Shawn Williams' Body Triangle Escape: Hip Past the Heel

Shawn Williams (@shawnwilliamsbjj), 5th degree Renzo Gracie black belt, on escaping the body triangle: kick the leg back to get your hip past his heel, then escape the back normally. From his video: https://youtu.be/GHlMberpet8

Flow outline

  1. Body Triangle Control

    • His body triangle traps your hips square: his shin goes directly across your hip line and his other leg locks it in.
    • From Shawn Williams (@shawnwilliamsbjj), 5th degree Renzo Gracie black belt, in his video "How to Escape the Body Triangle."
    • Shin: directly across your hip line, like a bar across your hips
    • Hips: held perfectly square
    • Lock: his other leg locks everything in, so wherever you go, he goes

  2. Kick Leg Back

    • Kick the top leg back to bring the hip past the heel and break the body triangle.
    • The idea Once your hip beats his heel, his shin is no longer across your hip line. Your hips open up and you can turn.
    • Kick this leg back
    • Get this hip past the heel
    • That's it, you're out

  3. Normal Back Control Escape

    • After the body triangle is broken, turn and start a normal back control escape.
    • Turn and start to escape normally
    • Move to get your back on the mat
    • Use your feet
    • Get the ankle
    • Avoid Thinking you're safe. Getting out of the body triangle doesn't mean you're out of danger, so keep defending your neck.

  4. Long Legs Adjustment

    • Against a long-legged opponent who hooks the leg, bring your leg up and bring the knee in front and underneath to get the hip past the heel.
    • Bring your leg up a little
    • This knee comes in front of this knee
    • Once again you've accomplished getting your hip past this heel
    • Leg Path: the knee comes down in front and stays along the floor, then comes back underneath
    • Finish: once it's past, square up and turn to face the ceiling

  5. Floor Side Body Lock

    • When the body triangle is on the floor side, the same rule applies: take the leg back past the hip and turn out.
    • Same rule applies
    • Take this leg get it back past the hip
    • Then we're turning and we're out
    • Ground holds his foot to where it is
    • Option: with the lock on the floor side you can foot lock him, but it doesn't work on everybody, especially if he extends a long leg

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