The full mount position is one of BJJ’s most influential and dominant ones you can gain. In Jiu-Jitsu competitions, you’ll get 4 points for attaining it. From that, we can understand that achieving is quite difficult, especially in the more advanced leagues.
The full mount position is when you’re on top of your opponent. It’s one of BJJ’s most dominant positions because you have much more control over your opponent than the other way around. Some options you have to submit the opponent from mount are the Armbar, straight arm lock, and Guillotine choke.
But, you can make many mistakes along the way if you’re either in mount or trying to get to it. It’s essentially impossible to master it, as there are so many things you want to correct.
And that’s especially true when you’re against more advanced grapplers, as they’ll do anything to prevent you from getting the dominant position.
Indeed, BJJ is very similar to chess. You and your opponent react to each other while trying to get the dominant position. But, of course, one has to checkmate the other eventually.
This article will point out these mistakes and offer practical solutions to them. Likewise, it’ll explain the basics of the mount position.
Let’s dive in.
Full Mount Basics
The first part of this article will discuss the basics of the mount position. Although you might be familiar with some, you want to review each to ensure you understand how they play out.
Likewise, I’ll point out some mistakes novice grapplers make when they first learn the mount position. However, it can be effective to your overall grappling skills if, even if you’re past this point.
That’s why you want to read each sub-section to ensure you fully understand the basics of the full mount position.
Alright, enough theory; let’s dive into the practical steps.
#1 – Control the opponent’s hips
The first guideline with the mount position is to control the opponent’s hips. Most novice grapplers don’t bother maintaining the opponent’s hips, although gaining the dominant position in the fight can be highly beneficial.
If you’re in the mount position but have no control over the opponent, are you in the dominant position in the fight? The opponent likely has the advantage, even if you’re on top. You don’t have to be on top to be in the prevailing position. Look at the closed guard position, for example.
You want to control the opponent’s hips using either your feet or your knees. While you want to avoid squeezing your knees inward (as that will make you more vulnerable), you want to use your lower body to control the opponent’s hips.
You can transition to the high mount (which we’ll review in upcoming sections), which makes you less vulnerable to the opponent’s hips, the primary muscle that drives force when you’re in the low mount position.
So, control the opponent’s hips and legs, and you’re on your way to victory!
#2 – Lower your head
If you’ve read my closed guard breakdown, you know that breaking the opponent’s posture is the first step of an excellent attack. Well, the same applies here.
If you want to ensure a solid mount hold on the opponent, you want to lower your head to maintain as much balance as possible.
What do you think would happen if you were to sit straight with your head aligned to your back? The opponent would be able to knock you off with one quick movement—no big deal.
However, if you balance yourself by keeping your head down, you’ll be able to keep your position for longer, making you more likely to win.
#3 – Maintain a balanced posture
The 3rd principle of a proper mount position, which relates to the 2nd one, is maintaining a balanced posture. Keeping your head down is one way you must use to ensure your posture is balanced.
If the opponent is able to knock you off-balance, he’s more likely to get a more dominant position on you. From this position, he’s more likely to win the fight.
However, if you maintain a balanced posture, you can keep the mount position for many minutes, especially in self-defense against someone who doesn’t know BJJ.
Think how frustrated the opponent will be if you keep your mount for 100 seconds. He’s going to give up trying at some point. Well, keeping your balance is the first step to getting there.
#4 – Have your hands wide and not narrow on the mat
Another way to ensure your balance is to have your hands wide and not narrow. That’s another mount basic.
Many novice grapplers place their hands too narrow and without an angle. You want to avoid that by keeping your hands wide on the mat. That’ll help you maintain your balance.
Likewise, you want to place them at a 45-degree angle. Again, it’ll be best to do so as that’ll provide you with the most leverage. As a result, you’ll have more control over the opponent, which is a guideline you must keep to maintain a solid mount position.
How to Set Up Full Mount
Thus far, we’ve examined the basics and history of the full mount position. Nonetheless, I want to get into more detail about how to attain this position first. Many of you might struggle to get into it, so this section is primarily for you.
The primary guideline you must follow to get into the mount position is to control the opponent. For example, you can pass the opponent’s guard, gain side control, and transition to the full mount position. If you don’t control your opponent, you won’t be able to transition to mount smoothly.
Control their hips. Control their legs. You can do that in many ways we won’t dive into right now. First, however, remember that Jiu-Jitsu and grappling—generally—are all about control.
You want to maintain as much control over the opponent as possible, especially if you want to gain the dominant position over your opponent. Therefore, it’ll be best first to attain a less dominant position, such as side control (although it’s very prevalent), and transition to full mount from it (while controlling the opponent’s legs, hips, and upper body.)
Different coaches will teach various techniques and entries. The basics of attaining this position, however, are all about control. Remember that, and you’ll be on your way to getting into full mount more frequently.
Mount Variations
This section will review 3 mount variations. You want to familiarize yourself with all of them as they’ll help you finish more fights in this position.
It’s pretty shocking to me when I hear white and blue belts not getting into the full mount position. First, you’re not getting 4 points in most Jiu-Jitsu competitions for no reason. It’s a dominant place to be, especially in grappling, but also in self-defense and MMA.
Alright, without further ado, let’s examine the 3 primary mount variations you want to know.
Low Mount
The first variation is the low mount. You’ll see this variation when your hips are on top of the opponent’s hips.
That’s the least aggressive position, as it’s pretty difficult to finish a fight from that position. Transitioning to the S mount (which we’ll review soon) is much better.
This is the variation most people think of when thinking of full mount.
High Mount
The high mount is the second variation. You’ll see it when your hips are atop the opponent’s stomach/chest area.
This is a more aggressive position to be in, hence more effective. However, the opponent will also have a more difficult time escaping it, as he can’t use his hips, his primary driving force.
S Mount
The S mount is the last variation we’ll review in this part of the article. From this position, going for the Armbar or Americana is natural.
It’s the most aggressive out of the 3, and you can finish fights swiftly from this position.
You want to start in the high-mount position to begin transitioning to it. Then, you want to bring your knee and foot upward and enter an S position. The final step is to either go for the cross-collar choke or the Armbar. You can go for countless submissions from this position, however.
Best Submissions From the Full Mount
This part will review relevant and practical ways to submit an opponent and finish a fight from the full mount position. You can use the options I give you—but I want you to remember one thing.
You can get as creative and wild as you want with this position. There’s no better way to finish a fight than with something you haven’t explicitly trained. You want to react to the opponent while keeping as much control as possible.
And then you can finish the fight from the full mount position. But, really, there are countless of submissions you can and should use to force the opponent to tap out.
Let’s review 3 highly practical ones.
#1 – Americana
The Americana is one of BJJ’s most effective and applicable submissions. It utilizes arm pressure to force the opponent to tap out. Using it from the mount position is an excellent choice, as it’s more than effective in that position.
So, here’s how to perform it properly:
- Start in the mount position
- Grab the opponent’s wrist
- Lean forward
- Place your elbow beside the opponent’s ear
- Insert your hand underneath his arm
- Grip your wrist with the same arm
- Apply pressure (up or to the side)
- Apply pressure (up or to the side)
I also have a complete guide to the Americana. So follow this link to learn everything about it.
#2 – Guillotine choke
The second submission from the mount position we’ll review is the Guillotine choke. I’m a huge fan of this variation because of its effectiveness and simplicity. It really isn’t that difficult to learn and execute.
Let’s see how to perform it properly:
- Start from a mounted position
- Get low and create pressure on his head
- Grab his hand between himself and the mat
- Drive his shoulder with your other hand
- Force his shoulder in the direction of his head
- Once he pulls his hand outwards, wrap your hand around his neck
- Squeeze while creating upward pressure and driving his head forward
- Wait for the tap out
I wrote a complete breakdown of the Guillotine choke (from all positions); follow this link to learn about this magnificent submission.
#3 – Triangle choke
The last submission we’ll review in this section is the Triangle choke. It’s one of the most popular ones, and that’s for one primary reason: its effectiveness.
The Triangle choke is used widely today, even in self-defense gyms. And, you want to learn it if you’re a BJJ trainee. But, perhaps you knew it already and want to perfect it from the mount position.
If that’s the case, follow this link to read a complete technique breakdown of the Triangle choke and a guide on how to perform it mistake-free.
Here’s how to perform it:
- Start in the mount position
- Slide your knee under the opponent’s arm
- Secure the head
- Grab the wrist
- Put your foot on the biceps
- Put one leg over the neck
- Insert the other leg
- Make a triangle shape
- Lock your legs
- Apply pressure and wait for the tap
Alright, it’s time we review some tips to maintain more control when you’re in the mount position and finish more fights when you’re in it.
Full Mount Tips
As I’ve mentioned, this section will review 4 tips you want to implement in your grappling game to notice more results when using this dominant position.
I’ll keep the introduction short; I want you to read these tips already!
Tip #1 – Make the opponent panic
Back then, people used striking to make their opponents panic before they went for a submission from the full mount position. However, this is impossible today.
It’s possible, for instance, to apply pressure on the opponent’s collar and use it as leverage. This will surely make the opponent attack and react, igniting your attack.
Notice how BJJ is very similar to chess. Both are games of offense and defense.
Another way to make your opponent panic when you’re in the full mount position is to fake going for a submission. Then, you start your real attack once the opponent panics and reacts quickly.
Finally, my favorite way is to attack the opponent’s breathing. You want to target his neck and throat by applying pressure on them. How do you think your opponent will feel? Let me tell you: very uncomfortable with the current situation.
You’ll experience a much smoother grappling game when you approach it this way.
Tip #2 – Place your toes below the opponent’s bottom
Placing your toes below the opponent’s bottom is another way to attain more control over the opponent.
You likely have realized that you want to control as much of the opponent as possible. Do that, and you’ll win more fights by keeping your full mount for longer.
You’ll be able to control the opponent’s hips better by doing so. Combining this step with all the basics will be better if you want to keep the mount longer, especially over a minute. You’ll be on your way to achieving that if you do so.
Tip #3 – Don’t forget the hips
The opponent’s primary force is in his hips. Therefore, you want to do anything you can to 1. control them, and 2. remain balanced.
Many novice grapplers forget that the hips are an extremely powerful muscle. The opponent can drive your body forward if you let him. Therefore, you must always pay attention to the opponent’s hips and use all the basics to control your posture and remain balanced.
Forget the hips and be prepared to be swept.
Tip #4 – Use the S mount
The low mount first comes to mind when you think of the full mount position. However, fewer people will think of the high mount, and almost none will have the S mount come to mind.
So, it’s natural that people won’t use the S and high mounts as often as the low mount. But, the S and high mounts are highly effective. They’re more aggressive and will provide you with more viable options to go for.
I encourage you to experiment with the different variations. Learn all of them simultaneously and throw yourself into deep waters. While reading this post is definitely beneficial, you’ll learn from experience and practice.
How to Escape Full Mount
Escaping the mount position can be tricky, especially if the opponent is bigger than you. The opponent has more control over you than the opposite—and as a result—you will have more difficulty escaping than he will have to hold his position. So, knowing this one escape might allow you to escape mount; here’s how it goes:
Bridging is the best way to escape full mount in BJJ. Bridging is when you push the opponent with your hands while raising your hips. The natural outcome is that the opponent will have side momentum, forcing him to lean to the side and place his hands on the mat (and not on you.)
Bridging is the most popular way to escape the mount position. While there are many others, more complex ones, this is the one you want to learn first.
You’ll be able to bridge with more and less advanced trainees. So definitely go and try this beautiful and excellent technique.
Here’s a visual aid of how to bridge in BJJ:
Final Words
You’ve made it to the end; congratulations! I know it was challenging to keep your focus throughout the entire article, but I want you to know it was worth it.
Learning everything you can about BJJ will help you become a better grappler. You have access to all the information on the planet, so use this access wisely.
Although reading this article has made you a better grappler, there’s nothing like experience—practice, practice, practice. Don’t forget that you’re going to make mistakes in the beginning. However, constant training and implementation of the tips and basics I’ve presented in this article will allow you to perfect your full mount.
While the mount position is a highly effective one, it’s not the only one you should learn and master. Follow this link to read about BJJ’s best positions to dominate your opponents and win more BJJ fights!
And you’d also be interested in the following articles if you’ve made it thus far:
The Best Guard Passes You Must Learn in BJJ