Using the Worm to Secure Your Mount by Cesar Casamajo

Effectively securing the mount position can be one of the hardest places to get to because it is easily one of the most feared positions to get stuck in and therefore, your opponent or training partner will be doing everything in their power to prevent it.  The path to mount is rife with danger at every turn and often times what makes our mount takes unsuccessful is what I like to call "getting greedy".  By seeing the coveted position right in front of us, we get greedy and grab for it before we've earned it or maintained proper control of the opponent.

In the video below, excerpted from this new Best of Butterfly Guard series from BJJ Fanatics, Cesar Camajo gives viewers plenty of details that will make their mount takes much safer and more likely to be successful.  Check out the video below to learn how "The Worm" can help ensure you get to the mount where you belong!

What are some of the key points of Cesar's mount take that we can put into practice right way?  First and foremost a good mount take comes from a solid position of control before the mount take ever happens.  In this case, he uses an extremely strong side control, using a deep control under the head with his arm, reaching all the way to the arm pit.  This gives him great control on their upper body, allowing him to pull the opponent towards him.  This makes the heavy shoulder pressure into their face even more crushing because of the angle.

From this strong side control position, he methodically moves to knee on the belly and uses his base leg to keep heavy pressure and prevent the release of the knee on belly weight.  At this point the mount take can begin.

The Worm

At this point "the worm" comes into play.  Cesar uses his far side under hook and applies his pressure at the opponent's elbow to control the arm.  Instead of keeping the under hook tight to their body, he increases his leverage and ability to easily open the arm up by attacking it at the elbow. 

Also, instead of simply trying to drive the arm straight up, which would meet a great deal of resistance and fighting from the opponent, he moves the arm up incrementally by walking his hand up the mat, pausing and letting his hand go flat, then he walks it a bit further, pauses, and repeats the process until the arm is sufficiently high.  He adds to this process a slight turn that takes the arm towards the opponent's head and when he is able to secure the head he grabs the opponent's head with the arm caught.

From this position, the opponent is powerless to stop the mount and Cesar has a wide open track to slide the knee on belly across to the floor and achieve a high and safe mount. He proves that a good mount take, starts first and foremost with a good starting point and develops slowly and methodically until the opponent has no choice but to accept the bottom mount position.

For more from Cesar Camajo, you've got to check out "Best of Butterfly Guard" the new series from BJJ Fanatics.  You can get it right here!

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