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Mount is one of the most dominant positions in BJJ — four points in competition, and a launching pad for some of the sport's most reliable submissions. Mastering both the offensive and defensive side of mount is essential at every level.
Start Training Smarter →Mount places you directly on top of your opponent's torso. In a self-defense context, you can strike without restriction. In competition, mount earns four points — the highest single-position score — and creates submission opportunities from multiple angles.
The person on the bottom has limited movement options, limited visibility, and limited options for offense. The person on top can see everything, use gravity and body weight, and attack at will. This positional asymmetry is what makes mount so dominant.
Low mount sits on the opponent's hips or stomach. It's easier to maintain but provides fewer submission options. Experienced opponents can often use the upa escape from here.
High mount positions your knees at or above their shoulders. This dramatically limits their ability to upa (bridge escape) and creates excellent armbar and choke access. Walk your knees up whenever possible.
S-mount positions one knee at the shoulder level and the other foot posted outside their hip — creating an "S" shape. This is the ideal position for armbars and creates a natural entry to triangle or mounted triangle.
The mounted armbar is a high-percentage submission. From S-mount or high mount, control the wrist, swing your leg over the face while maintaining weight pressure, and extend the arm for the finish. Roger Gracie finished multiple world championship matches with this technique.
The Ezekiel choke uses a sleeve grip to choke from mount — thread your hand through your own sleeve and press the forearm against the throat. Unique because you can finish it even from a bad mount position.
When opponents defend their neck by grabbing your collar or creating frames, their arms become vulnerable. The Americana (keylock) pins their wrist and rotates the elbow — effective from low and high mount.
When they reach up to push you off, take the triangle from mount. Swing your leg over their arm and lock the triangle — the mounted position gives you leverage to complete the setup faster than from guard.
The arm triangle choke pins one arm against the neck and uses your shoulder to complete the choke on the other side. Available when they frame with the near arm — simply pin it next to their head and lock the arm triangle.
The upa is the fundamental mount escape. Trap one arm and the opposite leg, bridge explosively, and roll them over. It requires catching them off-balance — most effective from low mount when they're not posting correctly. Against high mount, the upa is much harder.
The elbow-knee escape (also called the shrimp escape or hip escape) creates space under the opponent. Shrimp away while pushing their knee with your elbow, creating enough space to insert your knee guard and recover half guard or closed guard.
Advanced mount escapes chain both — upa attempt forces them to post, creating space for the elbow-knee escape. The combination makes both more effective.
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Get Your Mount Training Plan →The best mount is one that comes naturally from your passing game or from transitions. Common mount entries:
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