Forget About Mount!… ?

We all have heard about violent confrontations of an attacker getting “mount” position and completely destroying their victim. When I ask women who attend my female self-defense seminars, what is the scariest position you could be in when attacked, mount is always at the top of the list. Needless to say, mount position with it’s “ground and pound” follow up has ended more MMA fights than any other position.

Therefore, why would I say to do something else? Let me lay out the “Knee Mount” position, and why it might be a better position than even mount.

The first point I must make, is that mount is devastating in any environment, but especially in MMA. Under MMA, you’re fighting one person, with no weapons, on a somewhat of a “padded” floor (definitely better than asphalt for comparison). Under that assumption, let’s get into the mechanics of the position, and then talk about the reasons why I would substitute it in a street fight.

Kneeling on the side of someone who is laying on the ground, you want to take your inside knee and put it on the “diaphragm” of your opponent. The true pressure comes from the fact that you do not let your other foot touch the ground. From there, erect your body, and focus all of your body weight into that knee.

Once in that position you have several benefits when compared to regular mount position. First, you have more freedom to get up if wanted. Or, if you wanted to switch sides, you have more mobility. As stated earlier, your pressure on your opponent is much more given since the focused weight is on a very vulnerable area. From this position, we don’t have any other area of our body, touching the ground, which is much more comfortable. Lastly, you still have the ability to use punches and elbow strikes just like you would in mount, but maybe best of all, you have the side knee strike which always takes people by surprise.

Check this simple mobility drill you can do for this position:  https://youtu.be/fxIBK3fWDVI