Let's Talk About the Mount

Maintaining the Mount is a difficult thing to learn for most. For being such a powerful position, it certainly doesn’t always appear to be so. For a new student, the concept of the Mount is easy to understand. The theory of controlling one’s opponent from this position is sound, but something is lost in the transition to practical application. This is a fairly common situation for beginning students, but something that can be overcome in time.

Like everything else in Jiu-Jitsu, it takes time to develop a solid Top Mount game. In the interim, many students find themselves being easily reversed and wind up on the bottom. In the hierarchy of positions, the Mount is second from the top, but all too often some students abandon this position early in their training because it’s more difficult to master. If you think about it this way, what are some of the easiest positions for you to “maintain” with zero effort on your part? The answer is simple, being Back Mounted, Top Mounted, or Side Mounted by your opponent. If you wanted to maintain any of these positions, you would put zero effort forth and do nothing. Now what are the most difficult positions to maintain and why? Do we simply abandon these positions because they’re more difficult to maintain? Do we play the high percentage game and not go for the Armbar from the Mount because it’s thought to be a low percentage move? Of course my answer is no. If you’ve already identified this as a weakness in your game, then logically this is one area you know you can concentrate on improving.

Once you’ve tackled this issue and become more proficient in maintaining the Mount, the issue then becomes one of weighing the risk between maintaining what you have versus sacrificing your position to go for a submission. If you get the submission, all is well, but if your opponent is able to defend and capitalize on your failed attempt, you could end up being reversed and again find yourself on the bottom.

For most students it doesn’t take too long to figure out the percentage game and ultimately they settle on Side Mount as a safer option. It’s an overly crude analysis, but it’s no different than learning if you stick your hand into a flame, you’ll get burned, so don’t stick your hand in a flame. The difference is that with practice, you can become more proficient at maintaining the Mount and finishing your submissions. Sometimes it’s more about speed and fluidity, however sometimes it’s about balance and control.

The decision to go for the Armbar from Mount is a tough one. I almost always advocate that it’s more important to go for the submission. Of course, you will not always be able to finish the submission and you will have given up your dominate position. This could very well land you on the bottom. But if you don’t continue to try and learn how to execute the move correctly, you’ll find yourself always working towards a Judo pin rather than working towards a submission. Consequently, you’ll never get better at the Armbar from Mount.

Here is an excerpt from Stephen Kesting’s book, A Roadmap for Brazilian JiuJitsu.

"Going for that armbar means you run the risk of trading a superior position (Mount) for a neutral position (Guard). Some coaches will encourage you to try for that armbar and end the fight, while others will discourage it, arguing that risking top position is unacceptable.

As with all attempts to balance risk and reward, everyone has their own comfort zone. Some BJJ practitioners are perfectly happy to abandon top position if they think there is a chance that doing so could lead them to a successful submission, whereas more conservative grapplers prefer submissions that don't yield the top position should the attempt fail.

If you are competing in mixed martial arts (MMA), or are in a self-defense situation, then I would think long and hard before abandoning the precious top position. Being on the bottom in these contexts means that your opponent, with gravity on his side, could slip some heavy punches, elbows or headbutts through your defenses. If, on the other hand, you're doing sport BJJ or submission grappling, then you have a more latitude about ending up on the bottom. Being on the bottom in a sport BJJ context isn't the end of the world if you have a good Guard game.

One of the decisions you'll have to make at some point in your BJJ career is where YOU stand on the issue of keeping the top position. Even if you decide to become a die-hard top position player there are still several reasons why you should still learn and occasionally practice submissions with an inherent risk of you ending up on the bottom.

First, it may help your athletic development, and make you feel more comfortable in scrambles where positions aren't so clear cut and the role of the combatants (i.e. top vs. bottom) change very rapidly.

Second, an opponent may reverse you and send you to the bottom against your will - feeling comfortable with these techniques may allow you to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat en route to the bottom.

Finally, learning submissions that risk losing top position will improve your defense should an opponent try the same attack on you. The best way to counter a technique is to first learn how to do it yourself."

So my advice is to continue working on improving your Mount and continue working on improving those submissions from the Mount.