Cover the Knuckles: Lock the Hands vs Hips Away and Face
Mat mode
3:00
Tell the roomLock your hands around them.
Show full gameHide full gameRules · how to win · video
BACK PLAYER
POSITION
Standing behind your partner with your arms around them and your hands not locked. Your partner holds your hands over the knuckles.
OBJECTIVE
Lock your hands around them.
CONSTRAINTS
Your hands start apart. Any lock counts, from the shoulders down to the feet: around the waist or around a leg. No mat returns.
WIN CONDITION
Connect your hands around your partner's body or a leg.
FRONT PLAYER
POSITION
Standing with your partner behind you, their hands unlocked. Hold their hands over the knuckles: not the wrists, not the fingers.
OBJECTIVE
Keep their hands apart, get your hips away, and turn to face them.
CONSTRAINTS
If you lose the knuckle grip, get the same grip back. Get your hips away, don't just turn. If they lock their hands, you lose.
WIN CONDITION
Get your hips away and turn to face your partner without them locking their hands.
Reference video
Open video · Ecological Dynamics for Submission Grappling
Coach Rob Cole, Ecopalooza Spring 2024: Constraints-Led Approach to "Just Stand Up" (free video on the Ecological Dynamics for Submission Grappling YouTube channel).
Problem
Standing behind your partner with your arms around them and your hands not locked.
Tell the room
Lock your hands around them. Keep their hands apart, get your hips away, and turn to face them.
Setup
Standing behind your partner with your arms around them and your hands not locked. Your partner holds your hands over the knuckles. Standing with your partner behind you, their hands unlocked. Hold their hands over the knuckles: not the wrists, not the fingers.
Score
Connect your hands around your partner's body or a leg. Get your hips away and turn to face your partner without them locking their hands.
Rules
- Your hands start apart.
- Any lock counts, from the shoulders down to the feet: around the waist or around a leg.
- No mat returns.
- If you lose the knuckle grip, get the same grip back.
- Get your hips away, don't just turn.
- If they lock their hands, you lose.
standup