Upa Advice

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clarkgriswold

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Sorry to get too basic, but I have upa/bridging/bump and roll issues of some sort.

Everything works fine when we drill it, I think I have it down correctly, but when we roll live I'm like 30% successful against whites and maybe 3% successful vs. blues and purples. Somewhat frustrating.

I concentrate on first squirming til my elbows are sort of inside the knees so the mounts not too high, trap an arm, get the feet set with the outside foot closing off one to stop the post and the other foot in the middle, bridge and look over the shoulder in the direction I'm going, somewhat diagonal not straight over, those are what I understand as the basics.

It seems to work much easier for other people of all sizes, bigger and smaller, than it does for me. And I get rolled off this way from others like I weigh nothing.
 
Maybe your telegraphing what you're doing?

Honestly though, you'll learn a lot more by asking a more experienced in your gym why the move failed. You're probably taking for granted what you are doing wrong.
 
I am a 3 stripe blue, the upa rarely works on me (maybe if the other guy is really strong and twice my size he might roll me). You will have more success bucking your hips for your snake moves and other mount escapes.
 
what also helps is to make the guy center to your body. and when you do go up
and diagonal, use your free hand to push his body, or use the elbow to help push him
in the direction your going.
this can make a BIG difference.
 
Do the buck and grab his elbow and whip it inside as fast as you can, and at the same time. Otherwise, they will see it coming and lower thier base.
 
when you upa, i fake trapping one leg and then trap the other, grab the arm, and go....


you need to make sure that your bridge them directly over your head, not sideways or diagonal, but straight over your head. Then when you get their they wont have a base, then you turn.

the most important step of the upa is bridging straight upward
 
minimagpro said:
when you upa, i fake trapping one leg and then trap the other, grab the arm, and go....


you need to make sure that your bridge them directly over your head, not sideways or diagonal, but straight over your head. Then when you get their they wont have a base, then you turn.

the most important step of the upa is bridging straight upward
Click to expand...


I have been taught to do it diagonally, as the OP described. When you go straight, they have a free arm they can just spread out,
 
It's really all about executing the move at the right moment. Do it too early or too late and you will fail.
You have the technique (from what I read), so you're probably doing it at the wrong time.
You should kinda "sneak" it in there. Do it when he least expect it.
 
do the upa and when they base out and resist, switch to a
double fist on his belt and shrimp right away, in half upa.
this should do da trick!
 
b0b said:
I have been taught to do it diagonally, as the OP described. When you go straight, they have a free arm they can just spread out
Click to expand...

look at it this way

a person has 4 points or pressure on the ground when in mount. they have 2 legs and 2 arms on the ground.

all you need to do is take away one of the legs (hook the leg) and one of the arm ( trap the arm) and they will go over. can a chair stand up on 2 legs? no.

you want to take away their base on one side so you would trap their right leg and right arm, bridge straight forward, and then to the side. sure they can post their arm out but if you go all the way forward and then to the side they WILL go over.
Also if you can get them to ride you really high and you try to upa and they can post an arm and you simple cant get them off, you can bridge then escape out the back or you can elbow knee escape. Diagonally is improper because they will post a hand up every time
 
What I think will work best for you, is to just drill mount escapes. Have a partner sit on top of you, and for 2, 3, 4, or 5 minutes, do everything you can to get him off of you. If you do get him off, have him jump right back on. Your upa, snake move, and other escapes will get really good, believe me.
 
Thanks alot for all the responses. I will definitely try drilling just mount escapes more, and I'll read all these tips over again right b/4 hand.
 
A question here.. does size matters a lot for the under guy(his own size) when he upas?

It seems to me that technique and leg length is the far bigger determiner than size[all his own], dun u agree?
 
Here's a tip no one else has mentioned yet.

After you trap the arm and trap the leg, use your free hand to pull his head down into your chest. This will really break their balance.

The nerdy science reason is that pulling the person's head down makes their center of mass longer and thus easier to roll. It's like why it is easier to roll a pencil lengthwise than end over end.

The only thing you have to be careful of when grabbing the head is getting armbarred. However, if you time it correctly and have the other limbs trapped, you should be able to pull it off. It is almost impossible to upa anyone good without securing the head.
 
Ehh..I do study physics but centre of gravity is only an imaginary POInt. U cant make it longer. In the above case it makes it harder by lowering it.
 
thecas said:
A question here.. does size matters a lot for the under guy(his own size) when he upas?

It seems to me that technique and leg length is the far bigger determiner than size[all his own], dun u agree?
Click to expand...

When we practice, I tried it with a 5'2" 100lb woman. I am 6'0" and 200lbs. It worked fine, even when I resisted to 75% in the drills. I didn't try it at open mat, but with enough practice, it should work fine.

That is why Helio even started perfecting BJJ. He was the smaller guy and had to figure a way to beat bigger guys. It is all about leverage and technique. My sensei is only 150lbs, and he took me to school in open mat.
 
thecas said:
Ehh..I do study physics but centre of gravity is only an imaginary POInt. U cant make it longer. In the above case it makes it harder by lowering it.
Click to expand...

I used the wrong terminology. You are correct that center of mass is an infinitely small point and thus cannot be lengthened.

Technically, I was referring to changing the rotational moment of inertia of your opponent (I=MR^2). When you pull your opponent's head down, you are orienting him with respect to the axis parallel to the ground. Thus it is easier to roll him along this axis than when he is sitting straight up.

Ideally, to perform the upa, you want your opponent's head close to your head, his hips close to your hips, and his feet close to your feet. His counter to the upa is to sit up as straight as possible with his head high. You want to roll him easily like a pencil rolls easily on a desk; he wants to sit up which makes it hard like flipping a pencil end over end.

I think the reason why it is hard to upa more advanced people is because BJJ teaches mount positioning that counters the upa. The high mount with knees tight under the armpits and upright posture defeats the upa. Most beginners take a low mount and put their head down, making the upa easier on them.
 
going diagonal right off the bat....

going straight then switching to diagonal is better, because your combining 2 different
motions, there is a transition.
makes it harder to defend.

diagonal is only one angle, one motion they have to defend.
 
I got mounted in open mat yesterday. I am 6' 200 and the guy that mounted me is a lanky 6'3" 210 lbs. I secured his left arm and held it while I got my hips closer to his. I yanked on his arm, bridged, and came down diagonally. I had to use a lot of power, but it worked great.
 
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