Roll Under Escape

Escape from Knee on Belly: Under-Roll Reversal

Key Steps

Setup

• Establish solid frames with your forearms on the opponent’s hips to offload the knee pressure, keep your chin tucked, and create space.
• Angle your hips away from the pressure and prepare to initiate a roll by aligning your near-side knee to the mat.

Execution

• How to: step-by-step, bridge and create an angle, placing a near-side frame on their hip or knee to prevent stacking.
• Rotate your torso under the weight as you slide your shoulder and hip under theirs, keeping your head protected and your back rounded.
• Continue the roll so your back clears their torso; finish with your chest facing their hip and your legs ready to frame or wrap for guard.

Finish/Control

• Recompose into guard by wrapping your legs around their hips and closing the guard; or transition to top control by stepping around their torso and establishing a solid base.

Application

• Use when the opponent overextends on knee-on-belly pressure; this reversal opens space and can lead to guard recovery or a top position. Works in both gi and no-gi contexts and fits into many jiu jitsu moves and bjj techniques.

Mistakes

• Losing control of frames or letting the knee pin your chest.
• Not protecting the neck or head during the roll.
• Rushing the movement and getting stacked or exposed to a back take.

Tips

• Keep hips active, head tucked, and eyes on their torso to time the pivot.
• Practice with both gi grips and no-gi frames to develop feel.
• Start slow and add resistance as timing improves; use this intermediate technique to enhance your jiu jitsu moves repertoire.