Articles in the knee on belly Category
Knee on belly is a good pressure position from which to launch attacks. To set up an attack, you’ll want to use get opponent into a vulnerable position by making them uncomfortable. First you’ll look for the armbar. If it’s not there then you’ll hit the kimura. (Start to the left of your opponent, your right knee in on their belly.)
Knee on Belly Position Basics:
Gi – Left hand grips the back of their lapel deep. Right hand grips their far pants leg at the knee.
No Gi – Left hand grips the back of their neck. Right hand pushes down on their far hip.
The Set-Up:
Knee moves to the top of the sternum.
Gi – Left hand pulls. Right hand pulls. Think bow and arrow.
No Gi – Left hand pulls. Right hand pushes down on their far hip.
The Attacks:
1. Armbar – If your opponent moves their far elbow away from their body reach in and grab the back of their tricep and pull it tighly towards your chest. Try to touch their elbow on your sternum and your elbow to your own hip.
1a. Kimura – If your opponent DOES NOT move their elbow away from their body, then pin down their wrist against their body (you want your thumb pointing towards their hips)
2. Spin to North South. Put your free hand on their back and pull up to get them up onto their side. When they are on their side, pinch your knees together hard to keep them on their side. *If they are grabbing your pants leg. kick your knee-riding ankle over their wrist before you spin to staple their wrist and break the grip.
3. Finishing the armbar – keep the tricep grib. Grab their wrist with your other hand. Step close to their armpit and rock back to finish. Keeping your hips as close to their armpit as you can.
3a. – Finishing the Kimura – When they are on their side, lean down and get the Kimura grib, make sure to bend your motorcycle grip on your own wrist forward. Pop-pop-Right to break any protective grip they have. Finish by rotating, keeping all angles close to 90 degrees.
**If you are short and are having trouble breaking the grip step up ont your foot (the leg behind their back). This will help you elevate. Then torque your hips and rotate your torso forcefully up and out toward the direction their body is facing. Once you break the grip rotate back the other way for the finish.
Arm Bar, kimura, knee on belly »
1 – Your opponent hip escapes, rolling onto their right hip, facing you.
2 – Close the distance by planting your right knee as close to their hips as possible.
3 – Crossface under their head with your left arm.
4 – Windshield-Wiper your right foot up over their legs.
(This is reminiscent of stapling in the knee through gurad pass. In the guard pass you staple, by leading your knee. Here, you staple by leading with your foot.)
5 – Kick your left leg over behind you. This puts your hips behind them. Immediately slide your right knee up behind their shoulders into the heroin needle hook position.
6 – Immediately get Garcia back control with your left arm under their left arm and your right arm over their shoulder. Bottom arm grabs top (left hand grabs right wrist.)
Back, Side Control, knee on belly »
In order to maintain and advance your position from Knee on belly you can do the following, based on what your opponent is doing:
- If your opponent vampires their hands across their chest and tries to protect from the choke, then pull their lapel and their knee up as you move your head over your hips and posture. Think bow and arrow. Also when you do this, move your knee up a bit so that it is right above their sternum. This is not where you necessarily want you knee when you are “riding” knee on belly, but it is a great place to put it when you want to be aggressive and make your opponent react. This is uncomfortable for them and will make them shift, allowing you to capitalize.
- If your opponent tries to hip escape, or roll away from you, apply pressure with your knee on their trailing hip. This will stop them from rolling which every way they are trying to roll. If they successfully hip escape, react quickly and take the back.
- If your opponent tries to push your knee down into half guard, then drop your knee as you cross face hard. Drive your cross-facing shoulder into the top of your opponents neck as you drive into them. As they roll back onto their back, windsheild wiper / riverdance across their body and establish the mount. *If they push your knee down from the mount, go back to knee on belly.
Mount, knee on belly »
What is knee on belly? how do I get there? Here are some answers.
(from side control, your left arm under their head.)
1 – Get thumb in grip with your left hand behind opponents neck.
2 – Put your right arm up across their hips, apply pressure down. Quickly slide your right leg up across their hip and replace your arm with your right shin to achieve the knee being on the belly.
3 – Grab far knee with your far hand. Right hand grabs the outside of their left knee.
Side Control, knee on belly »
This is a great match between Fernando “Margarida” Pontes and Flavio Almedia. Most Jiu Jitsu tape watchers consider this to be one of the best BJJ matches ever. Notice how aggressively Margarida attacks for submissions as Almedia tries to pass. There are also a number of great transitions where Margarida goes from Kimura to Armbar to Oma Plata. Almedia also does a great job of countering Margarida’s second Kimura attempt with an Armbar of his own. The match finishes with a Baseball Bat Choke from Knee on the Belly.
