The mount, or mounted position, is a dominant ground grappling position, where one combatant sits on the other combatants

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical term for the central part, or the core, of the body of many animals (including humans), from which the head, neck, limbs, tail and other appendages extend. The tetrapod torso — including that of a huma ...

with the face pointing towards the opponent's head. This is a favorable position for the top combatant in several ways. The top combatant can generate considerable momentum for strikes (such as punches or

elbows The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

) to the head of the opponent, while the bottom combatant is restricted by the ground and by the combatant on top. Other advantages include various

chokehold A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...

s and

joint lock A joint lock is a grappling technique involving manipulation of an opponent's joints in such a way that the joints reach their maximal degree of motion and hyperextension. In judō these are referred to as, 関節技 ''kansetsu-waza'', "joint lo ...

s that can be applied from the top. The bottom combatant will usually look to

sweep Sweep or swept may refer to: Cleaning * Sweep, the action of using a brush to clean * Chimney sweep, a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys * Street sweeper, a person's occupation, or a machine that cleans streets * Swept quartz, a cleani ...

the opponent or transition into a better position such as the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Variations of the mount

A mount which is very high up on the opponent's

chest The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the crea ...

is referred to as a high mount, and a very low one on the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

or even

thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of ...

s as a low mount. A high mount can be used to pin one of the opponents arms under the knee, so as to prevent him or her from defending effectively. This however might increase the risk of the opponent being able to ''escape the back door'', in which he or she is able to move under the opponent and escape the mount. A too low mount on the other hand will result in the opponent being able to sit up, and possibly reverse the position into an

open guard Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' ( ...

with him or her on top. Another variation of the mount is the unusual reverse mount, in which the top combatant's face is towards the legs of the opponent. Such a position can be used to transition into various

leglocks A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are fe ...

. There is also the S-Mount where one knee slides next to the opponent's head while the other leg is curled under the opponent's armpit (for the legs to form an S) which adds additional pressure to opponent's ribcage and can be used to set up more advanced chokes and arm locks.

Attacks from the mount

Strikes from the mount

For those sports that allow striking from the mounted position, such as

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

, the most common strikes are punches to the face and head. Elbow strikes are also commonly used, and knee strikes are sometimes seen. In addition to punching the head, strikes to the ribs and chest can also be difficult to defend and thus effective.

Submissions from the mount

The mounted position is ideal for applying a variety of armlocks. By trapping the opponent's arm against the ground, the combatant in mount can easily apply a

keylock An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

, known in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

as ''ude-garami'' and in

BJJ Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

as either ''Kimura'' (medial keylock) or ''Americana'' (lateral keylock). If the bottom combatant attempts to push the top one off by extending one or both arms and pushing, the opponent can transition into a juji-gatame armbar. Many

chokes Choking, also known as foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), is a phenomenon that occurs when breathing is impeded by a blockage inside of the respiratory tract. An obstruction that prevents oxygen from entering the lungs results in oxygen de ...

, especially collar chokes, are also available from the mounted position. Such chokes are generally limited to sporting contestants who wear a gi or, in real-life combat, opponents wearing thick jackets, which provide a collar as an aid to choking, but attempting them at a gi-less situation can be successful if the performer manages to hold his opponent. Other submissions such as the Triangle Choke,

Arm Triangle Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between their own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, whi ...

and the

Gogoplata A gogoplata, foot choke "Piroplata" or is a type of chokehold that utilizes the shin bone. This technique is often used in Kodokan Judo, submission grappling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. History In the film ''The Essence of Judo'', judoka Kyuzo Mi ...

can be used from the mount but are less common.

Pinning holds from the mount

Pinning holds in

budō is a Japanese term describing modern Japanese martial arts. Literally translated it means the "Martial Way", and may be thought of as the "Way of War" or the "Way of Martial Arts". Etymology Budō is a compound of the root ''bu'' ( 武:ぶ), ...

from the mount include

tate shiho gatame is one of the seven mat holds, Osaekomi-waza, of Kodokan Judo. In grappling terms, it is categorized as a mounted position. Technique description

(縦四方固, "horizontal four quarters hold", also called ''hon-tate-shiho-gatame'', 本縦四方固), which is similar to kata-gatame except that it is performed from the mount. The opponent's arm is pinned against his or her neck, and the head and arm are held tightly. This may result in a potent

arm triangle choke Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between their own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, wh ...

. In its variations kuzure-tate-shiho-gatame (崩縦四方固, "modified horizontal four quarters hold"), the arm is not held against the neck, but rather, one of the arms may be held. The stability of these pinning holds or the mount in general, can be increased by entangling the opponents legs with the own legs, a technique known as ''grapevining''.

Defending from the bottom

It is critical for the bottom practitioner to be able to defend a mount by an opponent. Typical escapes include the ''back door escape'' (escaping by moving under the opponent) or ''bridging'' (also called the ''upa escape''; escaping by thrusting the hips upwards and to the side). For the bridging escape, also known as the Bridge and Roll Escape, to be successful, the practitioner typically must trap the arm and perhaps also block the foot of the opponent on top on the side to which the practitioner wants to roll prior to or during the bridge and roll movement. This prevents the opponent from posting to stop the roll.cite web , url=https://www.bjjee.com/articles/this-is-why-your-upa-your-bridge-and-roll-technique-doesnt-work/ , title=This Is Why Your Upa – Your Bridge And Roll Technique – Doesn’t Work , author= , date=March 11, 2020 , website=BJJ Eastern Europe , publisher=BJJ Eastern Europe , access-date=May 2, 2020 An alternative also commonly used is the ''elbow escape'', also referred to as the ''shrimp'' or ''shrimping'', this involves using the

elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...

s or hands to create space in between the opponent and the practitioner so that the practitioner can work one leg, then the other in between himself and his opponent, hence obtaining the

half guard Half guard (or half mount) is a ground grappling position where one combatant is lying on the other, with the bottom combatant having one leg entangled. Sometimes the bottom combatant is said to be in half guard, while the top combatant is in ...

, or

full guard The guard is a ground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs. In pure grappling combat sports, the guard is considered an advantageous position, ...

. Another option for the defending practitioner is to rotate the body so that the face points downwards. This will however place the practitioner in a very disadvantageous position, defending the

back mount Back mount, or rear mount (often confused with back control), is a dominant grappling position where the practitioner is on their opponent's back in such a way that they have control of their opponent (in back control, the practitioner controls ...

, but it is possible to escape while turning, if the opponent has not yet stabilized the position. By simultaneously ''escaping the back door'', or by standing up in an attempt to dislodge the opponent, a practitioner may successfully escape. Still another technique is for the defending practitioner to

his opponent, thereby moving from a defensive position to neutral one, or in a best-case scenario a dominant position.

References

* Gracie; Renzo, Gracie, Royler; Peligro, Kid; Danaher, John (2001). ''Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and technique''. Invisible Cities Press. . * Løvstad, Jakob
The Mixed Martial Arts Primer
''www.idi.ntnu.no''. URL last accessed March 6, 2006. (DOC format) * Page, Nicky

''homepage.ntlworld.com''. URL last accessed March 4, 2006. {{grappling Grappling positions Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques