--- title: Sit-through to half guard description: The foundational escape from front headlock. Walk to a leg side, frame, wedge, capture the leg. section: body tags: [bjj, move, front-headlock-bottom, half-guard-bottom, sit-through, escape] genre: reference stability: developing lastUpdated: 2026-04-26 url: https://fardiniqbal.com/docs/body/mat/moves/sit-through-to-half-guard --- **Source:** Volume 02, §2 —   ([full transcript](/docs/body/mat/sources/only-way-out/volume-02#2-sit-through-to-half-guard--the-foundational-escape)) *** ## Purpose [#purpose] Get a connection to your partner by capturing their leg and reaching half guard. From half guard, you have offensive opportunities. ## Entry condition [#entry-condition] Front headlock, partner's hands locked, you can walk toward one of their legs. ## Mechanics [#mechanics] ### Variant A — Walk to the arm side [#variant-a--walk-to-the-arm-side] Because we're going to need to use our inside arm as a frame, our **secondary defensive hand** will start in place to keep his hand down. **If, at any point in the escape, you feel his strangle arm creeping up — his hand rising in front of your deltoid / over the shoulder line — immediately stop what you're doing.** Put your head on the floor, come back down, and start to defend the grip first. Then resume. **Setup:** Partner on knees, his hands locked. 1. **Inside-position grip.** Take your **left hand** (your outside hand here) and get a grip on the **inside of your partner's wrist** — inside position. 2. **Walk toward the arm side.** Sometimes we walk toward the head side (Variant B); for this one, we walk toward our partner's arm side. Swisher your feet out that way **with your head on the floor**. Move your knees out in that direction. 3. **Frame across the hips.** Take your inside arm and create a small frame across your partner's hips. * Be mindful of extension: don't push everything out and create separation, or it makes it easy for your partner to strangle on one side or the other. **Keep your elbow bent** and frame. 4. **Step the outside leg up.** If you can, step over your partner's foot — but a savvy person often won't be close enough to allow that. That's fine. 5. **Drop the inside knee.** Keep walking out to the side, and drop the inside knee so it touches your partner's knee. Take that **inside knee and swing it in** so it forms a wedge in front of your partner's leg — when he goes to move that knee forward, he's stuck. 6. **Step the foot up over the top and gather the heel.** From here, draw your partner's leg out and pull it through. This puts you in **half guard**. 7. **What you do next** depends on what your partner does with their arms (next chapter). ### Variant B — Walk to the head side [#variant-b--walk-to-the-head-side] Same situation — caught in front headlock — but moving the other direction: 1. Keep your **left hand** in place (defensive) and **draw your right elbow back** (the elbow cut from Vol. 01). 2. **Move out toward the head side** — circle a bit. 3. **Frame in place** — keeps separation between his hips and your head. 4. **Slide the inside knee forward** — right leg up, left knee in. 5. Now your shin is in front of your partner's knee. **Reach, capture the leg, give a little pull.** That moves you into the same good half-guard position. 6. From here, you can **keep your arm as a frame**, or — as we'll see — take your hand around your partner's leg. ### The mechanical sequence (no partner) [#the-mechanical-sequence-no-partner] 1. **Defend the strangle.** 2. **Create a frame.** 3. **Move toward the leg you want to capture.** 4. **Step up.** 5. **Connect knee to partner's knee** — drops you onto a hip and an elbow. * Forearm in place so partner can't continue charging forward. * Bottom knee is a wedge in front of partner's leg. 6. **Step over the top** — beginning of your connection. 7. **Pull, connect, bring your partner toward you** — improves the connection. What you do next is determined by whether your partner keeps their hands locked or unlocks them — that's the branch we look at in the knee lever and trilemma. ## Key details [#key-details] 1. **Defensive responsibility throughout** — if strangle arm creeps up, stop, put head on floor, defend grip first. 2. **Inside-position grip** on partner's wrist with outside hand. 3. **Frame across hips with elbow BENT** — don't extend and create separation, or it makes it easy for your partner to strangle on one side or the other. 4. **Wedge inside knee** in front of partner's leg — when he goes to move that knee forward, he's stuck. 5. **Step foot over top and gather the heel** — this is the beginning of your connection to your partner. ## Common failures [#common-failures] * **Extending the frame arm.** Pushing everything out creates separation that opens strangles on either side. Keep the elbow bent. * **Ignoring the strangle arm.** If his hand rises in front of your deltoid or over the shoulder line and you keep going with the escape, you risk the submission. Stop, head on floor, defend first. * **Not walking far enough to the side.** You need enough angle to get the knee wedge in place. If you stay too square, the wedge doesn't work. * **Lifting the head off the floor during the walk.** Head stays on the floor as you swisher your feet out. ## Connections [#connections] * **From:** [Front headlock (bottom)](/docs/body/mat/positions/front-headlock-bottom) → **To:** Half guard (bottom) * **Principles:** [Back to the floor](/docs/body/mat/principles/back-to-floor), [Inside position](/docs/body/mat/principles/inside-position), [Retract](/docs/body/mat/principles/retract) * **Skills:** [Grip fighting](/docs/body/mat/skills/grip-fighting), [Elbow cut](/docs/body/mat/skills/elbow-cut) * **Next:** [Knee lever](/docs/body/mat/moves/knee-lever) (if hands stay locked) or [Trilemma system](/docs/body/mat/sources/only-way-out/volume-02#4-the-trilemma--from-half-guard-three-outcomes) (if hands unlock)