The Shoulder of Justice Bottom position represents one of the most uncomfortable and challenging defensive situations in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. From this position, you are flat on your back with your opponent driving their shoulder blade deep into your jaw at an angle toward your far shoulder, creating intense pressure through your temporomandibular joint and cervical spine. This relentless pressure creates both physical discomfort and technical challenges, as every defensive movement you make can expose you to submissions or further position advancement.
From the bottom perspective, your primary objective is to relieve the shoulder pressure while preventing submissions and creating opportunities for escape or guard recovery. The psychological challenge of this position is significant - the pressure is designed to force reactive movements that open offensive pathways for your opponent. Understanding the dilemma structure inherent in this position is critical: attempting to push away with your near arm exposes you to kimuras, turning away opens north-south transitions, shrimping allows mount advancement, and bringing your far arm across creates arm triangle opportunities. Success from bottom requires patience, proper breathing techniques, systematic pressure relief, and recognition of genuine escape windows rather than reactive desperation movements that play into your opponent’s control strategy.
Position Definition
- You are flat on your back with opponent’s shoulder driven deeply into your jaw/chin area creating sustained pressure at approximately 45 degrees toward your far shoulder through temporomandibular joint
- Opponent’s chest positioned perpendicular to your torso with their weight distributed through shoulder blade and connected hips, pinning your near shoulder flat to mat
- Your head turned away from pressure source with limited ability to rotate back, shoulders pinned to mat, and near-side arm typically trapped or controlled under opponent’s weight
- Opponent’s hips low and heavy, connected directly to your near hip line, preventing shrimping movements while maintaining pressure vector from their center of mass through shoulder
- Opponent’s base established with far-side knee posted wide and near-side foot positioned for mobility, creating stable platform that limits your escape options significantly
Prerequisites
- You have been passed to side control position
- You are flat on your back with opponent achieving chest-to-chest connection
- Opponent has control of your near-side shoulder and head position
- Opponent has established shoulder pressure insertion point at your jaw line
- Your defensive frames have been broken or bypassed during passing sequence
Key Defensive Principles
- Breathe through nose despite jaw pressure to maintain composure and prevent panic reactions
- Create micro-frames with forearms rather than extending arms fully to avoid kimura exposure
- Shrimp timing must coincide with opponent’s weight shifts, not during maximum pressure application
- Protect near arm vigilantly as extending it for relief immediately exposes kimura vulnerability
- Turn into pressure only as last resort as it opens north-south and back-take pathways
- Far arm must stay tight to your body - bringing it across face creates arm triangle setup
- Escape priority: relieve pressure first, create space second, recover guard third
Available Escapes
Shrimp Escape → Half Guard
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 18%
- Intermediate: 28%
- Advanced: 42%
Elbow Escape → Half Guard
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 20%
- Intermediate: 32%
- Advanced: 48%
Frame and Shrimp → Closed Guard
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 15%
- Intermediate: 25%
- Advanced: 38%
Bridge and Roll → Side Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 8%
- Intermediate: 15%
- Advanced: 25%
Technical Standup → Standing Position
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 12%
- Intermediate: 22%
- Advanced: 35%
Re-Guard → Open Guard
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 14%
- Intermediate: 24%
- Advanced: 36%
Decision Making from This Position
If you can create micro-frame with bottom forearm without extending arm fully:
- Execute Shrimp Escape → Half Guard (Probability: 35%)
- Execute Frame and Shrimp → Closed Guard (Probability: 28%)
If opponent shifts weight toward your head to increase pressure intensity:
- Execute Bridge and Roll → Side Control (Probability: 22%)
- Execute Technical Standup → Standing Position (Probability: 18%)
If opponent begins stepping over for mount transition creating space:
- Execute Elbow Escape → Half Guard (Probability: 42%)
- Execute Re-Guard → Open Guard (Probability: 32%)
Escape and Survival Paths
Guard recovery via elbow escape
Shoulder of Justice Bottom → Frame creation → Elbow Escape → Half Guard → Guard Recovery
Space creation to closed guard
Shoulder of Justice Bottom → Micro-frame → Shrimp Escape → Frame and Shrimp → Closed Guard
Technical standup to neutral
Shoulder of Justice Bottom → Bridge on pressure shift → Technical Standup → Standing Position
Success Rates and Statistics
| Skill Level | Retention Rate | Advancement Probability | Submission Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 45% | 25% | 15% |
| Intermediate | 62% | 38% | 28% |
| Advanced | 78% | 52% | 42% |
Average Time in Position: 45 seconds to 2 minutes before escape or submission
Expert Analysis
John Danaher
From the bottom perspective, the Shoulder of Justice represents a masterclass in defensive dilemma recognition. The position is designed specifically to force you into making reactive movements that expose technical weaknesses - this is systematic offensive control at its finest, and understanding it from below is critical to defense. The biomechanical reality is that the pressure vector traveling from your opponent’s center of mass through their shoulder and into your jaw at 45 degrees toward your far shoulder cannot be directly resisted through strength or explosive movement. Your temporomandibular joint and cervical spine simply cannot generate the counter-force necessary to relieve this pressure through direct opposition. Therefore, your defensive strategy must focus on indirect methods: creating micro-frames with your forearms that don’t expose your near arm to kimura attacks, timing your shrimp movements to coincide with your opponent’s weight shifts rather than their maximum pressure application, and most importantly, maintaining mental composure despite significant physical discomfort. The key insight is recognizing that every defensive option has a counter built into the position’s structure - pushing with your near arm gives the kimura, turning away gives north-south or the back, shrimping gives mount transitions, and bringing your far arm across gives the arm triangle. Success requires patience, proper breathing, and waiting for genuine opportunities rather than making desperate reactive movements.
Gordon Ryan
Being on bottom in Shoulder of Justice is absolutely miserable, and I’ve been there plenty of times against high-level competitors who use this position effectively. The reality is that this position is designed to break you mentally before it breaks you technically. The shoulder pressure is so uncomfortable that your natural instinct is to do something - anything - to get relief, and that’s exactly what your opponent wants. Every movement you make to relieve the pressure creates an offensive opportunity for them. The key to survival is understanding that the discomfort is temporary and manageable if you don’t panic. I focus on breathing through my nose even though my jaw is getting crushed, keeping my near arm protected like my life depends on it because the kimura from here is brutal, and waiting for my opponent to make weight shifts when they go for submissions or mount. Those are your windows. You can’t create space when they have perfect pressure and base - you have to wait for them to move first. In competition, I’ve escaped this position by being patient and recognizing that my opponent can’t maintain maximum pressure forever. They’ll eventually have to shift their weight to set up submissions or position changes, and that’s when you execute your elbow escape or shrimp. It’s about mental toughness and technical discipline under pressure.
Eddie Bravo
Being stuck on bottom in Shoulder of Justice is one of those positions where you really have to control your mind, man, because the physical discomfort can make you forget everything you know. In 10th Planet, we prepare for this by drilling pressure tolerance specifically - you have to be able to think clearly while someone is crushing your jaw with their shoulder. The biggest mistake I see is people trying to push the shoulder away with their near arm because it seems like the logical way to get relief. That’s exactly what your opponent wants - instant kimura. The second biggest mistake is turning into the pressure to escape, which just gives them your back or north-south. What we teach is to stay calm, breathe through your nose, and create subtle frames with your forearms without extending your arms. You’re looking for the moment when they shift their weight to go for a submission or mount transition - that’s your escape window. In no-gi especially, you can’t afford to waste energy on explosive movements that won’t work. You have to be smart and patient, waiting for genuine opportunities. We also drill the mental aspect - accepting that you’re going to be uncomfortable for 30-60 seconds while you work your escape sequence. If you can stay calm and technical under that kind of pressure, you’ll survive and escape. If you panic and react, you’ll get kimura’d or mounted in seconds.