Lesson 20 of the Crossroads Martial Arts Curriculum covers one method of getting into the Belly Pin position and how to escape it. The Belly Pin is a variation of the Back Mount, which is the strongest position in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and the Belly Pin variation makes it even stronger by trapping your opponent between you and the ground making it very difficult for them to move and leaving them no way to attack you.
In this Jiu-jitsu lesson we cover taking the back from the mount off of a very common error when trying to escape. If the person in the bottom position over commits to the elbow escape they expose their back and give the person on top an opportunity to advance their position. Improving your position is something you are always looking to do when you are training BJJ. We also took the time to cover how the bottom jiu-jitsu player may attempt to stop you from taking their back and how you can easily counter these road blocks.
From the bottom position we covered two ways to escape the position, one which puts us on the bottom of mount where we can more intelligently defend ourselves by simply being able to see what is happing, and a second escape were we are able to wrap our legs around the top players leg in a position called the half guard. In this half guard position we can use our legs to manipulate our opponents balance and perform a variety of attacks. The main details we focused on during both of these escapes were elbow and leg placement. Where to position your elbows so that when you achieve the next position you are in a good position to escape. In BJJ you need to be able to think steps ahead, and often this means not giving things away for free. If you keep your body in the right position it makes it awkward for your opponent to attack you and this makes escaping positions that much easier.
If you are interested in learning jiu-jitsu ( BJJ ) for either sport or self defense Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offers classes 7 days a week and hosts a variety of classes for all levels and age groups. Crossroads BJJ was the first Black Belt school in Southern CT and we are proud to continue the Machado Jiu-jitsu lineage. Stop by, get a great workout and meet some amazing people, its one of the best decisions you will ever make!