Mount survival
Mount is when the other person sits on your chest or belly. This tutorial shows how to set a survival posture early, protect your arms and neck, and stop the collar choke.
Set your posture early
Under mount, the top player's weight is on you, and your arms are under their weight. So you set your posture before they settle.
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Your elbows are tight to your ribs and your hands are up, guarding your collar. Survival Posture in the library ›
- Elbows in, tight to your ribs.
- Hands up, guarding your collar.
- Chin down.
- Feet flat on the mat, ready to bridge.
Low, high and S-mount
| Mount | What it looks like | Main danger |
|---|---|---|
| Low mount | Their hips low on yours, chest down, often with their legs wrapped around yours | Hard to bridge, but your elbows still work |
| High mount | Their knees up in your armpits | Armbar and americana |
| S-mount | One of their legs folded up by your head | The armbar is one step away |
| Technical mount | You are on your side, their knee behind your back | They take your back |
High MountHigh mount: their knees climb up toward your armpits.
S-MountS-mount: one of their legs is folded up by your head.
In seated mount, they sit up tall and reach for your collar. Keep your elbows in and your hands guarding.
Stop the collar choke
In the gi, the cross collar choke needs two grips. The first grip is the setup. The second grip finishes it.
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The choke you are trying to stop: both their hands are deep in your collar. Cross Collar Choke in the library ›
- Tuck your chin down.
- Grab the sleeve or wrist of the first grip.
- Pin it to your chest, elbows in.
Now the second hand has no path across your neck. Fight the first grip, not the second.
Your partner has mount. One hand goes deep into your collar, thumb inside. You grab that sleeve at once and pin it to your chest. Their second hand cannot cross.
Stop the climb
The top player wants to walk their knees up toward your armpits. That is high mount.
- Keep your elbows in and down.
- Put your hands on their hips.
- Bridge a little to push their hips back down.
Your partner climbs to high mount. Your right arm is trapped under their knee. You tuck your chin, pull the elbow toward your ribs and turn toward that side.
Too late, too straight, turned away
- Defending only when both hands are in the collar. The choke is seconds away.
- Pushing with straight arms. They armbar one of them.
- Turning onto your belly. They take your back.
- Elbows out wide. Their knees climb in under them.
- Bridging straight up with nothing trapped. They post a hand and stay on top.
Your partner is in mount. Which part of your posture gives them the americana?
Survive, then escape
Hold your posture and wait. Every attack from mount needs them to move: to climb, to sit up or to reach. When they move, the escape appears.
The escapes come later in the Path, in Mount escapes.
Train it on the Path
Reading is the first step. The Mount 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 Mount survival on the way. With Rolla Plus you can jump straight here.