Hitchhiker Escape In BJJ: Complete Guide

One of the most common techniques in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the armbar. It falls into the category of submission techniques. It is considered one of the most effective submission techniques, and it is also the easiest of many techniques. So it does not matter which academy you plan to learn and practice BJJ, one of the first techniques you will learn there will be the armbar. So it also means that while you are sparring with someone or grappling in a professional Jiu Jitsu match, the probability for you to face the armbar is very high. This makes it even more important for you to learn defense against the BJJ armbar technique. One of the most common defensive techniques for the BJJ armbar is the hitchhiker escape in BJJ. The article is focused in detail on the hitchhiker armbar escape. Let’s dive into this in detail.

The hitchhiker armbar escape in BJJ is a technique that can be used to counter the armbar once you are trapped by your opponent. You do this by making a bridge by bridging your body and then moving out your arm trapped by your opponent. This also allows you to take control of the back of your opponent. It is a very effective strategy that can be used even at the last stage of armbar submission, especially when the hold is very tight around your arm.

You should learn the hitchhiker technique for defending against the armbar due to the following reasons:

You have the opportunity to get yourself into dominant positions against your opponent. One example of this is the back control position. Just after getting your arm free from your opponent's trap, get yourself at the back of your opponent.

The technique provides the best route to move yourself out of your opponent’s trap. It does not matter how tightly your opponent is holding you. This is the best thing about a technique that you can even use this escape for getting yourself free when the hold is very tight and you are in the last level of submission.

The armbar is very quick at injuring you. So you are at very high risk of injury. The hitchhiker escape acts as a safe gateway for you to move yourself out at the right time and protect yourself from injury, which can restrict you for weeks.

The hitchhiker is considered one of the most effective tools for countering and defending yourself against the armbar submission.

• Armbar, as the name indicates, involves hyperextending the opponent’s arm. You are extending beyond the normal range of flexibility and movement, and this causes a lot of pain with a very high risk of injury.

• You start by grabbing the arm of your opponent and putting it between your legs (knees). You start pressurizing their arm with your knees. Next, you start moving your hips upward, and this way, the arm of your opponent will hyperextend. They will start feeling a lot of pain if you are doing this technique accurately. One thing you need to ensure here is that you have to do both steps at the same time, i.e, applying pressure on your opponent’s arm with your knees and moving your hips upward. This will make sure that your opponent is feeling a lot of pain so that they can tap out quickly.

• For understanding the hitchhiker escape, it is important for you to understand what exactly the armbar is and why it is a big threat to you. If you have understood all the steps to do it, then you can easily understand the steps you need to take to escape from the threat. One unique thing about this escape technique is that it does not try to do the work against the armbar. Instead, it uses the momentum of the technique to make the escape.

• The main idea behind the working of the hitchhiker escape is the change in alignment of your elbow, which is trapped or pinched between the legs of your opponent. This is done by only one thing, and that is the rotation. You have to rotate your thumb. Rotate the same thumb of the arm that is trapped by your opponent.

• But why are you rotating only the thumb? Why is it playing a big role here? The reason behind this is that your thumb is indicating the direction of pressure being applied. So you need to rotate only the thumb.

• What you need to do with your thumb here is to move it towards the legs of your opponent, trapping your arm in the direction below. Once you have successfully done this, your opponent will not be able to finish the submission. The reason is that you have changed the alignment and direction of your elbow.

The following is a detailed step by step guide to do the hitchhiker escape:

The first step you need to take is to have a strong and rigid posture. You should be very cautious and mentally active all the time so that you are able to predict when your opponent is trying to attempt the armbar against you. As soon as you feel it coming, start working on your posture. Start this by making an S grip or gable grip by locking your hands. This locking will save you from your opponent, and they will not be able to extend your arm. The next thing to do in the maintenance of the posture is to tuck your elbows in tightly against your body. This will give your posture a very tough and rigid look, and your opponent will find it very difficult to attempt the armbar.

Now, this is the main step of the escaping technique. In this step, you have to direct the thumb toward the floor. Do this by rotating your hand. Once you have done this, you have weakened the ability of your opponent to apply the armbar on you to a major extent. This rotating hand with a thumb toward the floor resembles, to a major extent, the hitchhiker. That is the reason the escape is given its name, and it is also the core step of the technique. The core step means that this is the most important step of the technique, and any mistake in this, even a small one, will result in your failing the technique, and the result is that you remain trapped and tapping out.

Now, the next thing you have to do is to make a bridge with your body. Do this by moving your hips in the upward direction. Rotate your body and head in the direction of your thumb and move them away from your opponent. You are doing this because you are trying to move yourself away from the hips or legs of your opponent. Once you have bridged yourself, the next thing to do here is to roll over your shoulder. Make sure every movement you make is very fast and explosive. So the faster you make the movement, the better it is for you to get yourself free from the leg trap of your opponent.

The fourth step is the movement of your feet. Move them away from the head of your opponent, and the movement must be in a semicircle. This will make sure that you are rolling your body easily and your shoulders are free from the risk of a trap.

The next step is to control the leg of your opponent. You can do this with the help of your arm, which is free and not trapped by your opponent’s legs. So grab and control their leg, which is over your head. This will restrict the movement of your opponent.

The last step is to enjoy the fruits of all your struggles against your opponent's attempt at an armbar. You can convert the attempt of your opponent for an armbar to your benefit. You can get yourself into the dominant position. You are rotating your thumb, head, body, and rolling yourself, and also moving your feet and guiding your body across your opponent. This will give you two easy options so that you can dominate your opponent.

The first option is the side control. As you are continuously moving your body, there is a high chance that you will get yourself into a position where you are at an advantage over your opponent. So you have the golden opportunity to trap your opponent in a side control. So after having the side control, you can extend it to a lot of other attacks as well.

The second opportunity you have is the back control. While moving, rotating, and rolling your body, you can easily get yourself at the back of your opponent and get the back control. Now, the back is the most beautiful trap you can get, and this gives you a number of options to attack your opponent and take them to submission.

There are some mistakes that BJJ practitioners, mostly the beginners, often make:

Most practitioners wait too long and don’t rotate their arms. The reason is that they are not focusing completely on their grappling. The result is that they don’t know that their opponent is attempting the armbar until they are in the trap and their arm is fully extended. At this stage, there is no use of rotation.

Next, the mistake most noted among the BJJ practitioners is that they don’t keep their arm in a bent position. Once they rotate or bend, they straighten it again. You need to keep your arm in a bent position.

The final step is to get yourself in a dominant position after making the armbar attempt of your opponent unsuccessful. The step is very important, and you can achieve dominance. So instead of taking rest after recovering from the armbar, immediately try to achieve the dominant position. The options commonly used after this are side control and back control.

The fourth mistake people make is that they roll in the wrong direction. Make sure you are moving in the direction of the legs of your opponent and not toward their head.

• Keep yourself calm and relaxed. Focus on the technique and don't panic.

• Utilize your whole body in executing the technique, including the arms and hips.

• Roll in the right direction.

• Always be ready to get yourself dominant over your opponent.

Learning the armbar in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is very important, as we all know. But what we don’t know is that even more important than this is learning the defense against this technique. This is because the chances of your opponent trying this technique on you are much higher, as this is a very common technique. So you must know how you can defend yourself against it. And for defending an armbar, the best escaping technique considered by many people is the hitchhiking technique.