Backdoor Escape in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: Quick Guide

In the race of learning the techniques while trying to dominate the opponent, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners often forget to learn the escapes. They don’t know how important the escapes are in BJJ. This is the reason they don’t focus on learning it. To become dominant, you should learn the submissions and other dominant techniques and attacks, but to stay dominant and to turn the submission into dominance for yourself, you must focus on learning the escape techniques. One such escaping technique is the backdoor escape. It is very effective in turning a bad position or situation into a good situation or position for yourself. So let’s explore this backdoor escape in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in detail.

The backdoor escape is a technique for escaping in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you create a small space or opening at the back of your opponent through which you escape from your opponent’s grip or hold. The backdoor has two words: back and door. The door here refers to the space or small opening through which it is necessary for you to pass through. You create the space usually at the back of your opponent or under their arms. The second word is back, which, as the name indicates, is the position of the space or opening that you create for escaping from your opponent’s grip or hold.

The backdoor escape is a very effective technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. There are numerous benefits if you learn this escape. The following are some of its benefits that highlight the importance of learning and implementing the technique in BJJ:

• The first and most important benefit of the backdoor escape in BJJ is that it helps you to pass the submissive position. While grappling, you always experience changing positions against your opponent. Sometimes, you will be in a position in which you are dominant over your opponent, whereas in other positions, you will be submissive against your opponent. So there is always a room and a need for you to learn the escape techniques.

• With the backdoor escape, you can easily shift yourself from the submissive position to the dominant position. It is probably the fastest way of turning the position. For example, if you are in a mount, guard, or side control position, you can easily execute the backdoor and escape from your opponent by making them submissive to you.

• The BJJ backdoor is a very effective way to improve your grappling efficiency. It will make you a better grappler and a better Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athlete. The backdoor is not only a door to shifting positions from submissive to a dominant one, but also to many attacks. It gives you the perfect opportunity to attack your opponent in various ways.

• You are dominant, and you also have the opportunity for attacks, so it is doubly effective. You should not lose this chance. If you can effectively attack your opponent after the backdoor, then you can even lead your opponent to a submission. So the backdoor is an effective tool for making your grappling better, efficient, and effective.

• The backdoor is a perfect way to develop elusiveness in yourself. The elusiveness means that you are very difficult to handle, catch, grab, and hold by your opponent. With the backdoor, you become a very strong grappler with a number of options for attacking your opponent. Also, you defend yourself very effectively against your opponent's attacks.

• You have a very powerful escape tool, and that is the backdoor. You can execute this in the scenarios where you are submissive, such as in the mount. Applying this move will make it much easier for you to escape from your opponent. So overall, you are excelling in every aspect of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and this makes you an elusive grappler with the help of the backdoor escape.

• There are a lot of techniques in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but all of these techniques are versatile. Only a few of them are versatile. With versatility, we mean that the move or technique, whether it's the submission or defensive technique, is applicable from a number of positions and situations. Moreover, that versatility can also refer to the fact that the technique can provide you with a lot of options to attack your opponent.

• The backdoor is one of the few techniques in BJJ that is versatile. It is versatile in both ways. Although the most common position in which the backdoor is applied is usually the mount, there are a lot of other positions or situations from which you can effectively and easily apply the backdoor escape.

• On the other hand, when we talk about the availability of options for attacks, the backdoor escape excels itself in that aspect too. You have a diverse range of options to attack your opponent. So the backdoor is a very versatile technique in which you can execute it from various positions, and once you have applied it, you can follow it with a diverse range of attack options.

• Imagine yourself that you are grappling in a match against your opponent. Your opponent has been dominating you with the execution of one attack after another. You have no answer for their attacks except for receiving and trying to defend against their attacks and techniques. And now, at the last moment, after being in submission throughout the match, you are on the bottom getting trapped by your opponent. What technique, move, submission, bar, attack, or tactic can take you out from here? The answer is the backdoor escape or attack.

• This technique is so effective that it can change the tide of the match and turn it towards you against your opponent. You might have been worrying about getting the dominance, but you cannot because your opponent has kept you in submission. But one quick escape can solve all your problems and shift you from the bottom position and throw you to the top by switching positions with your opponent. So, a backdoor is a way to change the momentum of the match towards you.

• Ask yourself a question when you take risks in anything? Do you take risks when you know you are going to fail certainly? Or instead, you take risks when you know you have a few options, even if you fail? Let's get real. We only take risks when we know we can do something, even if we fail. The same thing applies to your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match.

• If you know you have an option to escape, then would you try numerous forms of techniques just to get them submissive and force them to tap out? Yes! Obviously. The knowledge makes you confident. You know you can escape even if you fail in the perfect execution of the techniques. You know you have a great tool for escaping submissive situations. This all makes you confident, and you start taking the risks. These risks will make you the winner of the match.

As we have just discussed, the backdoor escape can be applied from different positions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Let’s discuss how you can implement the backdoor from some of the common positions grapplers use to dominate their opponents. It can be applied from various positions, but the following are given only the common ones:

The backdoor is an efficient solution to the side control. In the side control, the receiver is trapped on the bottom, and it becomes very difficult for them to escape, particularly if the top player is very effectively applying pressure and having control over them. But here comes the backdoor. It serves as a game changer in such scenarios. You can effectively take your opponent’s back with the side control with the backdoor escape, and you can also regain your guard against them.

Follow the steps given below to escape from your opponent’s dominating side control:

• The first step you need to take is to create the space, which is the backdoor for you to escape from your opponent. You should do this with both your hands. You have to create a frame or a bridge with the support of which you can escape. Take your hand that is closer to the neck of your opponent and use it to create a frame. The other hand, which is free, take that hand closer to your opponent’s hip and block their hip. You now have a frame. This frame will help you to prevent your opponent from completely straightening you.

• Now it's the time to shrimp. You need to shrimp yourself so that you can create a space, a back door. Shrimp away and move your hips far from your opponent. You will now have a space to get your head out of your opponent’s space. Get your head on their back.

• Meanwhile, your opponent will try continuously to apply pressure on you so that you cannot create a space and escape. But make your timing perfect and continuously try to slip your head out. Only once you have successfully slipped your head out from their side control position, take to your opponent’s back, and now you can take their back and become dominant.

The mount is one of the most common positions you will see in any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match. This is one of the dominating techniques that everyone knows how they execute. So everyone tries it and it is also very effective. So you need to develop some defense against the most common and effective technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Follow the steps given below to escape from your opponent’s dominating mount:

• For implementing the backdoor space, you should create space between your body and your opponent’s body. To create the space, you need to unbalance your opponent. Bride and frame against the hips of your opponent.

• Control the arm of your opponent that is choking you. After creating the space, look for your opponent’s underhook and turn to that side. The space you have created in the first step is known as the backdoor. Through the backdoor, escape and get your shoulders and head out of your opponent’s control.

• Now you are on the dominant side, and your opponent is on the submissive side. You have their back. You have the opportunity to attack their back or get in the guard. There are other options for attack that you can choose.

• The back control is a very effective dominating technique, and if your opponent has done it correctly against you, then it becomes very difficult for you to escape. But it becomes easy if you know how to create the backdoor. For this, follow the steps given below:

• The next step after securing the back control for your opponent is to apply the choke. They will try to choke you with their arms. So firstly, you need to stop that choke. Grab their arm with your arm so that they cannot choke you, and at the same time, you need to try to escape from the back control.

• Now bring your head down and slide your hips down on the mat. This will help you create a little bit of space for escape. Continue sliding yourself down and turn your body towards their arm. Get your head and shoulders out through the space. After this step, you will be facing your opponent. Now you can enter the guard or transition to another position.

It is very crucial to learn the techniques, tactics, and moves to escape from the submissive positions. The reason is that everyone has to face such positions, and it is not a matter of shame, and also it does not describe you as a weak player. Show your strength by getting yourself free from their control. There are alot of techniques for that, but the best one out there in the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the backdoor escape. So start learning it and then practice it by escaping from the different positions through the backdoor escape.