Purple belt · Defense · Key
Mounted triangle defense
How to stop the triangle from mount: keep your arm off your face and bridge before they lock their feet. Use it when they climb high and isolate an arm.
Step by step
- Prevent it: elbows tight and hands high. The mounted triangle starts when one of your arms gets pulled across your face or above your head.
- If they isolate an arm and slide up toward your head, pull that elbow back to your ribs at once and bridge to slide them back down.
- If their shin gets behind your head, grab your trapped hand with your free hand. Keep the arm bent and tight; they'll look for the armbar too.
- Before they lock their feet, bridge hard into them and turn to your side so they can't square up over you.
- Once they're off balance, pull your trapped arm back in and work your elbow-knee escape.
- Tap once the triangle is locked and they pull your head or arm. Don't wait for the armbar.
Details that make it work
- Win early, at the arm. The finished position is very hard to escape.
- Keep the trapped arm bent, always.
Common mistakes
- Pushing their hips with a straight arm, which feeds the arm across.
- Lying flat while they adjust their legs.
Drill it
Partner in high mount works toward the mounted triangle at 50%: 5 reps each side of stopping the arm, then 2 × 1 min positional.
If it fails, or what comes next
- Mount defense: protect your neck and arms Escape · Mounted
- Elbow-knee escape (shrimp) Escape · Mounted
This defends against
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