BJJ Submission Defense: Escapes, Taps & Prevention
☰Contents
Master BJJ submission defense: when to tap, armbar escape, triangle defense, guillotine defense and building submission resistance.
The Most Important Rule: When to Tap
Tapping early is not weakness — it's intelligence. Tap when you feel a submission locked, not when you feel pain. Experienced practitioners say: 'tap early, tap often.' Injuries from refusing to tap derail training for months.
Core Submission Defenses
| Submission | Early Defense | Late Escape |
|---|---|---|
| Armbar | Stack, clasped hands, posture up | Roll toward thumb, hitchhiker escape |
| Triangle Choke | Posture up, stack, drive knee in | Lift into stack pass, flip over |
| Rear Naked Choke | Chin tuck, two-on-one grip fight | Tuck chin, step out, hip escape |
| Guillotine | Turn into their body, posture up | Stack, pry chin up with shoulder |
| Heel Hook | Roll with the pressure (never against) | Tap early — heel hooks cause serious injury |
Building Submission Resistance
Defense improves through: positional awareness (don't let them get the angle), grip fighting (break the grip before it tightens), mat time (sparring with submission specialists), and tactical tapping (tap, reset, retry the position to learn the escape).
Heel Hook Safety
Heel hooks are especially dangerous because the damage (knee ligament tears) happens before pain registers. In training: tap at the first sign of any rotational pressure. Never try to 'muscle out' of a heel hook.