BaffledExperts by Adam Norman

21: Mune Gatame

If you are being held in mune gatame, you are definitely losing; it is a hard position to get out of. It is also a very bad position--tori can choke and submit you easily.

The best thing, of course, is to not get in it. Keep your shoulders off the ground, and use your legs to keep your opponent away.

If you do get caught, you need to strictly apply the principles. Most importantly, you need to make space. The problem is obvious, though: it is difficult to make space when your opponent is right on top of your pecs. Try it: doing a pushup when your nose is right on the ground is much harder than doing one when you leave a little space.

Good fighters like the one in the video below are elegant and make this space by controlling their opponents' head. You’ll probably have to get inelegant. Flail around like crazy. Be fishy. Push on his hips, push on his head, and do anything to open up that space. Arch your back and bump. Frame your hands and push on his nose and eyes. Whatever you do, your goal is the same: open up the hold down enough for you to turn towards tori. Do not turn away—if you do, he will choke you.

Push, pull, kick and arch, flop, buck, frame and see what happens. With luck, you'll get

• Space at your hips, or
• Space at your chest.

If you can make some space at his hips, get a knee in and start shrimping. If he slips some of the pressure off your chest, tuck your inside shoulder under.

Principle 14: Roll towards Tori

Whether you are being held in kesa gatame (scarf), mune gatame (side), or haigo gatame (rear), always turn towards your opponent. This is emotionally quite hard—it is a natural reaction to turn away from an attacker. It isn't easy to overcome this instinct, but you must. And I mean it. One of my friends at the dojo was saved on the street because he fought this urge. Remi (not his real name) was jumped on the subway and taken to the ground by his attacker, who knew how to fight. His attacker put Remi in a rear naked choke (sankaku jime), and any non-grappler would have been knocked out. You can imagine how horrible that would be, to be knocked out and at the mercy of your attacker. Remi, I'm pleased to say, had the presence of mind to turn into the choke. He was able to get it off and survive for long enough for the fighters to be pulled apart. And, in one of my proudest moments, he actually thanked me after class at the dojo--I had taught him that.

Remember, when you turn away from your attacker, you are giving him your back. This is stupid. Once he has your back, he wins. Second, turning away is inefficient. In order to regain the offense, you will need to roll 270º—you can't beat him when he's behind you. Third, turning towards your opponent is more effective. In a hold down, if you can get a shoulder past vertical, you are almost certainly out of the hold. You may have to scramble and fight, but with a shoulder under, the advantage has tipped in your favour.