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Pillars of Defense: Upper Body Joint Lock Escapes by Gordon Ryan — ByteByU

Pillars of Defense: Upper Body Joint Lock Escapes by Gordon Ryan

Escape joint locks with structured technique and defensive awareness.
Foundations of BJJ cover
  • Learn How To Masterfully Escape Any Upper Body Joint Lock With A Systematic Approach And Calm Confidence, As Gordon “The King” Ryan Shows You All The Lessons You Need To Know To Get Out From Armbars, Kimura, Omoplatas, And More!
  • Escape from any kind of serious upper body joint lock in grappling with lessons on getting out from any variation of the juji gatame, te gatame, kimura, americana, omoplata, and more!
  • Gordon “The King” Ryan is a multiple-time ADCC champion who is the most dominant and technical no-gi grappler on Earth, and this is your chance to learn his submission escaping!
  • Move from defense to offense with tips on how to find a counter offensive cycle within your escape - including entries to leg locks, back takes, and more!
  • Start to implement the enemy of offense so that you can supercharge your defense with conceptually powerful lessons on creating space and momentum
  • Gordon’s escaping skill is the basis of his game on the mat - now you can see all the ways he shuts down and gets out of upper body joint locks
  • See actual rolling footage from the gym as Gordon puts these techniques into action and then breaks down exactly what he was doing so you can see the techniques in motion
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Course Content

Volume 1

17 Lessons
Intro
0:00
Overview
1:55
Stages of Escape – General Theory
4:04
Escapes and Offense
6:13
The Enemy of Offense
9:12
Escaping an Initial Clamp
11:49
Stacking Out of Ude Gatame
16:05
Conversion to Omoplata
19:03
Stacking/Rolling Dilemma
22:08
Te Gatame Early Escapes
24:13
Conversion to Omoplata
29:14
Intro to Omoplatas
32:21
Escaping with Reverse Knee on Belly
33:15
Immediate Roll Through
39:05
Avoid Getting Flattened Out
45:34
Late Escape
50:58
End Game
55:13 +

Volume 2

14 Lessons
Intro to Kimuras
0:00
Head and Hand Positions
3:01
Body Lock and Wrist Grab
6:07
Stripping the Grip
9:03
Rolling Through
13:19
End Game
22:22
Intro to Kimura From Top Half Guard
23:51
Head and Hand Placement
25:39
Flatten Them Out When They Attempt Kimura
28:22
Defending With a Body Lock
31:01
Defending With a Far Wrist
33:19
Strip the Grip
35:24
Rolling Through
38:41
End Game
46:42 +

Volume 3

16 Lessons
Intro to T Kimura
0:00
2 General Escaping Directions
3:41
Stripping a Grip
6:54
Pommeling the Legs
12:37
Intro to Kimura from Bottom Half Guard
15:48
Understanding the Lower Body Battle
17:05
Countering Cross Shoulder Post Kimura
19:10
Countering Underhook Kimura
23:38
Tricep Posting
24:51
Strip the Grip
30:19
Butterfly Off Balancing
34:05
Intro to Kimura from Bottom Pins
39:15
Early Pommels From Side Control/North South
40:24
Stripping the Grip
50:13
Late Escapes
52:28
End Game
1:01:38 +

Volume 4

13 Lessons
Intro to Dorsal Kimura
0:00
Strip the Grip
2:23
Pommeling Legs to Escape Legs Kimura
4:25
Stacking Out of Legs Kimura
11:06
Rolling Out of Power Kimura
19:41
End Game
23:32
Intro to the American Lock (Americana)
25:59
Early Hand Fighting From Side Control
27:50
Tricep Post
31:57
Late Escapes
33:01
End Game
37:22
Early Hand Fighting From Mount
40:02
Late Escapes
45:27 +

Volume 5

16 Lessons
Intro to Armbars
0:00
Central Problems for Top and Bottom Armbars
1:12
Defining Early and Late Escapes
5:38
Overview
7:35
Types of Armbars
10:03
Defensive Hand Positions
12:14
General Hand Fighting From Closed Guard
15:22
Escaping From a Top Lock
21:11
Juji From Dorsal Kimura
24:58
Intro to Mounted Armbars
28:14
Walking the Arms Down
29:32
Bringing a Knee Inside
32:28
Rolling Belly Down
36:31
Rolling Belly Up
40:31
Intro to Armbar Escapes
44:38
Offensive Hand Positions
46:17 +

Volume 6

15 Lessons
Quarter Juji / Figure 4 Escapes Vs Top Hand Post
0:00
10 Fingered Escapes Vs Top Hand Post
8:11
Figure 4/10 Fingered Escapes Vs Bottom Hand Post
16:12
Escaping Vs Kimura Grip
22:04
Late Escapes
25:03
Full Juji / Coming up With Figure 4 Vs Top Hand Post
31:41
Escaping with a 10 Fingered Grip Vs Top Hand Post
37:41
Figure 4 Escape Vs Bottom Hand Post
45:02
10 Fingered Grip Vs Bottom Hand Post
52:54
Escaping Vs Kimura Grip
53:54
Late Escapes
53:37
Far Ankle Cross
1:01:32
Separating Far Ankle Cross
1:03:29
Hamstring Grab to Separate Far Ankle Cross
1:06:10
End Game
1:12:03 +

Volume 7

17 Lessons
3/4 Juji / Intro to 3/4 Juji
0:00
Figure 4 Escapes Vs Top Hand Post
4:05
10 Fingered Grip Escapes Vs Top Hand Post
9:55
Figure 4 Escapes Vs Bottom Hand Post
12:22
10 Fingered Escapes Vs Bottom Hand Post
21:27
Escaping Vs Kimura
22:37
Late Escapes
23:44
End Game
33:45
Intro to Shoulder Sankaku
36:04
Escaping Top Side Shoulder Sankaku
38:15
End Game
45:30
Escaping Bottom Side Shoulder Sankaku
47:25
End Game
51:13
Escaping Scissor Juji
52:29
End Game
57:05
Addressing Near Side Scoop Grip
1:01:10
Outro
1:04:07 +

Volume 8

5 Lessons
Cristos
0:00
Alex
5:18
Placido
10:24
Cristos
15:21
Alex
20:32 +

Volume 9

5 Lessons
Intro / Cristos
0:00
Alex
10:53
Placido
21:11
Cristos
29:01
Alex
40:35 +

????️ Pillars of Defense: Upper Body Joint Lock Escapes

A comprehensive escape system focused on neutralizing upper-body entanglements—empowering you to efficiently exit armbars, Americana/Kimura setups, omoplata, shoulder locks, and more under real resistance.

???? Course Overview

Gordon Ryan delivers an elite-level defensive curriculum designed to transform reactive escapes into purposeful, structured responses. Each joint-lock threat is broken down into awareness, grip control, escape mechanics, and counter-flow integration—ensuring you don’t just survive, but redirect control and maintain composure.

???? What You’ll Learn

  • Foundations of Structural Defense
    Recognizing early movement and grip cues for imminent arm threats
    Hip, head, and base alignment principles to prevent lock depth
    Proactive framing techniques and grip denial for early intervention
  • Armbar & Americana/Kimura Exits
    Timing and posture principles for swift elbow-space creation
    Roll, bridge, and hip-escape escapes customized to each attack
    Wise regaining of frames and safe separation after escape execution
  • Omoplata & Shoulder Lock Solutions
    Shoulder posture maintenance to avoid roll-through depth
    Leg and posturing response drills to block progression
    Flow-based counter-resets that open new positional options
  • Upper-Body Submission Counters
    Frame escapes against chokes, wrist locks, and shoulder control entries
    Redirection into head-and-arm control or guard re-composition
    Transition tools to sweep, break grips, or establish defensive posture
  • Drill Integration & Flow Training
    Partner drills that link recognition → framing → escape → recovery
    Sparring structures emphasizing escape timing and flow-chaining
    Coaching patterns to embed awareness and biomechanics under pressure

???? Who This Course Is For

Ideal for grapplers who:

  • Train in both gi and no-gi and want upper-body safety under intense control
  • Seek conditioned escape reflexes—not partial or isolated movements
  • Want structured, drillable systems for protection and counter-attack
  • Compete or roll with submission threats and want to neutralize them effectively

✅ Key Benefits

  • Defense That Translates to Control
    Escape patterns flow into frames, retakes, or positional resets—not just survival.
  • Pressure-Proven Mechanics
    Techniques are designed to work under real rolling resistance.
  • Flow-Centric Escaping
    Every escape includes the next step—recovery or counter.
  • Elite-Level Detail
    Built on Gordon Ryan’s experience escaping and re-attacking high-level threats.
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