Knee On Belly: Complete BJJ Technique Guide

# Knee On Belly: Complete BJJ Technique Guide

## What is the Knee On Belly?

The Knee On Belly is a fundamental Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique that every practitioner should master. Whether you're a white belt just starting out or an experienced grappler refining your game, understanding the mechanics and timing of this technique will elevate your BJJ.

## How to Perform the Knee On Belly

Here's a detailed breakdown based on expert instruction:

# Knee on Belly

All right, let's learn a bit about the knee on the belly, okay? How to do a good

knee on the belly. So let's start from the side control position. Okay.

When I have the side control position, I go with one hand, a thumb inside the

collar, and the other hand I block his hip. I should always hold the trouser. These

will avoid him avoiding him to, we'll block his hipscapes. If I don't post my hand

anywhere here close to his hip, when I go with my knee on his belly, he's gonna

hip scape and I always gonna lose the knee on the belly. So you should always hold

the trouser. Keep your arms close here. What's I gonna do here? I'm gonna jump and

I go knee on belly. What is important here? This leg should always be up.

This leg should never be down, okay? Why? Because if this leg is down, I have 50 %

of my weight on the floor and 50 % of the weight on him. I actually want 100 % of

my weight on him, so I want this. Also, very important detail here is that put the

side of your foot connected to his hip. Don't leave too much a gap here.

Turn here a little bit. Don't leave too much a gap like this because he can very

easily grab and bridge a little bit and then push my leg between his legs and then

once you have this is very hard to blocking him to go to the deep half go to

deep half exactly okay so that's a mistake when when you put this side of your

foot close to his hip close yourself a bit it becomes let's turn here a little bit

so you can see. It becomes a lot harder for him to push your foot, to push your

foot between his legs on the half guard. Try it. It becomes a lot harder. You see

that? And again, don't stay too tense. Don't stay stiff.

Because more stiff you are, when he moves, he's going to move you more. Try to

stay relaxed. Try to do the flow movement. Okay. So head down, don't stay too high

up, lower, okay? And control the knee on the belly. All right? So that's a basic

way to enter the knee on the belly. See you next lesson, guys.

## Key Points to Remember

When drilling the Knee On Belly, focus on these essential details:

1. **Positioning** — Your body position determines your success rate

2. **Timing** — Wait for the right moment, don't force it

3. **Grip** — Secure proper grips before committing to the technique

4. **Finish** — Follow through completely once you initiate

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many practitioners struggle with the Knee On Belly because they:

- Rush the technique without proper setup

- Neglect the importance of base and balance

- Forget to control their opponent's reactions

- Don't drill both sides equally

## When to Use the Knee On Belly

The Knee On Belly works best when:

- Your opponent's weight distribution creates an opening

- You've set up the technique with proper grips

- You can commit fully to the movement

- You have a follow-up ready if the initial attempt fails

## Track Your Knee On Belly Progress

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*This technique guide is based on instruction from Professor Henrique, covering the Knee On Belly as part of the JitsAI Fundamentals Course.*