MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week returns with a special four-technique arc to carry our readers through the Thanksgiving holiday including a solid mount escape/sweep combo and a trio of submissions. Ed Perdomo and Ben Ordonez will do the honors starting off this week with a Knee to Elbow Mount Escape into a Bridge Sweep from Half Guard. This escape is one commonly seen in MMA and no-gi competition, but it often stops at escaping the mount into bottom position half guard where the escapee stops to rest. Here, Ed will flow seamlessly into a bridge sweep that will take advantage of his opponent’s disrupted base and land him on top instead of on the bottom. One set-up, two techniques, saving time and energy.
Ed is in a bad spot – he has been mounted by Ben and needs to escape quickly before Ben postures up and starts to pound him out. He starts by blocking Ben’s hip with both forearms, bridging hard on the opposite side, and hipping out away from the frame he has set against Ben’s hip (LEFT). It is important that Ed support the forearm he braces against Ben’s hip with his other arm by assuming a Kimura style grip. Without the support of the second hand, Ben will simply grapevine and flatten Ed out.
Once he has hipped out, Ed moves to trap Ben’s leg. He uses his top foot to reach across his body to hook Ben’s foot. As soon as he has the hook, Ed will push Ben’s knee straight back with both hands and use his foot to pull Ben’s leg back to where it can be trapped in half guard (RIGHT). It is important that Ed push the knee back as far as possible to firmly disrupt Ben’s base. This will prevent Ben from being able to reposition and force Ed back flat on his back and into mount.
As soon as he has half guard and has trapped Ben’s thigh between his legs, Ed moves quickly to sweep him before he has time to regain his base. First, Ed drives underhooks up over his head on both of Ben’s arms. He will then trap the arm on the same side as the leg he has in half guard and will shoot his other hand straight up over his head (LEFT).
Next, Ed finishes the sweep by bridging hard with his inside leg and rolling towards the arm and leg that he has trapped (RIGHT). With Ben stretched out and with no arm to brace him, he lacks the base to stop the sweep, leaving Ed on top with several options ranging from submissions to side control to turning the tables on Ben by taking mount himself.
Recap:
- Brace your forearm against one of your opponent’s hips with both hands.
- Bridge hard to the opposite hip.
- Take your top foot and hook your opponent’s foot on the side you have braced.
- Push your opponent’s knee straight back and use your foot to drag it into half guard.
- As soon as you have the thigh trapped, push up with both underhooks and trap your opponent’s arm on the same side as the leg you have in your guard.
- Bridge hard with your inside leg and roll towards the side you have controlled.
Next week and in the weeks coming, Ed and Ben will cover several solid submission options that flow directly from this sweep. In any grappling situation, it is always good to have multiple options to choose from in your attacks. The more ways you have to finish the fight, the harder it is for your opponent to know what to defend in advance. Next week, Ed will follow this sweep with an inverted Armbar.
*Ed Perdomo is a 4th degree black belt in the Korean grappling art of Hapkido and is head instructor of the Hapkido Institute in Morris, IL.
