Blue belt · Defense · Core
Triangle defense
How to stop the triangle from inside their guard: posture, both arms in or out, deny the angle, then stack and clear the leg. Use it whenever their legs start climbing your shoulders.
Step by step
- Prevent it: posture up, hands on their hips, elbows inside their knees. Keep both arms in or both arms out, never one of each.
- If one arm slips in and the other is out, fix it at once: pull the trapped arm back or bring the other arm in, before their leg closes over your neck.
- Stop the angle: keep your free hand on their hip and stay square to them. They need to turn their hips to finish.
- If the leg is over your neck, posture your head up, stand, and stack: drive your weight forward until their knees come toward their face and their hips leave the mat.
- From the stack, push the leg that's over your neck back over your head with your free hand, then pull your head and arm out.
- Tap if their legs are locked, they have the angle and they're pulling your head down. Blood chokes can put you out with little warning.
Details that make it work
- Both in or both out. One arm in and one out is the triangle.
- Head up and weight forward. A dropped head lets them close the lock.
Common mistakes
- Pulling back from the stack, which gives them room to adjust the angle.
- Letting them hold your head down while you fight the legs.
Drill it
Partner on bottom tries to get one arm in and one out: 3 × 1 min positional. Then 5 stack-and-clear reps each side from a loose triangle.
If it fails, or what comes next
- Posture up & open closed guard Pass · In closed guard
- Knee cut (knee slice) pass Pass · Passing
This defends against
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