---
title: The Only Way Out — Front Headlock and Turtle Escapes — Volume 02
description: "Front headlock technique series: escapes + offensive chains. Transcribed verbatim from the video by Brian Glick (Danaher system)."
section: body
tags: [bjj, instructional, brian-glick, danaher-system, front-headlock, turtle, transcript, volume-02]
genre: reference
stability: developing
lastUpdated: 2026-04-26
url: https://fardiniqbal.com/docs/body/mat/sources/only-way-out/volume-02
---
> **Source metadata (from the original transcript):**
>
> * **title:** "The Only Way Out — Front Headlock and Turtle Escapes — Volume 02"
> * **source:** Video instructional transcript
> * **system:** Danaher system (Brian Glick, student of John Danaher)
> * **runtime:** \~46 min
> * **format:** Front-headlock technique series (escapes + offensive chains)
> * **prerequisites:** Volume 01 — Conceptual Foundations & Core Skills
# The Only Way Out — Front Headlock and Turtle Escapes by Brian Glick [#the-only-way-out--front-headlock-and-turtle-escapes-by-brian-glick]
### Volume 02 — Front Headlock: Technique Series [#volume-02--front-headlock-technique-series]
> **Scope of this document.** This is a faithful, cleaned, and restructured transcript of Volume 02 of the instructional video. All teaching content is preserved — no paraphrasing or compression. Speech-to-text artifacts have been corrected (e.g., "Kazushi" → "Kuzushi", "sume geishi / sumo geshi" → "Sumi Gaeshi", "Hizuguruma / he's a guru my" → "Hiza Guruma", "wizard / whizzer" → standardized to "whizzer", "E-lever" → "knee lever", "trilemma" preserved as the instructor's term, "Chimp" → "chin", "Bodoni" → "Bodoni" \[Giancarlo Bodoni]). Mid-sentence timestamp breaks have been repaired into flowing prose. Section-start timestamps are retained as anchors to the original video.
>
> **Volume 02 picks up where Volume 01 left off.** Volume 01 covered the conceptual foundations (the central dilemma, the three principles — back to floor / inside position / retraction over extension — and the four foundational skills: grip fighting, elbow cut, shoulder roll, standing up). This volume begins applying those foundations to **front headlock** with concrete escape sequences and the offensive attacks that chain out of them.
***
## Table of Contents [#table-of-contents]
1. [Front Headlock — Quick Review](#1-front-headlock--quick-review)
* 1.1 [The central dilemma, restated](#11-the-central-dilemma-restated)
* 1.2 [The three priorities on the bottom](#12-the-three-priorities-on-the-bottom)
* 1.3 [Defense ≠ Escape](#13-defense--escape)
2. [Sit-Through to Half Guard — The Foundational Escape](#2-sit-through-to-half-guard--the-foundational-escape)
* 2.1 [Why we sit through to half guard](#21-why-we-sit-through-to-half-guard)
* 2.2 [Variant A — Walk to the arm side](#22-variant-a--walk-to-the-arm-side)
* 2.3 [Variant B — Walk to the head side](#23-variant-b--walk-to-the-head-side)
* 2.4 [The mechanical sequence (no partner)](#24-the-mechanical-sequence-no-partner)
3. [The Knee Lever — When Partner's Hands Stay Locked](#3-the-knee-lever--when-partners-hands-stay-locked)
* 3.1 [The setup](#31-the-setup)
* 3.2 [Tilting them over](#32-tilting-them-over)
* 3.3 [The follow-up scramble](#33-the-follow-up-scramble)
4. [The Trilemma — From Half Guard, Three Outcomes](#4-the-trilemma--from-half-guard-three-outcomes)
* 4.1 [Prong 1 — Roll-through (scoop) sweep](#41-prong-1--roll-through-scoop-sweep)
* 4.2 [Prong 2 — Take the back](#42-prong-2--take-the-back)
* 4.3 [Prong 3 — Knee slide / single-leg style takedown](#43-prong-3--knee-slide--single-leg-style-takedown)
* 4.4 [The full sequence end-to-end](#44-the-full-sequence-end-to-end)
5. [The Two-On-One Method — When Patience Wins](#5-the-two-on-one-method--when-patience-wins)
* 5.1 [Establishing inside position with the thumb](#51-establishing-inside-position-with-the-thumb)
* 5.2 [The pump-handle pass-off (head to the outside)](#52-the-pump-handle-pass-off-head-to-the-outside)
* 5.3 [Off-ramps from the head pass](#53-off-ramps-from-the-head-pass)
6. [Arm Drag Series Off the Two-On-One](#6-arm-drag-series-off-the-two-on-one)
* 6.1 [Drag → take the back (chest lock first)](#61-drag--take-the-back-chest-lock-first)
* 6.2 [Drag → Sumi Gaeshi (when partner pulls back)](#62-drag--sumi-gaeshi-when-partner-pulls-back)
* 6.3 [Drag → Hiza Guruma / chest-to-chest sweep](#63-drag--hiza-guruma--chest-to-chest-sweep)
7. [The Snap-Down — Reversing into Your Own Front Headlock](#7-the-snap-down--reversing-into-your-own-front-headlock)
* 7.1 [The cross snap mechanics](#71-the-cross-snap-mechanics)
* 7.2 [Stay in front or go behind — the same dilemma, now in your favor](#72-stay-in-front-or-go-behind--the-same-dilemma-now-in-your-favor)
8. [When the Hands Won't Unlock — Thumb-Post & Sucker Drag](#8-when-the-hands-wont-unlock--thumb-post--sucker-drag)
* 8.1 [The Americana / thumb-post drag](#81-the-americana--thumb-post-drag)
* 8.2 [The sucker drag (true arm drag for stronger grips)](#82-the-sucker-drag-true-arm-drag-for-stronger-grips)
* 8.3 [The angle is the technique](#83-the-angle-is-the-technique)
9. [Appendix — The Decision Tree](#9-appendix--the-decision-tree)
***
## 1. Front Headlock — Quick Review [#1-front-headlock--quick-review]
*\[00:00:00]*
Let's talk about front headlock. We've covered this a little bit already, but a quick review of what your partner's goals are and what your goals are when you're talking about front headlock.
### 1.1 The central dilemma, restated [#11-the-central-dilemma-restated]
Remember: there's a **central dilemma** whenever you're on the bottom of front headlock — whether your partner is going to **stay in front and look to strangle**, or **go to your back**.
* **If they elect to stay in front**, the good news is they're pretty static — you have access to their hands and can see what's going on. The bad news is there's always a threat of the strangle if you're not careful.
* **If they run to your back**, there are pros and cons too. In order to run to your back, at some point they're probably going to have to **unlock their hands**. If they do, that means it's going to be easier for you to get your grip fighting going, unlock their hands, create separation — and you have the opportunity, as they transition, to **roll**, **put your back on the floor**, or **reclaim your guard**. We'll see methods for all of these.
### 1.2 The three priorities on the bottom [#12-the-three-priorities-on-the-bottom]
When we're underneath front headlock we need to make sure of a few things — in this order:
1. **Defend the submission.** As my instructor says, you have to have **defensive responsibility**. Before you start to escape, you have to be defending. The submission threat is very real.
2. **Defend the go-behind.** Whenever possible, we don't want to just hang out in front headlock without our hands engaged. Even if he's not threatening the strangle, I don't simply want to let him run around behind me and get to a position with better chest-to-back contact, where he can start to control hips, lock hands, and threaten strangles. In front headlock, at least he's in front of you and you can see where he is. Once he gets behind you, life gets a lot more difficult.
3. **Put your back on the floor.** That can be in an *elegant way* — like a shoulder roll — or in a *sloppy, dumb way* where you just kind of fall over on your side. **It doesn't actually matter in practice.** There are going to be times where you want to "cow-tip" yourself over, and times where you want to hit an elegant roll where you enter your partner's legs or attack the upper body.
When your back is on the mat, your partner can't cover it. They may be able to get to a chest-to-chest pin, but in most cases — especially when the person is more talented, faster, stronger, younger — you're usually in a better place when you're **facing them**. You have a chance of getting elbow connection and inside position, compared to when they're behind you with chest-to-back.
### 1.3 Defense ≠ Escape [#13-defense--escape]
A lot of times when people are learning this sort of thing, they confuse or conflate **defense** and **escape**. They are not the same.
* **Escaping** means getting out of the position you're in.
* **Defending** means avoiding a potentially dangerous situation.
If he's attacking the strangle from the front, I have to **defend that** before I try to escape from the position. You have to be able to recognize: if you're under threat, the first thing you've got to do is defend the submission.
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **Order of operations on the bottom**
>
> 1. **Defend the submission** (neck first, always).
> 2. **Defend the go-behind** (don't let him run around).
> 3. **Get your back to the floor** (elegant or sloppy — both work).
***
## 2. Sit-Through to Half Guard — The Foundational Escape [#2-sit-through-to-half-guard--the-foundational-escape]
*\[00:03:52]*
We're going to begin by taking a look at the most basic way of getting out of front headlock: getting back to **half guard** or some form of guard.
### 2.1 Why we sit through to half guard [#21-why-we-sit-through-to-half-guard]
Part of the problem in front headlock is that **your partner has a good, dominant connection to you, but you have very little connection to them.** In jiu-jitsu, whenever you can get a better connection to your partner, it's going to be easier to offset their balance and become proactive.
Some of the worst situations you face in jiu-jitsu are ones where you have **no contact or connection over your partner**:
* If you're seated and your partner is standing, just running around and changing direction — you have no connection. That's a very exhausting, difficult position.
* Front headlock is similar: your partner has their arms around your neck and head, you don't have very much, you're just sitting there in a turtle-style position. You don't have any real meaningful connection.
So one of the first things we want to do is **get a better connection to our partner**. We do that by **sitting through to half guard**. Once we do, we'll see there are offensive opportunities to come up right away.
### 2.2 Variant A — Walk to the arm side [#22-variant-a--walk-to-the-arm-side]
> \[!CAUTION] **Defensive responsibility throughout**
> 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.
**Mechanics:**
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).
### 2.3 Variant B — Walk to the head side [#23-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.
### 2.4 The mechanical sequence (no partner) [#24-the-mechanical-sequence-no-partner]
> \[!DRILL] **Sit-through to half guard — solo mechanics**
>
> 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 Chapter 3.
***
## 3. The Knee Lever — When Partner's Hands Stay Locked [#3-the-knee-lever--when-partners-hands-stay-locked]
*\[00:08:53]*
Once we improve our connection and reach half guard, we have a number of different things we can do.
The first situation — which you'll encounter with people who are really committed to their front headlock — is one where they **keep their hands locked**, either hoping to control you and just hold your head, or looking to set up a strangle. Whenever we see this, we're going to take advantage of the fact that our partner's arms are **locked and trapped in place** by their own connection. We're going to **tilt them over**. We have an excellent opportunity to hit one of our favorite moves: **the knee lever**.
### 3.1 The setup [#31-the-setup]
We're in front headlock. Mindful of attack risk:
1. Take our hand through.
2. Defend the strangle arm with our outside arm.
3. Move toward the leg we want to capture.
4. Sit our knee down.
5. Bring our foot up over our partner's leg.
6. Wedge with the **left knee** (you can keep your knee on the floor here) and pull the heel to bring our partner's leg up over the top.
### 3.2 Tilting them over [#32-tilting-them-over]
Once we get here, our partner realizes we're capturing the leg, and **doubles down** on the grip — locking up nice and tight.
1. **Cut the elbow back.** We've talked about the importance of the elbow cut (Vol. 01, §7). Take your elbow and cut it back. That **traps his outside arm**.
2. We now have his outside leg trapped *and* his outside arm trapped.
3. **Put your back on the floor.** Take your right shoulder and turn it down to the floor. That tilts your partner over and puts them in this position.
### 3.3 The follow-up scramble [#33-the-follow-up-scramble]
> \[!CAUTION] **You're not totally out of the woods yet.**
> Your partner's hands may still be locked. If he insists on keeping the lock and bringing the hands up high, **there's no real threat of the strangle** — that's not the issue. The issue is **whatever happens next**. Also: don't sit your head forward, where your partner can unlock and punch the strangle arm through (figure-four guillotine). Monitor the strangle arm.
**Steps:**
1. **Separate his arms.** He wants his elbows pulling in; we **open and flare them out**. That makes it more difficult for him to keep the grip.
2. **Move your head to the outside.**
3. Once that happens, there's a scramble. As he goes to get up on top, take your **far elbow over the top**.
4. From there, **reclaim top position** — take an underhook and begin to pin your partner.
**If he does try to punch the strangle arm through after the tilt:** monitor the strangle arm. **Pull down on it** — it'll open his arm up. When he goes to dig the arm through, **pass our hand through to inside position**. Cover the hips. As we go to scramble to the top, scissor the legs, capture his leg — we're up on top.
**Full sequence (recap):**
1. Front headlock → find partner's wrist with inside hand.
2. Walk toward the leg → frame → wedge → step leg over the top.
3. Partner doubles down, tries to bring head inside, hands locked, squeezing back to the floor — **not a problem.**
4. Bring elbow to the outside, **clamp** (just elbow to rib — don't worry about your hand).
5. **Put your back on the floor.** Tilts your partner up and over; you land in this position.
6. Either go inside immediately, or as partner separates, use second hand to create space, **elbow down on the floor** (elbow cut), gather underhooks, climb to the top — winning position.
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **The knee lever is the answer to "locked hands."**
> When your partner doubles down on pressure after you've reached half guard, the knee lever is the ideal tool — turn your partner over.
***
## 4. The Trilemma — From Half Guard, Three Outcomes [#4-the-trilemma--from-half-guard-three-outcomes]
*\[00:13:20]*
Once you establish half guard out of front headlock, we've seen that when your partner keeps their hands locked, the arms are connected and they don't have the ability to base out. But after a few times of this, or once your partner gets a sense of what's going on, they're going to **unlock their hands**.
Good news — you're out of front headlock. Now we can move on from simply escaping to going on offense with our own attacks. One of our favorite ways to do this from half guard is the **Trilemma system**.
> \[!NOTE] **About the Trilemma**
> The trilemma is covered in depth in our half-guard series for BJJ Fanatics. We won't cover it in depth here, but we'll take you through the basics of the trilemma attack series, picking up out of front headlock.
The trilemma involves **three distinct moves**:
1. **Scoop sweep** — taking your partner over the trapped arm.
2. **Coming out and taking your partner's back.**
3. **Knocking your partner down into a double-leg** and coming up on top.
### 4.1 Prong 1 — Roll-through (scoop) sweep [#41-prong-1--roll-through-scoop-sweep]
*\[00:13:55]*
Same situation: front headlock, escape by monitoring strangle arm, move off to the side toward the arm side, swisher legs, frame, wedge, capture partner's leg.
1. **Pull with your right heel** to draw partner's leg toward you. This puts a lot of torque on his leg, so you can usually lift the knee off the mat and put your leg through underneath.
2. As I go to hit the **knee lever**, Chris is now wise to it and **takes his hands out**, posting them on the mat. That's fine — it gives us the **underhook**.
3. You can grip around your partner's waist — that's great. But often when your partner feels this, they **put on a strong whizzer**. The whizzer can prevent you from getting the grips/connections you want.
4. **So we tend to favor:** taking this hand from the top **down below the hamstring** — get a grip below the butt, on the hamstring. Now we can really pull, lift, and put our partner's knee down on the floor in front of our hip.
**With a strong whizzer in place, we have a series.** If we feel partner keeping the whizzer in:
1. Take left arm, **scoop it through**, confirm hip connection.
2. **Push hips forward**, tilt.
3. **Take knees to the sky**, roll partner forward.
4. Come up on top — strong scoop-sweep roll-through.
> \[!DRILL] **Don't rely on pulling strength — walk your hips through.**
> Whenever we're looking to hit this roll-through sweep, we don't want to rely just on the strength of our pull. **Take your legs and walk your hips until you're through underneath your partner.** Once we do that, we can put them down on the hip — your hips are now much deeper underneath his. From there, turn and climb to top position. You can continue to leg-ride, step your knee up over the top, climb up into a winning position.
### 4.2 Prong 2 — Take the back [#42-prong-2--take-the-back]
*\[00:17:25]*
When we're here and we've established half guard:
* We have our **lower-leg shift** in place. To do this, we **back-heel**, bringing hips forward, scissoring the legs.
* This time we go to tilt our partner over and **Chris takes his whizzer out and plants it on the floor**. That makes it very difficult for us to finish the sweep.
**Switch:** as he goes to recover:
1. **Cut the left elbow back.**
2. **Turn to your two knees.**
3. If the hands stay on the floor, simply **pop your head out and take your partner's back.**
You went from front headlock → half guard → on your partner's back.
**Once you're on the back:** Take your two hands and put them on your partner's thighs. Even if he's "back up" and you stay on your elbows, when Chris goes to move around, **he's carrying the bulk of your weight**. You can keep your chest on his shoulders. From here, look to attack from your own top turtle position, having ducked out and gone to the back.
### 4.3 Prong 3 — Knee slide / single-leg style takedown [#43-prong-3--knee-slide--single-leg-style-takedown]
*\[00:18:51]*
The third situation. We're in half guard, go to tilt our partner — he pulls back. As we go to come up, **he puts the whizzer back on**.
It's not going to be possible for us to take his back. Whenever we feel this — propped on our elbow, lower-leg shift in, partner's knees on the inside — **now's the time to come up and look to attack either single or double leg.**
**Best method from here:**
1. **Scissor the legs** and rise to the top position.
2. Take your **hand down low, below your partner's buttocks**.
3. Even as he goes to take his legs out and away, **widen your base**.
4. From here we can always hit a **knee slide**. Grab your partner's heel on the far side. If you can't get that, no problem — put your hand on the mat.
5. **Step your outside leg up.**
6. **Sweep your left knee toward your right knee.** This **torques his knee**.
7. From this position he's either going to **release** (in which case shell the leg and chase it / come back), or as we go to tilt, he keeps that knee on the floor — which puts him **down on his hip**.
8. **Gather the leg, lock your hands, put partner's shoulders flat on the floor, go to work to pass.**
### 4.4 The full sequence end-to-end [#44-the-full-sequence-end-to-end]
*\[00:20:19]*
> \[!DRILL] **The complete escape → Trilemma chain**
>
> 1. **Front headlock** → walk out, frame, capture partner's leg, draw it over → **half guard**.
> 2. Go to hit knee lever → partner takes hands off → **hug the leg, drop partner down**, position to start trilemma.
> 3. **Trilemma fork:**
> * **(A) Whizzer in →** scoop, tilt, take partner over (Prong 1 — roll-through sweep).
> * **(B) Whizzer out, hand posted →** build to elbow, take head out → **climb to the back** (Prong 2).
> * **(C) Whizzer back on after the tilt attempt →** come up to two knees, drop hand low, **knee slide**, bring partner's hip down to mat, cover hip → top position (Prong 3).
>
> Immediately, you have a **strong defensive series**. After you escape front headlock, you go right into half guard. Once you're there, you fire off the trilemma. You go from a bad position — partner's got head-and-arm connection — to underneath your partner with a good connection, opportunities to form **Kuzushi** and off-balance them, and you go directly from defensive to offensive.
***
## 5. The Two-On-One Method — When Patience Wins [#5-the-two-on-one-method--when-patience-wins]
*\[00:21:56]*
We've already talked about the importance of working with grips when you're underneath front headlock — how important it is to have your hands occupied with your partner's strangle arm in particular. We've talked about retracting and keeping our arms to the inside, covering our partner's hands, and the idea of a **primary defensive arm** and **secondary defensive arm**.
When you're underneath front headlock, **a lot of the time you can do very well by simply being patient.** That doesn't mean sitting there chilling out — but sometimes, in the rush to make something happen, we end up creating more problems than would otherwise exist.
The patient approach: when you're underneath front headlock and you can establish an **initial inside position with your thumb** plus a **two-on-one grip**, you can wait for your partner to make a move. Wait for them to decide either to **switch their grip into an alternative strangle**, or to **switch their arms in order to go around behind you**. You take advantage of that moment of unlocked hands to **circle your head from inside to outside**.
### 5.1 Establishing inside position with the thumb [#51-establishing-inside-position-with-the-thumb]
> \[!CAUTION] **Two ways to keep your chin in.**
>
> * **Chin tucked to inside of shoulder** (instinctive, default — this is good).
> * **Chin turned slightly to the outside** — used if Chris is really trying to force my head across his centerline; in that case I want my chin out the other way.
>
> Either way, **we are not sticking our head up** and creating separation between chin and sternum, which would let our partner punch the strangle arm through.
**Mechanics:**
1. **Bring partner's hands down in front of your chest**, low enough to get a good grip.
2. **In a perfect world**, opposite hand to opposite hand: Chris's right arm + my right arm. But you can't always do that.
3. **Often you have to use your second hand first**: bring partner's arm down slightly, bring your elbow forward, then **insert your thumb** inside.
* The detail: Chris has a strong grip. I can't get my right thumb in without lifting my chin (exposing my head).
* From this position, take your **outside hand** and **pull down just enough** to get partner's hand on your sternum.
* Then **pivot**, **bring your right elbow forward** — this lets you take your thumb to the inside.
4. **Take your left hand and double up** — two-on-one wrist grip.
**Now wait.** As partner goes to strangle from here, he'll find it very difficult. So often what will happen is **he'll unlock his hands**. The moment he unlocks: **pass off**.
### 5.2 The pump-handle pass-off (head to the outside) [#52-the-pump-handle-pass-off-head-to-the-outside]
**The pass-off:** use your two-on-one to take your partner's arm **from one side of your head to the other**.
This is similar to what we do when partner is on the back — a **two-on-one pass-off**, sometimes called a **pump-handle escape**: taking partner's arm and moving it from the opposite side of their head to the same side.
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **Why the pass-off works**
> Whenever his arm and his head are on the **same side**, the strangle is causal — the threat is gone.
**Sequence (recap):**
1. Keep your **chin in**.
2. **Pull down with your outside hand.**
3. Place your **thumb on the inside.**
4. Get **double thumb grips** — two-on-one — and **wait**.
5. As partner goes to separate the hands, **move and take your head to the outside**.
There's already a lot of separation. As he comes in to chase us, we **place our feet up here**, and now we're ready to go into our attacks.
### 5.3 Off-ramps from the head pass [#53-off-ramps-from-the-head-pass]
Once your head is on the outside, you have a **whole host of good options**:
* Arm drag.
* Thumb post.
* High stop.
* Double-leg your partner.
* Sit back to a **seated butterfly**, **half guard**, **half butterfly**, or **put your back on the floor**.
> \[!DRILL] **Three core sub-skills here**
>
> 1. **Grip fighting.**
> 2. **Getting your head to the opposite side.**
> 3. **Retreating / reclining backward** to whatever guard variant suits you. Now you've got your legs between you and your partner — ready for offense.
***
## 6. Arm Drag Series Off the Two-On-One [#6-arm-drag-series-off-the-two-on-one]
*\[00:27:08]*
Once your partner's hands separate and unlock, and you can get this two-on-one, a great initial attack is the **arm drag**. Once you get your arm-drag grip in place, it's such a powerful, robust two-on-one grip that allows you to go in a number of different directions.
**The setup is the same every time:**
1. In front of partner, locked hands.
2. **Retract arms, protect the chin.**
3. Wait for the transition. As soon as arms unlock — **pump-handle**, head to the outside.
4. **Pass off:** leave your **left hand** where it is. Take your **right hand and slide it up to your partner's armpit**. Then sit.
You now have an arm-drag grip and three branches:
* Partner pushes **into** you → **drag → take the back** (§6.1).
* Partner pulls **away** → **Sumi Gaeshi** (§6.2).
* Partner stalemates / retreats with resistance → **Hiza Guruma chest-to-chest sweep** (§6.3).
### 6.1 Drag → take the back (chest lock first) [#61-drag--take-the-back-chest-lock-first]
If we feel our partner coming **toward us**, this is an ideal time to simply drag, bring our partner past us.
1. **Leave your inside leg on the inside.**
2. **Heist.** Plant your rear leg, bring your body through.
3. **Immediately put your chest on your partner's back.** It's really important that you keep your chest on your partner's back.
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **Start with a chest lock, not a seat-belt grip.**
> Initially, we like to start with a **chest lock** rather than a seat-belt. The chest lock allows you to:
>
> * Keep weight over partner's shoulders and elbows.
> * Maintain good chest-to-back connection.
>
> **You don't have to be in a rush to step the second leg over.** Don't try to throw your second hook inside. It makes much more sense to **tilt your body off in this direction**, and then when you're ready, pass your second leg over and switch off to a seat-belt — *then* you're ready to attack.
So out of your initial defense, you have that arm drag. If your partner's coming into you, it's a great opportunity to take their back.
### 6.2 Drag → Sumi Gaeshi (when partner pulls back) [#62-drag--sumi-gaeshi-when-partner-pulls-back]
*\[00:28:53]*
Once we're inside, get a good defensive position. Partner separates hands, we circle, end up in arm-drag grip. **If our partner retreats** — whenever we feel him retreating — we're going to slide forward.
**The variation of Sumi Gaeshi:**
1. With the right foot in place, **connect his shoulder to our chest**. That brings his weight forward.
2. Once weight comes forward, we have our right leg.
3. **Put your shoulder on the floor.** Right leg is in as a hook. **Elevate, lift.**
4. **Lift your partner's arm.** As they go to turn back into you, they'll find it very difficult.
5. **Gather up head and arm** and go on offense.
**Recap:** front headlock → establish inside-position grips → he separates → we separate, come through to a drag → get a pullback reaction → that's fine: slide, connect shoulder to chest. This connection lets us bring partner's weight forward. Put your shoulder on the mat, right leg lifts. You'd be surprised how effective you can be simply tilting your partner over and landing in top position.
### 6.3 Drag → Hiza Guruma / chest-to-chest sweep [#63-drag--hiza-guruma--chest-to-chest-sweep]
*\[00:30:08]*
We end up with the arm-drag position, two-on-one grip, partner separates, we circle, draw our partner forward — and **we feel like there's still resistance**. We're trying to bring our partner forward but we don't have the confidence to lift, don't have the confidence to draw him forward.
**Solution:** slide our body into this good position.
1. **Pass partner's arm across the centerline.** Take a grip with your left hand.
2. **Throw an "uppercut"** — punch this arm all the way through the space.
3. After you punch the left arm through, take the **right hand** and connect with your hand and your partner's shoulder.
Now you have:
* A very strong connection — great chest-to-chest connection.
* The power of this grip controlling partner's arm and locking the elbow across the centerline.
* Your second hand as an **underhook**.
When Chris goes to pull out, he finds it very, very difficult.
**Now put your back on the floor and tilt your partner.** They may put their right foot out for balance — that's fine. Your left leg comes through. **You're able to hit a very nice version of Hiza Guruma / Sumi Gaeshi directly out of the arm drag.**
> \[!CAUTION] **Critical technical detail when your back hits the mat**
> **Make sure your partner's hips go above their head.**
>
> Don't fall back here with relaxed legs and have him resting on top as he walks his knees forward — that becomes difficult. **Throw your back to the floor and get your partner's hips way up here above their head.** If he doesn't put his foot down, he's going to fall. Usually he'll post.
**Finishing:**
1. **Take your foot out.** You can go all the way down here. If your legs are shorter, you may end up a little higher — that's fine.
2. With your foot, **simply extend and pull your partner's leg across.**
3. From here, **come up to mount.** You have an underhook, which you can walk forward. Move through until you reach a dominant position.
4. From mount: arm locks are ready, or just a strong mounted finish.
**Three options off the two-on-one arm drag:**
1. **Drag past** (take the back).
2. **Sumi Gaeshi hook**.
3. **Chest-to-chest / Hiza Guruma** — most robust of all; take your partner over, get up on top.
***
## 7. The Snap-Down — Reversing into Your Own Front Headlock [#7-the-snap-down--reversing-into-your-own-front-headlock]
*\[00:32:56]*
Once you escape front headlock using the two-on-one method, there's a little **poetic justice** to the next technique: you simply rise up and snap your partner down into **your own front headlock**.
There are a couple of times in jiu-jitsu where this happens — where you can get caught in a technique or position and immediately reverse your partner into that same position. This is one of those times. It also gives you a sense of how, if we're paying attention, there are so many different directions you can go in. We've talked about regarding, putting our back on the floor, hitting arm drags. Now we add **snap-down**.
### 7.1 The cross snap mechanics [#71-the-cross-snap-mechanics]
**Same two-on-one method as before:**
1. In front of partner, **chin in**. You can't just take your thumb and put it in here most of the time — partner is trying to push your elbow across.
2. **Two-on-one method:** start by taking your **left hand through, pull partner's wrist down**. Then take your **right hand, put it inside.** That's how you end up with the two-on-one.
3. Hang out, keep your elbows back. As Chris goes to make a transition, that's what we're looking for — the moment hands are unlocked.
4. **Pass-off**, head to the outside.
**Now the snap:**
5. He's on his elbows, I'm on my elbows. Nothing stops us from **rising up and bringing our head above our partner's head**.
6. **Release the outside arm** (left hand here). Bring it to our partner's head.
7. **Hit a cross snap.** A cross snap takes him with my left hand into **my right armpit** here. Take my right shoulder and put it on top of his.
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **Don't pull the head into the armpit.**
> When you do a snap-down, **you're not trying to pull your partner's head into your armpit.** It will never go.
>
> Instead: **bring your partner's head down below the line of your shoulder, then put your shoulder over the top.**
8. Once we get to this position, we can **lock up our own front headlock** and begin to move our partner's arm across the centerline.
### 7.2 Stay in front or go behind — the same dilemma, now in your favor [#72-stay-in-front-or-go-behind--the-same-dilemma-now-in-your-favor]
From here, you can **make your choices**:
* **Roll through**, tilting partner down onto their back, setting up various strangles.
* **Use it as an opportunity to go around behind your partner.**
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **The dilemma is symmetric.**
> Remember, there's always this dilemma — whether you're on defense or offense — between snapping your partner down to control and strangle in front, vs. going behind. Now you're the one with that choice.
**To go behind:** bring your head across to the opposite side, place your knee inside as a block, then move around behind your partner — looking to expose their back, place your feet inside, and start to look to strangle.
**Recap:** Off this two-on-one, very basic, simple defense = getting your hands in the right place, not panicking, not lifting your head up, being defensively sound, then using your **partner's cue**. **Their cue is anytime they unlock their hands.** You can:
* Go back to guard.
* Go to an arm drag (and use everything from there).
* Or go into the snap-down — rise, snap, and you're now in front headlock yourself.
You've got a few great options coming directly out of this two-on-one wrist grip from the bottom of front headlock.
***
## 8. When the Hands Won't Unlock — Thumb-Post & Sucker Drag [#8-when-the-hands-wont-unlock--thumb-post--sucker-drag]
*\[00:36:56]*
So far, we've been looking at front-headlock defenses that involve our partner's hands separating. There will be times when you feel like you're in front headlock, you're not able to regard, you don't have the ability to walk around to the outside the way we did when we went into half guard, and **your partner is hanging on, not separating their hands** — staying in the front position.
We have a few good options. The first one comes with a backstory: these were the **first two techniques I learned to defend front headlock**, and they are very, very effective because:
* They **fight your partner's grips not at the hands** (where they're locked) **but up at the shoulder**.
* They don't involve you **staying directly in front** of your partner. They're built around the **angle** you create relative to your partner.
When you're directly in front, partner can keep you under their chest, and you feel a lot of pressure — very heavy, especially with a bigger person. But if you can get to an **arm-drag grip** (we'll look at two methods — a "quasi" arm drag and a true arm drag), you can create an angle that makes it very difficult — almost uncomfortable — for them to keep the front headlock. That's a very compelling way of managing this position.
### 8.1 The Americana / thumb-post drag [#81-the-americana--thumb-post-drag]
*\[00:37:33]*
Setup: We're underneath front headlock. Earlier, we wanted to get our hands inside, grip and wait around — and we just feel it's not working, can't walk, partner's snapping us and moving, can't cut the corner.
**Mechanics:**
1. **Take your outside arm** — your left hand here (mirror on the other side).
2. After establishing inside-thumb position, take your **left hand and thumb-post on partner's tricep**. This **brings his elbow down just a bit.**
* He wants his elbow back against my neck. **Pull it down just a bit.**
3. Take your **right elbow** — even if he's going to extend it, **pull it back to your knee** (the elbow cut from Vol. 01).
4. **Step with your left leg.** Already, it's difficult for Chris to keep that grip.
5. Take your head to the **inside position**.
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **Why this works — leverage at the shoulder**
> As we get this grip, the **leverage on his shoulder is considerable**. It gets worse when we pull our right elbow back. **Now it starts to feel kind of like a key lock — like an Americana** — and it gives us space to circle our head to the outside.
6. From here, take your right hand, **finish the drag**, put your chest on partner's back.
7. Two hands behind, partner between your knees.
**Sequence emphasized:**
1. Underneath partner. Remember: **they want extension, we want retraction.**
2. **Pull the elbow back.**
3. Take your hand on the outside — **don't just push partner's bicep into your neck**. **Pull down.** His elbow moves from above my jaw to **below**. This is what we're looking for.
4. **Move:** take your right knee toward your left knee, then take your left leg and step it up.
5. As Chris goes to keep his grip, he finds it very difficult as we **suck that elbow back**.
6. From here, move to an arm-drag grip, pull partner past, move around behind, look to **tilt them down, expose their back**, go into your attacks.
**When it doesn't open:** Pulling partner's arm down with your left and stabilizing with your right opens their strong grip the way an Americana does — it becomes uncomfortable. But you'll find people sometimes so strong that they **won't open the grip**. When that happens, take a 10-finger grip to simulate this:
* You're still going to circle.
* Partner's hands may not open. That's fine.
* **Same thing:** your head comes to the outside, even with locked hands.
* Because the **angle changes**, your head will pass through to the outside.
**Summary of the thumb-post drag:** A "quasi" arm drag that ends in an arm drag. It functions a lot like an Americana / key lock. If you can get to this position — especially if both of you started on your knees — this is a very, very good way of separating your partner's hands and getting immediately around the corner out of front headlock.
### 8.2 The sucker drag (true arm drag for stronger grips) [#82-the-sucker-drag-true-arm-drag-for-stronger-grips]
*\[00:42:17]*
We're using an arm drag to get out of front headlock. One of the most effective ways is what's basically a **true arm drag** — sometimes referred to as a **sucker drag**. You take your **inside arm to your partner's tricep**.
It functions in much the same way as the previous escape, but works when your partner has an even more robust grip.
> \[!NOTE] **Practitioner pedigree.** This is a technique that a lot of people have used to great effect. **Giancarlo Bodoni is a big fan** of this technique, and so am I.
**Setup:** Front headlock, your right arm trapped on the inside.
> \[!CAUTION] **Defensive responsibility — always.**
> What we talked about previously — retracting the elbow, monitoring the strangle arm. **If from this position, working this technique, you ever feel his hand creep up — stop everything. Don't continue with the drag.**
>
> * Put your hand on the floor.
> * Strip the grip and bring it down.
> * Now you're back to the **two-on-one method** — start to circle your head out from there.
>
> **Through ALL of these defenses — front headlock and turtle — anytime you feel partner's arm creeping up to your neck threateningly, you have to stop what you're doing.** Get defensive, head back on floor, hand back low, and start over.
**Mechanics:**
1. Inside, he gets his grip. **Bring elbow back.**
2. Take left hand to outside, **elongate partner's arms** (as we did with thumb post).
3. Now starting to walk around the corner — and we just feel this grip is **way too strong**. He punches the arm through and it ends up a little further back. As I try to close this off, it's not working.
4. **Not to worry.** Take your **right knee to your left leg**, step it up.
5. Take your **right hand while it's on the inside** and put it on partner's tricep.
6. You end up with **two hands on partner's tricep**:
* Right arm = the **drag**.
* Left arm = the **thumb post**.
7. As Chris holds on tight, once we get to about this position, **it's very difficult to stop the head from moving away**. Take the head **backwards** as we pull. We have the drag we were waiting for.
**Finish:**
8. Hands go behind your partner's armpits.
9. Chest forward.
10. Cover partner's hips with your knees, place hooks inside.
11. Go off and begin to attack.
**Summary of the sucker drag:** Way of dealing with a more robust grip from the front. If thumb-post-and-circle with open hands doesn't work, **double up and drag your partner by**.
### 8.3 The angle is the technique [#83-the-angle-is-the-technique]
*\[00:45:11]*
> \[!PRINCIPLE] **Remember — it's not the action of pulling. It's the angle.**
>
> * **Begin** in front headlock with your knees directly facing partner's knees.
> * **Finish** — whether thumb-post-and-circle or sucker drag — you should end up here, with **a different angle** to your partner.
>
> You're moving relative to your partner. That opens up the space, allowing you to take your head forward and getting around behind partner's elbows — so you can put your chest on partner's back.
These two methods from underneath are very, very strong — a great way of dealing with locked hands. They take you out of a negative position and put you directly into a positive position where **you have chest on back. You're going from defensive to offensive.** Then from there, you can do what you like.
***
## 9. Appendix — The Decision Tree [#9-appendix--the-decision-tree]
> **A study-aid distillation of the volume's own logic — nothing new added. Use this as a quick map; the body of the document is the source of truth.**
### Diagnose what your partner is doing [#diagnose-what-your-partner-is-doing]
```
You're in front headlock. What's their state?
│
├─ Hands LOCKED, committed to front position
│ ├─ Can you walk to a leg side?
│ │ └─ YES → Sit through to half guard (§2)
│ │ ├─ Hands stay locked → Knee Lever (§3)
│ │ └─ Hands unlock → Trilemma (§4)
│ │ ├─ Whizzer in → Scoop sweep (§4.1)
│ │ ├─ Hand posted → Take back (§4.2)
│ │ └─ Whizzer back on → Knee slide (§4.3)
│ │
│ └─ NO, can't walk → Thumb-post / Americana drag (§8.1)
│ ├─ Grip opens → Drag past, take back
│ └─ Won't open → Sucker drag (§8.2)
│
└─ Hands UNLOCKED (or you got them to unlock)
└─ Two-on-one method (§5)
├─ Pump-handle pass-off, head to outside
├─ Off-ramps:
│ ├─ Sit back to butterfly / half guard / back to floor (§5.3)
│ ├─ Arm drag (§6)
│ │ ├─ Partner pushes in → Drag → take the back (§6.1)
│ │ ├─ Partner pulls back → Sumi Gaeshi (§6.2)
│ │ └─ Partner stalemates → Hiza Guruma chest-to-chest (§6.3)
│ └─ Snap down → your own front headlock (§7)
│ ├─ Stay in front: roll-through / strangle
│ └─ Go behind: knee block, expose back
```
### The non-negotiable rules [#the-non-negotiable-rules]
1. **Defensive responsibility first, escape second.** If at any point his strangle hand creeps over your shoulder line, **stop everything**, head to the floor, hand low, defend the grip — *then* resume.
2. **Mind extension.** When framing, keep elbow bent — don't push out and create separation that opens strangles.
3. **Chin in or chin turned out** — but **never up**. No air gap between chin and sternum.
4. **Hips above head** when you throw your back to the floor on a sweep. Otherwise partner walks knees forward and you're in trouble.
5. **Chest-lock before seat-belt** when you take the back off an arm drag. Don't rush the second hook.
6. **Don't pull head into armpit on the snap-down.** Get partner's head **below your shoulder line**, then put shoulder over the top.
7. **It's not the pull — it's the angle.** When the thumb-post / sucker drag works, it's because you've changed your position relative to partner, not because you out-pulled them.
### Cross-references to Volume 01 foundations [#cross-references-to-volume-01-foundations]
| This volume uses... | Defined in Vol. 01 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Defensive responsibility, primary/secondary defensive hand | §6 (Grip fighting) |
| Inside position with thumb | §5.2, §6.1 |
| Elbow cut (e.g., trapping the strangle arm in the knee lever; sucker drag setup) | §7 |
| "Back on the floor" as a north star | §5.1 |
| Retraction over extension | §5.3 |
| Shoulder roll mechanics (informs the roll-through sweep) | §8 |
***
*End of Volume 02 — front headlock technique series. The next volume continues with turtle-position techniques.*