You have them in your guard, you think you are doing well and then you realize you are stuck, flat on your back with nothing.

Sound familiar?

We all find ourselves in this spot either by miscalculation or as a result of ‘the other guy’ trying to smash us regardless of them being in our guard or not.

As we learn from proper training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, there is always a way out, always something you can do. What we need are the pieces to figure out how to get to where we want to be.

For this month we will be looking at movement from the guard position. Most of this means learning the hip escape and then simple positional changes or submissions that will come from that movement/escape.

What we will be talking and training about looks kind of like this:

Basically put, you don’t want to stay stuck on your back. You are likely going to need to utilize the hip escape to make some space which will allow you to get to or to help set up your next position or a submission.

Make sure you work this key movement both in isolation and with a partner and as you progress have your partner give you a harder time until you can create space and movement via the hip escape with ease.

Of course a flow chart is nice on paper and understanding the syllabus is important but putting it into practice is the key. Make sure you make the most of your October 2016 BJJ training at Eke Academy of Martial Arts and make it out to both our Monday, Wednesday and Saturday Gi classes as well as the Tuesday and Thursday no-Gi classes. You will find there are subtle differences and key fundamentals with both which you won’t want to miss.

This month we would like to see you have a few takeaways to work on when you train:

Key submissions:

• Kimura
• Omoplata
• Armbar from guard
• Armlock

Key positions:

• Full Guard
• Open Guard

Key movements:

• Hip escape

For more information there are a couple of very good articles on the hip escape you should read:

http://www.bjjweekly.com/blog/post/the-importance-of-hips-in-brazilian-jiu-jitsu

https://breakingmuscle.com/brazilian-jiu-jitsu/how-to-hip-escape-a-fundamental-bjj-movement-and-a-low-cost-mode-of-transportati