What is the Mount in BJJ & MMA?
The Mount is a primitive attack used often in fights. For the aggressor, it is a position of power, enabling them to exert control over the victim. It is related to the primal ‘Fight or Flight’ responses and, vitally, takes away BOTH options from the victim; thereby inflicting a state of panic, exhaustion and submission. It BREAKS THE WILL of the victim and makes them give up!
If you have ever found yourself on the bottom of the Mount, you’ll know just how claustrophobic it is. The attacker will be using their weight to crush you, trap you and make it hard for you to breathe. In particular, it is the difficulty breathing which causes people to panic. In this state, people tend to use all their strength to try to push the person off them, which actually plays right into the attacker’s hands as you struggle and exhaust yourself. In other words, surviving the Mount is more about MENTAL TOUGHNESS than your PHYSICAL ABILITY.
Surviving the Mount Attack
The first step tin learning to survive the Mount is to develop a mental resistance to it. You must TRAIN UNDERNEATH THE MOUNT to get used to it and, essentially, become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Training the Mount situation will get you accustomed to the physical pressure and the feeling of claustrophobia induced by being trapped and smothered with another person’s body weight. Remember, there is a strong psychological aspect to this attack. Only through experiencing it will your mind develop a resistance to panicking, which is key to taking away much of the aggressor’s presumed advantage. At this point you can start to physically create space to breathe, and defend yourself effectively without wasting energy.
How to Escape the Mount Attack
The Mount is escapable and there are several ways to do it.
Please check out some of our other videos, below, to see how:
Mount Escape
3 Essential Psychological Factors to Survive A BAD SITUATION | How to Defend Yourself
Defending Ground & Pound
How to Fight off Ground & Pound Attacks in a Street Fight
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