Favorite variations on top positions?

[Bruce Calavera]

So any time someone moves a leg 2 inches out of position from a guard variation we get a new guard with a new name. There have been countless threads about how many different types of guards there are out there.

Yesterday I was shown a different way in which to mount where you slice your shin over one arm and over hook the opposite arm and lift. This got me thinking about how few different top positions are talked about. So I guess this thread is to discuss different types of top positions and the benefits that come with each.

The basic ones that come to mind for me are side control, cent kilos, kesa gatame, reverse kesa gatame, north south, knee on belly, mount, S mount, and reverse mount. Hopefully you guys have more and would like to discuss them.

 

[tysnw]

when i go to side control i like to assume a kesa gatame like position in which my hips are sprawled toward the directions of tori's head

from there on i can do ashi gatame or a variation, at least allowing me to trap one of his arms with my legs

personally i feel that it's less easy to escape from, the upa is less effective and hip escapes harder. imho

 

[Rws177die]

I just like the classic knee on belly, collar choke then to mount.

 

[Doctor Venture]

Im becoming a fan of knee on belly, Im not good enough to actually maintain it yet but I plan on working it alot more.

 

[Sloth]

I like high mount and "technical mount" a lot, but I don't use s mount much. I've been working on my low mount more as it's better for certain chokes I want to improve

 

[BruceOnJuice]

I love the s mount for no-gi and knee on belly for gi.

 

[TalkShowOnMute]

Starting to utilize KOB more and more. It if becoming a favorite of mine, not to mention it sets up some really good collar chokes in gi.

But I find that I do not use alot of variations. Standard side control with far-side underhook, crossface, or lots of shoulder pressure or chest to chest with head and arm control. Or sometimes head and arm control with a low KOB thrown in. I like to stay really low and tight on top with constant thought on leaving a free arm or forehead to post.


I don't feel secure in Kesa or any crazy twister side control type-thing where I face the feet. I only face the feet like that from top half-guard to search for kimuras....otherwise I feel....compromised.

 

[Rws177die]

I love the s mount for no-gi and knee on belly for gi.

I like setting up my arm bars from S mount, it is very slow and controlled.

 

[winman]

I like setting up my arm bars from S mount, it is very slow and controlled.

S mount on top has so more more control of the hips and to stop the person from bucking out

 

[elbigsam]

I've always played around a lot with variations on the top. I think everyone crafts spots to fit their body type, you have to. My knee on belly/mount game has a lot of stuff that I have customised for my attributes. I'm tall with long legs, flexible hip flexors. From kob I position my shin flat across the pelvic girdle, below the belly. I keep my shin flat across with my foot right up against the near side hip. For my game this gives me more isolation of their hip movement, less pressure into the abdomen.

I can post my right hand by my knee which blocks any kind of shrimping movement and let's me ride any hip bumps. Offensivly I look to trap their hands when they try to press on my knee or ankle and transition to mounted triangle depending on which side they reach down with. There are also arm triangle variations and s mount transitions.

like anything person specific, the way it works for me doesn't always work for others.

 

[Mumrik]

"Favorite variations on top positions?"

Man... I've been grappling for three or four years but these double entendres never stop making me smile

 

[Shemhazai]

There really aren't that many distinct positions possible from the top. The reason why we have so many different guards is just the various different leg entanglements. Entangling your opponent's legs after passing his guard, however, wouldn't make much sense 99.9 % of the time.

 

[jarra22]

i like sidemount but im a wrestler so it feels more natural to me

 

[ijustwannasurf]

I've been using an S-mount style position, but instead of trapping their arms high, I stay lower on their torso- the thigh of my 'S' leg is across their hips, and my other knee is pressing into their ribs. I go to this to get things moving if their defense is super tight. It felt really weird at first, but I'm able to surf a lot of escapes and move into mounted triangles.

 

[Bruce Calavera]

There really aren't that many distinct positions possible from the top. The reason why we have so many different guards is just the various different leg entanglements. Entangling your opponent's legs after passing his guard, however, wouldn't make much sense 99.9 % of the time.

That's an interesting point. That's kind of what I wanted to discuss in this thread. So you do feel there's a limit on possibilities from the top as opposed to the bottom? What do you guys think of different ways to entangle your legs around a person's upper body from top. For example S mount,technical mount,gripe vines,etc?

 

[sanchezero]

s mount is the best mount.