BACK CONTROL

Back control is the most dominant position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the highest-scoring position in every modern ruleset. With the attacker behind the opponent, hooks (or, in some systems, a body triangle) wrapped around the opponent's torso, and one arm threaded over the shoulder while the other wraps under the armpit, the attacker has full access to the rear naked choke and the bow-and-arrow choke while the opponent's defensive options are limited to hand-fighting and hip movement.

The distinguishing structural feature of back control is the seatbelt — the over/under arm configuration that prevents the opponent from turning into the attacker and recovering position. Without a maintained seatbelt, back control collapses immediately; with it, the position holds even when the opponent rolls or shifts. The hooks (the attacker's feet inside the opponent's thighs) keep the body anchored, and the chest stays connected to the opponent's upper back.

The canonical attack is the rear naked choke (mata leão), one of the highest-percentage submissions in all of combat sports. In the gi, the bow-and-arrow choke replaces it as the standard finish, and the cross-collar choke from the back is a Roger Gracie signature. Modern no-gi systems built around the back, such as the Danaher Death Squad's approach with Gordon Ryan, have demonstrated that back control with a body triangle and hand-fighting can hold a world-class opponent for the entire match while the strangulation is set up methodically.

Defensively, the principles are well-known: hand-fight to prevent the seatbelt from connecting, peek out to the choking-arm side to escape (never to the wrist side), and lower the chin to the chest to delay the choke while the escape is executed. Even with perfect defensive technique, however, back control is the position from which more world titles have been decided than any other, and a competitor who has lost their back has typically lost the match.