Foot on knee to prevent mount from side control.

[Eduardo78]

I've heard varying views on this, from hearing that De La Riva derides it to seeing it being used by top guys in competitions. It's something I use not so much because it will prevent the mount but having one leg up helps me get a feel for how my sparring partner is moving on top. On the flip side I've heard some say that it can expose one to leg locks (especially if the legs are crossed as opposed to foot on knee).

What are peoples' views on this?

 

[MUFC]

Meh.

It's easier to smash someone's hips away from you if they do that. Once that is done, mount or the back take is basically implied.

 

[Balto]

I don't think it is a very useful technique. It doesn't really stop the mount in the first place, it reduces hip movement, and it sets up a lot of leg lacing attacks.

That being said, I will certainly raise my near leg off the ground as part of an active knee to elbow shrimp defense. But I'm not just going to prop my foot on my leg statically as some sort of pseudo mount defense.

 

[Bmurph]

I like to keep my close leg off the ground with my knee glue to their hip/rib area. Helps "feel" if your opponent is going to attempt to mount.

 

[Podgorny]

It's kind of hit and miss, I use it quite a bit, mainly to catch my breath before I go into something else. I try not to stay there to long.

 

[Bryk]

I'll raise my near leg straight up (not on knee) if I feel like he is about to go KoB or straight to mount.

 

[Uchi Mata]

There is a wicked hip lock you can throw from that position. It's not such a great idea. Plus, it reduces the flexibility of your defense.

 

[ThatOGD0n]

With people my roughly size (215 lbs) and lower. And during no-gi:
I don't really put it up there because I'm pretty good at using other techniques to get half guard back (I like full guard but 80% of my life is spent in half guard).
If they do get mount I ALMOST ALWAYS can get HG back.
When I do put it up there I basically do what Balto does (the active knee to elbow shrimp or whatever)
I pull it when I feel them about to mount or try to go KoB.

With people significantly larger than me.
I pull this defense A LOT in the same fashion with people in the above category (not as a static defense, but an active one) because:
1. They're so heavy just them laying there I'm lucky if I can even partially hook their leg.
2. They go for kimuras quite a lot and THEY STRONG LIKE RUSSIAN BEAR
3. More often than not they try to "step" over to mount (kinda like how you swing your leg over to get on a horse) and all it takes is a simple raising of my arms and I'm on top.
4. Fighting of Russian Bear men takes a lot of energy while it's easy for them to hold you down. So I use it to conserve energy.
5. Frustrates them to the point they make mistake I can take advantage of.
6. Once I feel the pressure loosen I bump then frantically start running my hips to get half guard.

 

[bagelgod]

There's no good reason to do this. I cannot think of a single situation where you wouldn't benefit more from doing something else.

Even if the guy has the tightest crossface, your arm underhooked, your near arm shelved on his hip, I wouldn't do this. If you want to passive agressively block the mount, LIFT BOTH KNEES UP AGAINST HIS RIBS. There's no threat of leg locks, no simple counter, and it actually prevents the mount against good mounters. It also allows you to slam your feet down and bridge mega hard to get your arms free / turn on your side / shrimp out and take the back.

 

[BigStaff]

This could happen if you use the foot on Knee Technique to stop the mount. I don't know how effective it is but it sure does look uncomfortable to be in.

Gould Lock | Mixed Martial Arts Techniques

This is a hip isolation / knee submission. This submission is accomplished when your opponent posts his leg while you are in side mount in an attempt to prevent your pass into mount. Note: Even though hips are isolated with a half lockdown maneuver, keep your base low as it's good practice when fighting against opponents larger than you are. Stay in control.

Seth is in side control and his opponent has posted his leg in an attempt to keep Seth in side control and preventing a mount.

Seth bumps his opponents leg with his knee and forces the leg down with pressure on his opponent's ankle.

Seth will pass into a modified half mount / half lockdown maneuver where he will feed his leg over the isolated leg and through the bent leg. This secures his opponents hips and prevents any effective bridging

After securing the half lockdown maneuver, Seth will keep a low base and reach for his opponents open ankle. Use of a monkey grip is preferred in this position for control. If the opponent is resisting heavily, view Image 6 for an alternate finish.

Seth will pull on his opponent's ankle to apply the submission. Keep your hips low to the opposite side of your opponent to prevent the possibility of being bridged off. Keep in mind, even though your opponents hips are isolated in this technique, you want to continue to keep good habbits and be prepared for instances in which you may be fighting a larger opponent.

In this image the opponent has resisted the initial submission attempt. Seth will transition to a knee on belly mount and pull the isolated leg upward to focus more on a knee sepparation submission *(when practicing this submission, keep in mind that if you were to fall back on the knee on belly with control of your opponent's ankle you will still apply the correct leverage needed to finish this sub. Be careful when training this submission to ensure the safety of both fighters.)*

 

[Jinzumkei]

This could happen if you use the foot on Knee Technique to stop the mount. I don't know how effective it is but it sure does look uncomfortable to be in.

Gould Lock | Mixed Martial Arts Techniques

This is a hip isolation / knee submission. This submission is accomplished when your opponent posts his leg while you are in side mount in an attempt to prevent your pass into mount. Note: Even though hips are isolated with a half lockdown maneuver, keep your base low as it's good practice when fighting against opponents larger than you are. Stay in control.

Seth is in side control and his opponent has posted his leg in an attempt to keep Seth in side control and preventing a mount.

Seth bumps his opponents leg with his knee and forces the leg down with pressure on his opponent's ankle.

Seth will pass into a modified half mount / half lockdown maneuver where he will feed his leg over the isolated leg and through the bent leg. This secures his opponents hips and prevents any effective bridging

After securing the half lockdown maneuver, Seth will keep a low base and reach for his opponents open ankle. Use of a monkey grip is preferred in this position for control. If the opponent is resisting heavily, view Image 6 for an alternate finish.

Seth will pull on his opponent's ankle to apply the submission. Keep your hips low to the opposite side of your opponent to prevent the possibility of being bridged off. Keep in mind, even though your opponents hips are isolated in this technique, you want to continue to keep good habbits and be prepared for instances in which you may be fighting a larger opponent.

In this image the opponent has resisted the initial submission attempt. Seth will transition to a knee on belly mount and pull the isolated leg upward to focus more on a knee sepparation submission *(when practicing this submission, keep in mind that if you were to fall back on the knee on belly with control of your opponent's ankle you will still apply the correct leverage needed to finish this sub. Be careful when training this submission to ensure the safety of both fighters.)*

Well first of all his technique for "foot on knee" is pretty awful. I dont think any experienced grappler would do it that way.

 

[gannas]

Well first of all his technique for "foot on knee" is pretty awful. I dont think any experienced grappler would do it that way.

Pretty much what I was thinking. The way I was taught was to use your foot on the mat as an extension for your foot on the knee and hip out just a bit. Make it like one giant leg.

 

[Darkslide632]

I do it, but I do it because I'm trying to get a knee in. The fact that it helps to block my opponent is just a bonus.

 

[BigStaff]

Well first of all his technique for "foot on knee" is pretty awful. I dont think any experienced grappler would do it that way.

I agree, that's a pretty lazy and even more ineffective way to do that....

 

[HardEight]

Relson would disagree. He teaches us this way, with the palm of your foot perched on top of your leg, almost grabbing it like a mokey foot or something. Then he constantly bounces himself away from the guy on top with his planted foot to create space and prevent KoB.
Personally, I could see it either way.
But I'm not a Red/Black belt.

 

[Sloth]

Relson would disagree. He teaches us this way, with the palm of your foot perched on top of your leg, almost grabbing it like a mokey foot or something. Then he constantly bounces himself away from the guy on top with his planted foot to create space and prevent KoB.
Personally, I could see it either way.
But I'm not a Red/Black belt.

I like the way Relson does it. He makes pretty mug a straight line with his planted foot to his knee to his other foot (on the low thigh/knee) to the hip joint and he tucks his elbow in hard. This way is good for stopping the mount. When people leave their knee angled out to the side, that's not effective for preventing mount imo

 

[slideyfoot]

I don't generally use it, as I prefer to just keep the knee tight to their side to help guard recovery if they leave any space. However, as mentioned, there are people who use it in high level competition. For example, Alexandre de Souza in the finals against Xande Ribeiro at the 2008 Mundials:

 

[cenix]

you basically have a full mount in the 3rd picture ("Gould Lock") series. i don't ever use this move, i try to shrimp out aggressively here to try and regain at least a half-guard.

 

[JRT6]

If I'm tired or flat on my back I use Relson's method; if i'm oriented to my side I'm rying to squeeze my knee in the whole time while the posted leg is keeping me to my side.

 

[Amorphous]

Your opponent has to make several mistakes in orer for you to get a gould lock, leg crossed, then he allows crossed leg to be pushed down then he has to cede the full mount. I only see this lock working on very inexperienced people.