on belly survival
Knee on belly is when the top player puts one shin across your stomach. This tutorial shows how to stop it before it lands, frame it, and use the running survival posture.
Pressure and mobility
In knee on belly, their shin is across your stomach and their other foot is on the mat. In the gi, their hands often hold your collar and belt.
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Their shin is across your belly, and their other foot is on the mat. Knee on Belly in the library ›
All their weight goes through one knee, so breathing is hard. They are up on one foot, so they move fast.
Before the knee lands
The best time to deal with knee on belly is before the knee lands. Watch for their hips lifting off you.
- See their hips lift.
- Turn onto your side, toward them.
- Connect your elbow and knee.
- Frame and wait.
There are two ways to block the knee. In the framed posture, your forearm is on their hip and your hand is on their shin. In the straight-legged posture, you turn your hip up and keep your near leg long, so the knee slides off.
Your partner has side control. Their hips come up and a hand goes to your collar. You turn to your side with elbow and knee together. Their knee lands on your hip, not your belly.
Frames, not pushes
If the knee lands, put frames on the knee and the hip. Keep your elbows bent. Their weight goes into your bones.
Frames make them move to attack. When they move, you move.
The running survival posture
When your frames start to fail, switch to the running survival posture. You turn away from them, but everything stays closed.
- On your side, facing away.
- Hips tucked, knees drawn up.
- Top elbow closed on your ribs.
- Hand protecting your neck, chin tucked.
You are in the running posture. Your partner grabs your top wrist and pulls. You keep the elbow tight to your ribs and the hand on your neck. You move your hips away.
The exposed roll
The exposed roll is the same turn done without protection. Your arm reaches out and your hips open. They take your back or catch the arm.
So protection comes first, then the turn. Close the elbow, tuck the hips, then turn.
You turn away from the knee into the running posture. Which detail turns it into the exposed roll?
If they drop back to side control, turn back in and use side control survival.
Train it on the Path
Reading is the first step. The Knee on belly survival unit has 5 short lessons: you see a position and pick the best move.
The Path goes in order: start free from lesson one and you reach Knee on belly survival on the way. With Rolla Plus you can jump straight here.