How to Escape Back Control
Back control is the most dangerous place to be in jiu-jitsu — but it is escapable if you defend early and refuse to give up your neck. The whole game is protecting the choke and sliding your back to the mat. Here is how, featuring our podcast guest James Driskill's signature escape.
Why it matters: Back control is the No. 1 finishing position in the sport and the road to the rear naked choke, the most common submission in our data study. Learning to escape it is survival — the flip side of taking the back.
What is back control, and why is it so dangerous?
Your opponent is chest-to-back behind you with a seatbelt grip and either two hooks or a body triangle, hunting the rear naked choke. You cannot see them, and every second you spend facing away with your hands down is a second closer to the tap. The escape starts the instant they take the position.
See it on The BJJ Project: the “Earthquake” escape
Our podcast guest James Driskill — a Rickson Gracie black belt and one of Rickson's longtime training partners — teaches his signature back escape on The BJJ Project:
▶ “James Driskill's Earthquake Escape” — James Driskill, on The BJJ Project.
▶ “Back Control Escapes — Invisible Details” — Chris “Bones” Burns · The BJJ Project.
The escape principles
- Protect the neck first. Two hands fighting the choking arm — the escape is worthless if you get choked on the way out.
- Go to the choking-arm side. Slide your head and shoulders toward the side of their choking arm, never toward the free hand.
- Put your back on the mat. Walk your hips down and pin their choking-side shoulder to the floor so they cannot follow you.
- Clear the hooks last. Once your back is flat and the neck is safe, deal with the legs and come out into their guard or on top.
Common mistakes
- Turning toward the free hand, feeding your neck straight into the choke.
- Bridging without hand-fighting, so you escape into a finish.
- Waiting — defend the moment the hooks go in, not after the seatbelt is locked.
Frequently asked questions
How do you escape back control in BJJ?
Protect your neck with two hands, slide toward the choking-arm side, put your back on the mat to pin their shoulder, then clear the hooks and come out into their guard or on top.
Which way do you escape the back?
Toward the choking arm, never toward the free hand — moving toward the free hand feeds your neck into the choke.
How do you avoid getting choked while escaping?
Win the hand fight first. Keep two hands on the choking arm and your chin down until your back is on the mat.
Learn from the source: the Rickson lineage
The escape above comes from our guest James Driskill and Chris “Bones” Burns of The BJJ Project. Hear Driskill's full story on our podcast, along with fellow Rickson-lineage black belt Scott Burr, and go deeper with Henry Akins' Hidden Jiu-Jitsu.
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