Escape the Knee on Belly Position with Lachlan Giles
Protect Yourself From This Bad Spot
There’s nothing quite as dominating as the knee on belly position. Using the knee on belly to control the bottom player, especially in the gi, can be downright ruthless when the top player knows how to apply the correct pressure and ride out the position. In competition, it’s a great way to rack up some points, and you can continue to attack from there, or transition to several other positions. I’ve always preferred getting right to the knee on belly after completing a guard pass. When someone has the ability to move their hips really well, the knee on belly has always helped me bypass that stage of side control where guard retention is a huge threat.
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On the flipside, defense can be tricky. We have to be careful here how we choose to defend the position. Reaching can result in the acquisition of a limb for the top player, and over committing to rolling away from our partner can end in a back take, among other pitfalls. Let’s take a look at a video from Lachlan Giles, He’s got some ideas that may help you defend and escape the knee on belly with a little more efficiency. Have a look!
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In the first option, Giles positions his hands in two different spots. He places one palm on the knee of his partner, and another in his partner’s hip. He gives alternatives for the second hand, but reminds us that no matter where we choose to place the hand our elbow must remain close to us, and below the plane of our partner’s leg. With his hands in place, Giles hip escapes to remove himself from under the knee. He then places his top leg on his partners shoulder and brings his bottom leg in to the space he’s created to reestablish his guard.
For the second option, Giles begins to hip escape away from his partner. Every time he performs the hip escape a pocket of space opens up under his partner’s knee on belly leg. At the right moment, Giles reaches his far arm through the space and around his partners leg. He then connects his arm around his own top leg, encapsulating his partners leg. Giles then moves his hips under his partner, scooping his body, and moving him to the other side. If he’s not able to complete a full reversal, Giles has the ability to recompose his guard from here, which is another favorable option.
I love the drill that Giles creates out of the first technique. It gives the student a way to practice the move in a more real time setting. Being that it’s a first-tier type of escape, we can build awareness and muscle memory using a drilling type application to commit the technique to memory.
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