BASIC UPPER BODY TERMINOLOGY
A good pin isolates your opponent’s shoulders, head, and hips so they can’t frame, bridge, or escape easily. This is done by controlling key areas of their body with tight weight distribution, active posting, and framing with your limbs. You want to eliminate space and force your opponent to carry your weight. Unlike submissions that require a moment, pins require sustained pressure. The longer your pin is stable and suffocating, the more your opponent burns energy and exposes new openings.
SIDE PINS
Side pins place your body across your opponent’s torso, using angles and frames to control their shoulders and hips. These pins are excellent for shutting down escapes, transitioning to submissions, or grinding down opponents with constant pressure.
SIDE CONTROL
A cross-body pin that traps the opponent’s near arm and hip, limiting movement while setting up submissions or transitions. Common attacks are D’Arces, Americana, Kimura, and Triangles.
SCARF CONTROL
A top pin where you face their legs while controlling their upper body, often used to isolate arms or attack chokes. Common attacks are Leg Americanas, Kimuras, Arm Triangles, and even Compression Chokes.
NORTH-SOUTH
A side pin where you sit beside the opponent while controlling their head and arm, using tight hip pressure and upper body framing. Common attacks are the North-South choke, but also a position to set up Arm Locks and Kimuras.
MOUNT PINS
Mount pins place your chest in line with your opponent’s spine, allowing direct downward pressure and tight control of their centerline. These positions offer some of the strongest submission setups in grappling and are difficult to escape when properly secured.
MOUNT
A powerful top position where your knees and hips pin their torso flat, limiting their ability to escape or frame. Common attacks are Americana, Arm Triangles, Mounted Triangles, and setting up Arm Locks.
REAR MOUNT
The Mount position, but your opponent is completely flattened on their belly, considered the worst pin position to be stuck in. The most common attack is a Rear Naked Choke.
BACK CONTROL
A dominant position where you control your opponent from behind using hooks or a body triangle to isolate their upper body and attack the neck. Common attacks are Rear Naked Chokes, Arm Locks, and Rear Triangles.
THE TURTLE POSITION
Turtle is not a traditional pin, but rather a defensive shell your opponent uses to avoid being flattened or submitted. In many ways, it functions like a guard—a position your opponent adopts to stay mobile, defend submissions, and look for escapes or reversals. From the top, controlling the turtle isn’t about locking them down statically—it’s about staying connected, breaking their posture, and transitioning to dominant pins or submissions. Turtle is a dynamic position: if the top player stays passive, the bottom player can sit out, roll, or re-guard. If the top player stays active, turtle becomes a bridge to back control, front headlocks, or mount.
