Headquarters Position: HQ Top Control Guide

The headquarters (HQ) position is a pressure-based top control where the passer stays high with both knees in the opponent's armpits. It's extremely heavy, restricts movement, and creates submission opportunities while maintaining positional control.

What is Headquarters?

The HQ position occurs when both your knees are positioned inside the opponent's arms (in the armpit area) while you stay high on their chest. Unlike knee on belly or traditional side control, the HQ position gives you access to submission from a stable, heavy control point. Most importantly, the opponent cannot establish any guard or hook-based escape.

Entering Headquarters

1. Start from a guard pass or mounted position
2. As you pass or control the mount, move both knees toward the opponent's armpits
3. Keep your weight distributed across both knees — not just one
4. Stay high on their chest with your hands controlling their head/arms
5. Your body weight is now distributed through both knees for maximum pressure

Control Principles in HQ

Control in HQ is about weight distribution and preventing the opponent from creating space or establishing hooks. Keep your torso upright but engaged. Use hand control on their far shoulder or head to prevent them from turning into you.

Submissions from Headquarters

Arm Triangle Choke

From HQ, establish one arm triangle using your arm and their shoulder to create the choke setup. The tight positioning of HQ makes arm triangles particularly tight.

Bread Cutter Choke

Cross your hands using the opponent's gi collar (in gi) to create the bread cutter choke. Very effective from HQ position.

Defending from Headquarters

The primary escape is bridging explosively while trying to get one arm inside your armpit space. Once you establish one inside hook, you can work toward underhook escapes or frame-based movement.

Frequently Asked Questions