There are many moves in BJJ and many positions you can roll into or from. As for the positions – different practitioners have different favorite positions. Some prefer to be in the mount. Others prefer the side-control and some even like to take the bottom guard. They believe that they are the most successful if they attack from these positions. That being said, nobody can deny that taking the back is one of the most powerful things that you can do in a BJJ bout.
This is a very dominant position – as is shown by your opponent’s general helplessness and your ability to attack in multiple ways from this position. Also, this position is held in very high esteem in BJJ competitions around the world – for example, under the IBJJF rules, you will get 4 points for taking your opponent’s back. That being said – one of the most powerful and most effective ways to control your opponent from this position is to set the body triangle. That being said – we suggest that you give the body triangle a try next time around.
How to do the body triangle from the back
In order to perform body triangle, you need to put one of your legs across the stomach of your opponent and lock this leg up with your other leg – in the form of a triangle. It’s now advisable to hold your other leg under your opponent’s leg in order to even completely lock him up. You should maintain a seatbelt position with your arms while you’re doing this in order to maintain control all the way.
And it’s as simple as that. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t even know that they can implement the body triangle in the game. You can try it out and see just how effective it is.
Moreover, this position won’t be very comfortable for your opponent. You can apply a serious amount of pressure on your opponent’s stomach and even do a notorious body triangle tap, which will cause pain and severely disrupt his breathing patterns. Combine this with a choke and you have a serious assault on your opponent. You have all the time in the world to work this position as you will be very stable with it.
Body Triangle Escape
Escaping body triangle is not an easy task. How easy it also depends on how long your opponent’s legs are. To escape body triangle we need to pass opponents heel with hip by turning toward “figure-four”. More about Body triangle escape see in the video below.
Body Triangle vs Hooks
The control that you will have if you make this move is insane. Your opponent will have a very hard time to rotate and get out of his predicament.
That being said, you will still have your free arms to be used for attacks. There are a few chokes you can easily implement from this position – since the stability is no longer a concern of yours.
But alas, no position in BJJ is perfect. So, even the body triangle has its drawbacks. For one, aside from the fact that you will constrain your opponent and prevent him from moving – you will also do the same thing to yourself. Once you get into the back-control position, your natural instincts may be to set the two hooks in. And this is completely normal – the hooks will give you a big degree of control while still having ample opportunities to attack.
If you attack with hooks then you maintain your mobility and you can transfer to another position if you think that you can immediately attack from there. Also, you can use your legs to perform a triangle or an armbar from the back. This is not possible if your legs are formed into a body triangle.
Also, this position may not be comfortable for your opponent – but chances are that it will grow uncomfortable even for you, the longer you hold it. It’s not very strenuous on your legs – but the effect will show as the time passes – you will experience burnout the more your opponent tries to wiggle out. And this is especially the case if your legs are short and your opponent has a big waste.
In conclusion
Many people think that this position is only applicable to people with certain body types. They think that only people with long legs can perform it on people that are skinny at the waist. It’s true that these people will have it easier with the body triangle – but it doesn’t mean that people with shorter legs can’t do an effective body triangle to their opponent. Even more so, if you have shorter legs and you manage to perfect the body triangle, then you will have the benefit of really keeping things in place and keeping your opponent completely locked up at the middle.
So, we advise you to try the body triangle out in the next session. We think you will be surprised at just how big a degree of control will it give you against your opponents.
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