Defending the Hook Leg and Take Back requires understanding that the most dangerous moment occurs during your own escape attempt from buggy choke. When you sit to guard to escape the choking threat, you voluntarily create the hip elevation and space that enables hook insertion. The defender’s challenge is navigating a genuine positional dilemma: remaining static in buggy choke allows the choke to develop, but sitting to guard without proper defensive structure invites the back take. Successful defense requires executing the sit-up escape while simultaneously denying the hook insertion window through hip control, hand positioning, and directional awareness.
The critical defensive window is narrow. Once the attacker’s first hook enters your thigh, defensive options diminish rapidly, and once both hooks are established with harness grip intact, you are in full back control with limited escape paths. Prevention-focused defense during the sitting motion itself yields far higher success rates than attempting to strip hooks after they are inserted. Defenders must train to feel the attacker’s leg movement against their hip during the sit-up and immediately implement countermeasures before the hook seats deep.
Strategically, the defender should approach this situation by choosing escape directions and timing that minimize hook insertion opportunities. Sitting directly backward into the attacker creates the worst-case scenario with maximum hip exposure. Instead, sitting laterally or incorporating rotation during the escape changes the geometry and forces the attacker to chase angles rather than simply inserting hooks into a presented target. Understanding these directional principles transforms the buggy choke escape from a binary choice between choke and back take into a navigable positional problem with viable defensive solutions.
Opponent’s Starting Position: Buggy Choke (Top)
How to Recognize This Attack
- Feeling the attacker’s near-side leg shift from a base position to a reaching or curling motion against your hip during your sit-up escape
- Attacker’s harness grip tightening and chest pressure increasing forward just as you begin sitting, indicating they are loading to follow your movement
- Attacker’s head driving harder into your far shoulder during the sit-up, signaling they are preparing to maintain connection through the transition rather than finishing the choke
- Sensation of the attacker’s hips closing distance to yours rather than maintaining static position, indicating preparation for hook insertion
Key Defensive Principles
- Keep elbows tight to hips during the sit-up motion to physically block hook insertion pathways before they develop
- Sit laterally rather than directly backward to change the angle and deny the attacker clean hook entry geometry
- Prioritize stripping the harness grip during the sit-up rather than after hooks are already inserted, since without upper body control the back take cannot complete
- Maintain awareness of near-side hip exposure and actively shield it with your near arm or knee during any sitting escape movement
- Control the tempo of your escape rather than sitting explosively, which creates the hip elevation window the attacker needs for hook insertion
- If first hook enters, immediately address it before the second arrives by trapping the hooking foot against your inner thigh and turning toward it
Defensive Options
1. Lateral sit with elbow block: sit to guard at a 45-degree angle away from the attacker’s near leg while keeping near elbow pinned tight against your hip to physically obstruct hook entry
- When to use: As the primary defensive modification whenever you decide to sit out of buggy choke, before the attacker initiates hook insertion
- Targets: Buggy Choke
- If successful: Escape to seated guard position without hooks, forcing attacker to either disengage or re-establish turtle top control
- Risk: If angle is insufficient, attacker follows your lateral movement and inserts hook from a wider angle
2. Grip strip and face: use both hands to explosively strip the harness grip during the sit-up, then immediately turn to face the attacker before hooks can be inserted
- When to use: When you feel the harness grip is not fully consolidated and you have hand access to the seatbelt connection point
- Targets: Half Guard
- If successful: Break upper body control entirely, allowing you to turn and face attacker in open guard or half guard without back exposure
- Risk: Momentarily exposes neck if grip strip fails and attacker re-tightens harness with choking intent
3. Hook trap and rotate: if the first hook enters, immediately clamp your thighs together to trap the hooking foot, then rotate your body toward the hook side to prevent the second hook and begin facing the attacker
- When to use: When prevention fails and the attacker has successfully inserted their near-side hook during your sit-up
- Targets: Half Guard
- If successful: Prevent second hook insertion and transition to half guard by trapping the single leg and rotating to face attacker
- Risk: If rotation is too slow, attacker uses first hook as anchor to insert second hook during your turning motion
4. Recline and pin: instead of sitting forward, recline backward to pin the attacker’s chest to the mat, eliminating the space needed for hook insertion
- When to use: When you recognize the attacker is committed to the back take rather than the choke and your priority shifts to denying hooks
- Targets: Buggy Choke
- If successful: Pin attacker flat with your back weight, forcing a positional reset where they must re-establish turtle top or transition to a different attack
- Risk: Reclining can tighten existing collar grips and may expose you to crucifix entries if attacker swims their head
Best-Case Outcomes for Defender
→ Buggy Choke
Deny hook insertion through lateral sitting angle and elbow blocking, or recline to pin attacker flat. Either method forces a positional reset where the attacker remains in buggy choke top but has failed the back take transition, giving you another opportunity to escape with better defensive structure.
→ Half Guard
Strip the harness grip during the sit-up and immediately turn to face the attacker, or trap the first hook with your thighs and rotate toward the hook side. Both methods result in facing the attacker with their leg trapped between yours in half guard, a vastly improved defensive position compared to back control.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: Why is sitting directly backward the worst escape direction when defending Hook Leg and Take Back? A: Sitting directly backward creates maximum hip exposure on both sides simultaneously, presenting the attacker with a clean and unobstructed entry for the near-side hook. The straight-back motion also makes it easiest for the attacker to follow with chest connection because there is no lateral displacement to chase. Sitting at a 45-degree angle forces the attacker to adjust and reduces the available hook insertion surface.
Q2: What is the first thing you should do if the attacker successfully inserts their near-side hook during your escape? A: Immediately clamp your thighs together to trap the hooking foot and prevent it from seating deep inside your thigh. Then rotate your body toward the hook side to prevent the second hook from entering. Addressing the first hook before the second arrives is critical because single-hook back control is far more escapable than double hooks, and the rotation toward the trapped leg creates half guard geometry.
Q3: Why is stripping the harness grip during the sit-up more effective than stripping it after hooks are established? A: During the sit-up, the attacker’s grip structure is in transition and their body is adjusting to follow your movement, making the harness grip less consolidated and more vulnerable to stripping. After hooks are established, the attacker has a stable base with lower body anchoring that reinforces their harness grip through structural connection. Stripping the harness during transition eliminates the upper body control that makes hook insertion effective.
Q4: Your opponent has one hook in and is reaching for the second - what defensive option gives you the best positional outcome? A: Trap the inserted hook by clamping your thighs and immediately rotate toward the hook side while stripping the harness grip with your hands. This creates a half guard position where the attacker’s inserted leg becomes trapped between your legs and you are now facing them. Half guard bottom is dramatically better than back control bottom, and the rotation prevents the second hook from ever arriving.
Q5: How does controlling the tempo of your sit-up escape help defend against the back take? A: A controlled, deliberate sit-up keeps hip elevation minimal and reduces the window of time where the hip space is open for hook insertion. Explosive sit-ups create large, fast hip elevation that actually opens more space and generates momentum the attacker can ride to follow your movement. Controlled tempo combined with lateral angle minimizes the insertion opportunity and forces the attacker into a reactive chase rather than a timed entry.