Simple Mount Maintenance With Bernardo Faria

 

We don’t see a great number of instructionals on the mount position. When we look back into BJJ history there appears to be an exclusive group of practitioners and competitors that recruited the mount and its utilities as one of their favorite methods of attack. This group is not large, but it is filled with big names. Some of these include Roger Gracie, Saulo Ribeiro, and Rafael Lovato Jr. just to name a few. Among these names we’ll also find another man with a feared mounted skillset, Bernardo Faria. 

Bernardo Faria has recently released a new instructional on the topic and its filled with some incredible information on not only attacking from the mount, but also how to get there, and mount maintenance as well. In the Mount Attack Encyclopedia, we’re getting a look at a comprehensive approach to all things mount, through the eyes of a multiple time BJJ World Champion. 

I can recall trying to find information on the position and there not being much out there in the way of a systematic approach. It seems that there are always pieces available. A good cross choke, an arm bar, or how to stop someone from hip escaping. These different facets of the mount seemed to be all on their own with little information on control and maintenance. I have to admit, the mount has not been a strong position for me. I find it very difficult to maintain if the bottom player is incredibly active. Maybe this is a problem area for you as well, but half the time when I’m there I feel like I’m on borrowed time. After delving into Faria’s new instructional a bit, I picked up some very solid ideas on maintenance that are helping me extend the duration of my time in the mount, which in turn is leading to a little more exploration. 

Faria has a very simple and direct style. His instruction has been trimmed of all the fat and is as bare bones as you can get. But what remains from this trimming are only the absolute essentials needed to be successful. I’ve had the pleasure of training with Faria. I had to laugh to myself as he poured over me like wet cement. I’ve never felt anything quite like his pressure. As I laid there, flat and responding with next to nothing, Faria gave me a firsthand experience of just how in tune he is with his pressure control and incredible intelligence all married together to create the perfect storm. For me, this was a great experience. It gave me insight into the mount that I had never been exposed to and beyond that, feeling the famous Faria pressure is a high spot for me in my own personal journey. 

One of the most important aspects of the mount is understanding what the opposing party might do to escape. Without a doubt, the hip escape is probably the most imminent threat you will ever face from top mount. At the highest levels, hip movement is razor sharp and it can really throw a wrench in to your plans. In this video, Faria addresses this exact problem and gives us some ideas on how to deal with it. If you’re mount has been failing you, you must start with maintenance. The longer we can stay, the more success we will enjoy. Check this out! 

 

As Faria explains, without all three critical elements of the mount in your tool box;transitioning to mount, maintenance, and attacks, you cannot expect to be successful. We need to put all of these ideas to work for us to begin understanding the position. 

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Any good elbow escape requires us to get on our side. I have never seen a successful one performed from a flat position. When we turn on to our side, we tend to bring our gaze with us. I’ve also never witnessed a good elbow escape where the body moves but the head does not follow. Knowing this, Faria focuses his efforts here first. 

As his partner gets to his side to begin the motion of hip escaping, Faria reaches deep under the head (think cross face) and digs is thumb in to his partners lapel on the opposite side of the head. He also shifts his weight just a bit to the side where his thumb has entered the collar. This makes sense, given that he has eliminated his ability to post with his hand on the opposite side. As he moves his knee out of the way, he straightens his arm and forces his partner to look in the opposite direction, shutting down any hopes of a hip escape. Performing all of these movements to the opposite side, Faria demonstrates how we can turn this simple idea into a very effective drill. 

The second method is very similar to the first. Here, Faria again reaches under the head in response to his partner’s movement but instead of gripping the collar he reaches under his partner’s armpit area and uses shoulder pressure and his bicep to get the job done. Again, he’s forcing his partner’s gaze to the opposite side, eliminating any possibility of a hip escape. This method appears to cause an extreme level of discomfort and that’s always a good thing. This method may work very well in cases where immediate control is needed and the lapel is not available. A drill can also be applied here to cement the concept.

So, if the mount is a trouble spot for you, as it is for me, consider delving into Faria’s material. Its incredibly easy to follow and its filled with some illusive detail that may not be on your radar. Faria has made a career out of his incredible pressure, and ability to control, and we can learn a great deal from his battle tested concepts. Good luck! 

With Bernardo Faria you can rest assured that you will get Top-Tier Technique that has been tested at the highest levels of Jiu-Jitsu. The Mount Attack Encyclopedia gives you that focused look into one of the most dominating positions in Jiu-Jitsu!

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