Escape Being Face Down on the Ground

Being on the ground with someone on top of you firing punches is dangerous enough.

But being face down is even worse!

It is human nature to close our eyes, push away, and turn away from danger. Especially fast punches coming at your face. But of course this leaves you super vulnerable to being choked from behind or being punched into oblivion.

You simply have zero defense when you are turned away.

Now with proper training you won’t turn away… But what if the you just happen to find yourself there due to circumstances that happen in the fight?

If you find yourself face down on the ground you had better know how to get to your back quickly. There is a right way and a wrong way…

The Wrong Way to Escape

Simply put… is to roll.

If you have someone sitting on top of you and you try and roll that means you are moving positions, aka you are moving to your side. Well if someone is sitting on top of you they likely have a leg on either side of you which means that their legs or knees are blocking you from rolling.

Additionally if they are heavy and pressing down on you there might not be enough space to roll.

We need something better, faster… no, immediate!

Knee to Elbow Spin

The knee to elbow spin is the solution if you must escape being face down on the ground ASAP!

Quite simply you are going to bring the same side knee up to the same side elbow… BUT your knee is going to move underneath your body to get there.

This will make you spin in place as opposed to rolling to the side or just trying to turn.

It will help you create the space needed for your body to face upward if you are sideways or face down on the ground with someone on top of you.

So let’s use your left knee as an example:

Bring your left knee underneath your body up towards your left elbow

Bring your left elbow down to meet the knee. They do not need to touch it is simply enough to get you to your back

You will wind up on your side kind of in a fetal position

Now simply complete the motion by spinning the rest of the way to your back

Have your guard up to block punches and feet close to your butt to do a hip thrust escape

Step 1: Bring your knee up under your body — Start by bringing your knee up under your body

Bringing your elbow down to your knee at the same time spins you to your side

Spinning to your back — Now you can easily complete the roll by spinning to your back

Knee to elbow spin completed — Now you are on your back ready to do a hip thrust escape

At this point you would do an escape from the full mount like I teach in this article and video.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You just escaped being face down on the ground.

Start by practicing this solo and once you have the feel for it have a training partner sit on you and try it.

Next have them throw some punches so you can practice doing it and then immediately blocking punches as you spin. And of course you would want to immediately do a hip thrust to stop the punches once your spin is completed.

Find yourself a reality-based martial arts school where they teach techniques like this and improve your personal safety and the safety of your loved ones… heck the safety of everyone around you.

Until next time,

Brian