MAT LOG — BJJ Positional Tracker

Full Mount Escapes

high priority

Trap & Roll (Upa) Secure their arm and trap their same-side foot so they can't post, then bridge dynamically over your shoulder to reverse into their closed guard.

Elbow Escape (Knee-Elbow) Fallback when their weight is low or wide. Frame with elbow/forearm on their hip, flat-line one leg, shrimp your knee under their thigh back to half or full guard.

Side Control Escapes

most common trap

Frame & Shrimp (Guard Retention) The foundation. Inside forearm frames the neck, outside hand frames the hip. Heavy bridge for space, then shrimp your hips away to slide your inside knee back to guard.

Underhook to Turtle / Back Recovery When cross-face pressure kills your frames, slide your inside arm under their armpit and drive up to your knees, or sit through to single-leg control.

Back Control Escapes

most dangerous position

Clear the Hooks & Slide Defend the choking hand first. Move your hips so your back lands on the safe side (no overhook). Clear the top hook, slide your hips over it, and rotate flat to turn inside their guard.

North–South Escapes

quick reset

Shrimp Escape to Guard Frame on the near hip and shoulder, shrimp away, and rebuild your guard before they settle their weight.

Turn-In Escape Turn to face them directly, using the rotation to kill their cross-face pressure and reclaim frames.

Half Guard & Knee Shield

launchpad, not a stall

Underhook Escape Never flatten out. Turn on your side, fight for the inside underhook, and use it to come up to your knees for a single-leg or back take.

Knee Shield (Z-Guard) Recovery Top knee across their chest keeps their weight off you, freeing your bottom leg to untangle and slide back to full closed guard.

Turtle Escapes

transitional

Stand-Up Escape Base on your feet through their frames and stand to disengage back to neutral.

Roll Back to Guard Sit out or roll through underneath them, landing back in your own guard.

Knee-on-Belly Escapes

act fast

Bridge / Push Escape Push into the knee-on-belly line to off-balance them, then shrimp your hips out to guard before they resettle.

Late-Stage Submission Escapes

structural, not positional

	Submission	Core defensive concept
	Armbar	Hitchhiker escape (spin out toward your thumb) or the stack/heavy-pressure escape to prevent arm extension.
	Triangle Choke	Posture up and stack to create space for the trapped shoulder before the lock tightens.
	Guillotine	Von Flue shoulder pressure, or clear your legs to the opposite side of the choke to negate leverage.

Guard Passing

get past the legs

Knee Slice (Knee Cut) Pass Drive your lead knee through the centerline while controlling their far hip, sliding it across to side control.

Toreando (Bullfighter) Pass Control both ankles, step them off to one side like a matador's cape, and circle to the far side before they recover guard.

Double Under Pass Scoop both of their legs from underneath, stand and drive forward, stacking them to flatten and pass over the top.

Stack Pass (Over/Under) One arm over a leg, one arm under the other, stack their hips toward their head to remove their framing power, then slide through.

Pressure Passing Fundamentals Staying heavy and chest-to-chest, killing frames early, and passing with weight rather than speed.

Sweeps (From Guard)

bottom to top

Scissor Sweep Break their posture, one shin across their belt and one leg scissoring their base leg, off-balancing them to the mat as you come up on top.

Hip Bump Sweep Sit up off a failed armbar attempt, post your hip into their center, and drive through to mount.

Flower Sweep (Pendulum) Trap one arm, swing your leg like a pendulum to off-balance them forward, and roll through to the top.

Butterfly (Hook) Sweep Butterfly hooks under their thighs, off-balance them to one side using the hook and an overhook or shoulder pull, and elevate them over.

Open Guard Sweep (X-Guard or De La Riva) Pick one open guard to develop — off-balancing a standing opponent and taking their base out from an angle they can't easily post against.

Guard Retention & Attacks

owning the bottom

Closed Guard Control Breaking their posture forward, and establishing collar and sleeve grips to set up attacks.

One Developed Open Guard Butterfly, de la Riva, or spider — pick one and build real hooks, grips, and off-balancing habits rather than dabbling in all three.

Retention vs. a Standing Opponent Using your feet on their hips and biceps to prevent the stand-up pass, recomposing guard the moment it opens.

Submissions — Chokes

finish from the neck

Rear Naked Choke From back control — seat belt grip, one arm deep under the chin, hand-fighting to connect the choke before they defend.

Cross Collar Choke From mount or guard — deep opposite-hand collar grip crossed under the same-side grip, elbows in to close the choke.

Guillotine Trapping the head and an arm (or just the head) as they shoot in or scramble, squeezing with the forearm across the throat.

Triangle Choke From guard — angle off, trap one arm and the head between your legs, and lock the triangle to cut both carotids.

Bow and Arrow Choke From back control — deep collar grip, far leg over the shoulder, pull the collar and drive the leg down like drawing a bow.

Submissions — Joint Locks

finish the arm or ankle

Armbar From mount, guard, and back control — isolate the arm, control the wrist, extend the elbow across your hips.

Kimura Figure-four grip on the wrist and bicep, rotating the shoulder into an externally-rotated lock from guard, side control, or in a scramble.

Americana From side control or mount — figure-four grip with the arm bent at 90°, pinning the wrist to the mat and sliding it up toward the head.

Straight Ankle Lock Basic footlock control from inside the guard or 50/50 — many gyms introduce this cautiously at blue belt; go slow and controlled.

Takedowns

getting to the mat

Double Leg Takedown Level change, penetration step, wrap both legs, and drive through their base to the mat.

Single Leg Takedown Secure one leg, control the hip or ankle, and off-balance them to finish the trip.

Basic Hip Throw or Trip A simple judo-style throw (o goshi) or sacrifice trip to bring a resisting opponent down without a shot.

Guard Pull A legitimate, common blue belt strategy — controlling grips and sitting to guard rather than engaging a takedown battle.

Positional Control (Top Game)

holding what you win

Maintaining Mount Good base and posture, hips heavy, hunting for a far-side grip to prevent the upa or elbow escape.

Maintaining Side Control Cross-face pressure, hip pinned to the mat, far-arm control to prevent them building a frame.

Maintaining Back Control Hooks or body triangle in, seat belt grip, hand-fighting to stay connected while you hunt the choke.

Knee-on-Belly Control Weight driven through the shin into the ribs, both hands controlling collar and sleeve or hip, ready to shift to mount or side control.

MAT LOG Positional hierarchy · weekly focus · class notes

Positional Hierarchy

Weekly Focus

This week's plan

Anatomy of Jiu Jitsu

Class Log

Blue Belt
Escapes

Core Escapes

Full Mount Escapes

Side Control Escapes

Back Control Escapes

North–South Escapes

Half Guard & Knee Shield

Turtle Escapes

Knee-on-Belly Escapes

Late-Stage Submission Escapes

Blue Belt
Techniques

Core Techniques

Guard Passing

Sweeps (From Guard)

Guard Retention & Attacks

Submissions — Chokes

Submissions — Joint Locks

Takedowns

Positional Control (Top Game)

MAT LOG Positional hierarchy · weekly focus · class notes

Positional Hierarchy

Weekly Focus

This week's plan

Anatomy of Jiu Jitsu

Class Log

Blue BeltEscapes

Core Escapes

Full Mount Escapes

Side Control Escapes

Back Control Escapes

North–South Escapes

Half Guard & Knee Shield

Turtle Escapes

Knee-on-Belly Escapes

Late-Stage Submission Escapes

Blue BeltTechniques

Core Techniques

Guard Passing

Sweeps (From Guard)

Guard Retention & Attacks

Submissions — Chokes

Submissions — Joint Locks

Takedowns

Positional Control (Top Game)

Blue Belt
Escapes

Blue Belt
Techniques