Dogfight Back Take
Transition · Half Guard
From the half guard dogfight, both of you on your knees side by side, this takes you from bottom to his back. The moment is when he turns away from your underhook, or leans on a whizzer so hard that driving into him fails. Move with his turn, do not wait for it to finish: glue your chest to his back, bring your other arm over his shoulder to lock a seatbelt with the underhook arm, then put a hook in, heel inside his thigh. If his whizzer pins your underhook arm, limp-arm it: thumb down, swing the arm forward out of the whizzer in the direction he drives, and step in behind him. Hooks before the seatbelt let him slip out. If he sits back into you, hooks in for back control; if he turns back to face you, take the single leg.
How to do it
- From the dogfight, feel them turn away from your underhook, usually to get away from the single leg.
- Move with the turn, without waiting for it to finish, and keep your chest glued to their back.
- Take the seatbelt grip: your underhook arm stays under their armpit, the other arm comes over the shoulder, hands locked on their chest.
- Put a hook in, heel inside the thigh, and roll to the side of your lower arm, then insert the second hook.
- If they stand up instead, drop to the near hip, keep the seatbelt and sit back to drag them down.
Key details
- Chest to their back with no space: a gap lets them turn back in.
- Seatbelt first, hooks second: the upper body control is what holds them.
- Move with their turn; do not wait for it to finish.
- If they turn away, the seatbelt is already there; if they turn toward you, look for the arm drag.
- Against a strong whizzer do not keep driving into it: limp-arm out. Turn your thumb down, swing the underhook arm forward and out in the direction he drives, and you are behind him.
Common mistakes
- Letting space open between you. — They turn back in and face you. — Glue your chest to their back as they turn.
- Putting the hooks in first. — Without upper body control they slip out. — Lock the seatbelt, then insert the hooks.
- Crossing your feet in front. — They trap a foot between their legs and attack it with a foot lock. — Keep the feet uncrossed, heels inside the thighs.
- Pulling the posted hand off the mat to reach for things in the dogfight. — Without the post he collapses you back down to your back before you get behind him. — Keep the outside arm posted and the outside knee wide until you are moving behind him.
How to drill it
Dogfight, partner turns away, you take the back, 8 reps.
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