Underhook Escape
Escape · Side Control
Takes you from bottom side control to your knees behind him, often straight into a single leg or the back. The moment is when he leaves a gap under his arm or shifts his weight off your chest. Slide the arm closest to him under his armpit from the inside, biceps deep in the pit, palm high on his back, elbow tight; shrimp slightly to make room and keep your head up beside his so he cannot crossface you flat. Then turn toward him onto your knees, lifting his shoulder with the underhook, and come up with your head against his ribs so he cannot sprawl on it. Always turn in, never away: turning away gives your back. A whizzer sends you back to guard; a crossface means frame and shrimp instead.
How to do it
- Win the underhook on the near side: slide the arm nearest them in under their arm by your hip, from the inside, biceps deep in the armpit and palm high on their back, elbow tight.
- Shrimp your hips slightly away to make room, keeping your head up close to theirs so they cannot crossface you flat.
- Turn your body to your knees under them, toward them, lifting their shoulder with your underhook as you turn.
- Come up behind them with your head on their side, against their ribs, so they cannot sprawl their chest onto your head.
- From there take a single leg on the near leg or keep the underhook and climb to the back.
Key details
- Turn in the moment they shift their weight: their weight is off your chest for a moment and the turn is free.
- Win the underhook first: the underhook lifts their shoulder and creates the space to turn under.
- Always turn toward them, never away: turning away gives the back.
- Keep the underhook elbow deep in their armpit: if they push it out with a whizzer, the turn stalls.
- Against the crossface use the pillow: put your near hand on top of your head, elbow open, and rest your head on that arm so they cannot turn your face away.
- Scoot your hips away until your legs point away from them, then come to your knees and build your base backwards: you rise by moving away from their pressure, not into it.
Common mistakes
- Turning away from them. — Turning away shows them your back, and they take it. — Always turn toward them, into the underhook.
- Turning without the underhook. — Without the underhook their weight pins you and you cannot turn. — Fight for the underhook before you try to turn.
- A slow turn. — A slow turn gives them time to flatten you again or switch to a whizzer. — Turn explosively at the moment their weight shifts.
- Reaching for the underhook before the frames. — A bare underhook gets jammed and the crossface flattens you. — Set the arm and leg frames first, then pummel the arm through the gap under their arm.
How to drill it
Underhook fight from bottom side control, 1-minute rounds.
What comes next
Where it comes from