Q:  At 190 (pounds not years lol!) I still have difficulty bridging someone off of me when in the gaurd (sic) position. I think Im pretty strong physically. So I think its a "technique fault" not strength fault. I try to throw the guy 45 degrees. I mean not straight over head and not to the side but you know, 45 degrees. If a guy is not committed, that is, loosely sitting there, I have a hard time getting him off. Any ideas?

A:  You stated "when in the gaurd (sic) position" which I take to mean you are on your back and you have your legs wrapped around your opponent -- you have him 'in your guard'.

But  I think you mean that the opponent has you 'mounted'. You are on your back and he is sitting astride you.

First of all, realize that when you are mounted, you are in deep yogurt. The only position worse is when the guy has you mounted from behind with his hooks in.

So you are not alone when it comes to having difficulty in escaping the mount. Plus guys that have good mounts are really, really tough to reverse.

But, you must -- MUST -- get proficient at escaping the mount.

There are a myriad of cool ways to escape the mount and come out with an armbar, a leg lock or to take the guy's back, etc.

But the Gracies usually start you off with 4 basic mount escapes. The basic premise of each is that you must keep the guy sitting down on your hips (we're assuming he is not hitting you in the face right now, we're learning the basics right?)

If you are a strong guy and you are having trouble "bridging" (some guys call it "bumping" or "doing the oompa") you probably are letting the guy sit too high on your chest.

Keep your elbows close to your sides to force his knees away from your armpits.

Here's the 4 basic mount escapes:

1. HE HAS HIS HAND(S) ON YOUR LAPELS OR IS TRYING TO CHOKE YOU.
a. Keep him down on your hips;
b. Trap one of his arms to your chest with both your hands;
c. Take your foot and place it sole down on the mat on the OUTSIDE of his leg which is on the SAME side as the arm you trapped. Now you have both his arm AND his leg on one side trapped.
d. Push your hips up straight up to the ceiling driving his head STRAIGHT over yours, then roll him (at the 45 degree angle you mentioned) toward the side that you have trapped.

It's important to keep your hips up in the air when you bump and roll him. If you bump him up, then come back down to the mat, he has the chance to regain his balance (and usually he hooks both feet under the small of your back and now you are really hurting).

2. He doesn't want you to grab one of his arms, so HE PUTS BOTH HANDS OUT WIDE ON THE MAT TO BRACE HIMSELF.
a. Keep him down on your hips (if he gets up too high, push his knees and wiggle up so that you get him low again);
b. Capture one of the arms out to the side. You might have to swim from inside out to capture it or you might have to try attacking one arm and then capture his opposite arm.
c. Trap the same side leg with your foot;
d. Bump him over your head and roll to the quarter angle.

3. He gets smarter (they all do). He doesn't want you to grab an arm so HE PUTS ONE ARM UNDER YOUR HEAD.
a. Trap the arm that's under your head by cupping your palm around his elbow/tricep and pushing it toward your ear. Now he can't pull his arm out even if he wanted to;
b. Use your other hand to control the biceps on his other arm (this is important -- a box choke is coming if you don't control the off arm!);
c. Trap the same side leg;
d. Bump.

The first three are all similar and they work when the guy is gripping you tight with his knees.

The fourth one is the famous elbow escape, which you will end up using for the majority of your mount escapes at the higher level.

4. He is getting smarter. When he feels you trying to trap his leg, HE PULLS HIS LEG OUT AND AWAY FROM YOUR BODY TO AVOID YOUR FOOT.
a. Turn on your side FACING his leg that is out to avoid your foot trapping;
b. Bring your bottom knee toward your armpit UNDER his leg. You will need to be completely on your side so your leg is flat on the mat. It won't work if you stay on your back. Take your elbow or hand on the same side as your bottom knee and block or push his leg to allow your bottom knee to come underneath his leg;
c. Put the sole of your foot onto the floor behind his outstretched leg (the one you just pulled your leg out from under and over). This traps his leg and prevents him from just stepping over your leg to remount you;
d. Turn completely onto your other side and repeat the process with your other leg.

The result is that you finish with both legs out from under his legs and wrapped around his body for the guard.

The elbow escape is almost impossible to do if the guy is squeezing you tight with his legs. The first three hip escapes are tough to do when he has his knees and legs out wide.

So in practice you will find that you will work back and forth between a hip escape (to bump him) and an elbow escape.

For example, he is tight, I try and hook his leg and he counters by straightening it out. Then I elbow escape. Or his legs are loose, I start going for the elbow escape and he counters by squeezing his knees in tight toward my body. I IMMEDIATELY capture his leg and do one of the first three hip escapes.

I know you are going to hate this suggestion, but you might allow yourself to get mounted during your workouts until you have mastered a few escapes. I know it sucks, but you'll thank me later when you are confident you can escape anyone's mount.

Good luck and keep training.

Brad Parker