Craig Jones Teaches a Beautiful Mounted Triangle

Posted by BJJ Fanatics on August 18, 2020

Over the past few years Craig Jones has been part of an elite group of BJJ competitors that helped to bring the leg lock game into the spotlight. Along with Gordon Ryan, Lachlan Gies, and Garry Tonon, just to name a few, Jones’s contributions to attacking the lower half have been pivotal and he’s proven his game to be effective at the highest levels of the sport. What's actually even scarier about all the previously mentioned names is that not one of them are one trick ponies and they are actually just as skilled at EVERYTHING else.

As all of these athletes continue to release instructional material on other aspects of their games, we get to experience just how truly well-rounded these standouts of the sport really are. Boasting incredible guard games and stellar passing, we’re literally getting insight into the minds and games of the best grapplers on the planet.

Jones has already filmed a good deal of content for BJJ Fanatics. Though his instructionals contain technique that's all over the map, Jones has focused on the finer points of his leg lock game heavily with releases like Battle Tested Down Under Leg Locks, which was a beautiful sequel to his first release Down Under Leg Attacks, showing his innovations and how his game had evolved since the first release. If you haven’t seen these yet and you're a leg locker, these aren’t to be missed. Jones is now set to release an instructional that's going to be highly anticipated as this specific skill set is crucial to anyone looking to chain their upper body and lower body submissions together. Coming from Jones, this is sure to be an exciting, information packed body of information on an important theme.

Like I said before, Jones is not limited in his skills. That's been evident in his performances. The leg locks have shined, sure, but he’s dangerous from everywhere and in this video we find Jones guiding Bernardo Faria through a beautiful mounted triangle. Take a look at this!

Jone’s first order of business here is to isolate an arm. Think Americana lock. If he's able to use one hand to get the arm to the floor, he will do so, but this may be tougher in a situation against a bigger stronger opponent. Using two hands he forces the arm to the mat. Pinning the arm with one hand he then looks to reach under the head with a crossface and drives his fist down into his partner’s armpit space as he forces the trapped arm to move north. As Jones drives his fist down it causes his partner to come up onto his side a bit. Again here, one hand may not be enough, so once Jones has made contact with his fist to the mat, he may decide to bring in his other fist for a bit of extra leverage.

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Here, Jones will modify his mount, sliding his back knee up toward the head and then posting his front side foot on the mat. With a quick motion he reaches through and secures his own foot, pulling it through the loop in his partner's arm and setting up the first stage of the triangle. He's sure to use his hand to bring the foot through as this will eliminate any space along with ruining any chances of his partner getting the hand back on the inside.

Jones then brings his weight forward a bit, positioning himself over top of his partner and bringing his opposite knee to the back of the head. With a bit of a lean and posting on his hand, Jones can easily lock the triangle. With a squeeze from the top, Jones commands the tap but if he chooses, he can also fall back into a more traditional position to finish. Here, Jones advises us to bring our partners' elbows to the floor to make the choke even tighter and it appears to do just that!

One of the biggest problems we see with the mounted triangle is giving away too much space. The transition to bringing the leg under the head can be awkward and the entire attack can fall apart instantly. Jones has provided a great way to eliminate these common issues and help us chase the triangle with better technique. This is a great solution to technique that puzzles many of us from one of the best in the game. Give it a shot!