How to best maintain mount position

Question

The title pretty much sums it up, I often have trouble maintaining mount, so much so, that i rarely even bother going to the position because i get reversed so quickly. This makes me miss out on those 4 points, which can make a big difference if the match goes the full length.

Thanks!

Answer 1

There are a number of common issues in maintaining a mount. Examine your mount, and perhaps you'll find one of these to be a problem:

1. No base with your knees – When you're riding low, you need to create a strong base, and your knees offer you that base. Keep your knees out while pulling your feet in to give both control and a base at the same time.

2. Stop going forward and down – When you're riding low, it's likely that you're putting your weight forward and down, making yourself a nice convenient package to get bucked and taken into a half-guard. Keep your posture higher and back a bit, then work for the arm control.

3. Maintain your posture – It's easy to want to look down at your opponent. Looking down is bending forward, and you're going to get bucked, even when you're riding higher.

4. Go to one knee – When they do hip out, go onto the front-side knee to keep them from pulling you into that half- or full-guard.

5. Lock your feet – Keeping your feet locked behind them keeps them from pushing up and slipping into butterfly guard.

6. Control their hips – Keeping your feet locked behind them and your weight down against the hips can keep them from bucking to change the position.

These are not a guarantee of anything, but they are extremely common problems, and may help you examine your own positioning and see where you're going wrong.

Answer 2

Something I've noticed helps me sometimes is (after doing what Keith Nicholas suggested in his tip) driving my knees up towards their armpits, separating their elbows from their sides. This takes away the power from their bridge and isolates their arms somewhat, giving me attacks or setups when they try to regain that space back. Also sometimes when they bridge and I ride them I sneak my feet under the small of their back, this seems to stifle their bridging power.

So in summary, play with

• High mount, on their upper body
• Driving knees into their armpits
• Feet under the small of their back

Answer 3

I tend to grapevine to help with establishing a mount with a really squirmy opponent. You can't stay there for long because its kind of neutral, and there are counters, but it can be good to help settle into mount.

Answer 4

There is another : control the opponent with pain.

Either place parts of your body (elbows, knees, toes, feet, fists, whatever) in places where it'll hurt so much they'll tap out, or organize extensions/twists/locks that will trigger if they move, causing pain, thus making them not want to move.

People will try to outpower you. You have to accept that, and it means you have to work harder to get a proper result. It does mean, though, that when you develop that skill, you will be a fearsome opponent.

[Edit -- so I got two downvotes in as many days. Is that because putting people in pain is not allowed in the game? In the absolute, pain is the ruler of the body. You may not like my answer, and it may not be the one you want to hear, but it is not wrong.]