28%
Favors Top · Overall estimate
Gi28%
No-Gi28%
Knee on Belly
Top player controls from the side with a knee or shin across the torso while staying mobile.
Where does this position usually go next?
- Roadmap
- Volume 1
- Roles
- Top + Bottom
- Formats
- Gi and No-Gi
Understand the position
Understand the position
Top
Places a knee across Bottom's stomach or chest with the other leg posted, applying pressure while staying mobile.
Bottom
Is on their back under the knee, trying to relieve the pressure and escape.
Quick Read
Understand this position in 10 seconds.
Favors Top
71%
Top establishes the stronger next position or finishes the exchange.
Favors Bottom
29%
Bottom establishes the stronger next position or finishes the exchange.
Largest group: Favors Top (71%). Most common individual transition: Top advances to mount (28%).
What does "favors" mean?
It is not a player's chance of winning the match. It describes which player benefits from the estimated next outcome of this position.
The distribution
Overall Outcome
Outcome distribution for Knee on Belly
Favors Top 71%
Favors Bottom 29%
One-step map
Where It Goes Next
Sort by
- From Knee on Belly: Top advances to mount, 28 percent overall, Favors Top.
- From Knee on Belly: Top returns to side control, 24 percent overall, Favors Top.
- From Knee on Belly: Top submits, 10 percent overall, Favors Top.
- From Knee on Belly: Bottom turtles / exposes back, 9 percent overall, Favors Top.
- From Knee on Belly: Bottom recovers guard, 21 percent overall, Favors Bottom.
- From Knee on Belly: Bottom reverses / comes up, 8 percent overall, Favors Bottom.
These are possible next events, not guaranteed paths to another named position. Open a transition below for a plain-language explanation.
Every outcome
Transition Breakdown
Favors Top
24%
Favors Top · Overall estimate
Gi25%
No-Gi22%
10%
Favors Top · Overall estimate
Gi12%
No-Gi8%
9%
Favors Top · Overall estimate
Gi8%
No-Gi10%
Favors Bottom
21%
Favors Bottom · Overall estimate
Gi20%
No-Gi22%
8%
Favors Bottom · Overall estimate
Gi7%
No-Gi10%
Compare the formats
Gi vs No-Gi
Gi28%No-Gi28%
Gi25%No-Gi22%
Gi12%No-Gi8%
Gi8%No-Gi10%
Gi20%No-Gi22%
Gi7%No-Gi10%
Gi
Collar and sleeve grips make the top player's pressure heavier and submissions slightly more common.
No-Gi
The position is more mobile and slippery, so the bottom player escapes and reverses a little more often.
In practice
What This Means on the Mat
For Top
Knee on belly is a scoring and transition hub. Mount and side control are the usual next stops.
For Bottom
Remove the knee first. Guard recovery is the most common way out; rushing the reversal usually fails.
Methodology
How to Read These Numbers
These percentages are coaching estimates informed by published research, not measured probabilities from a single dataset.
EstimatedThe Simplex Motus Position Transition Roadmap, Volume 1 supplies the baseline, Gi, and No-Gi values. The overall split groups the baseline outcomes by which role they favor. Published studies provide context for the estimates, not direct measurements of these exact exit percentages.
Gi means grappling with a uniform jacket and pants; No-Gi means grappling without that uniform. “Overall” is the roadmap's baseline estimate, not an average calculated from the two formats.
Limitations
The cited studies provide context, but do not report these exact position-exit rates. Without raw counts or a reproducible calculation for the displayed percentages, these estimates should not be treated as measured frequencies or predictions for a particular match.
Research trail
Evidence & Sources
The original roadmap, Volume 1 (PDF) provides the displayed baseline, Gi, and No-Gi values and assigns the references below to Knee on Belly. Public studies do not track every specific position exit shown here. Where direct measurements are unavailable, the roadmap uses evidence-constrained coaching estimates. No sample size, raw counts, or reproducible calculation for these exact percentages is provided in the document. Treat them as a directional training guide, not observed rates or a prediction for a match.
Continue exploring
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Knee on Belly
Explore Related Positions
Related positions are useful positions to explore next and are not necessarily direct transitions shown in the roadmap.
Volume 1
Closed Guard Bottom player has both legs locked around the top player's torso, limiting posture and mobility.Side Control Top player pins across the chest from the side with the legs cleared.Half Guard Bottom player traps one of the top player's legs. It sits between guard and a completed pass.Mount Top player sits astride the torso. Mount scores 4 points under IBJJF rules.Turtle Bottom player is on knees and elbows or hands with the back facing the top player.Back Control Top player controls from behind with chest-to-back connection and hooks or equivalent control.
Volume 2
Open Guard Bottom player controls distance with legs and grips without locking closed guard, including DLR, RDLR, spider, lasso, and single-leg X.Butterfly Guard Bottom player is seated with inside hooks under the top player's thighs, usually with upper-body connection.North-South Top player pins from above the head, chest to chest, facing the bottom player's legs. It is part of the side-control family.Standing / Neutral Both athletes are on their feet. There is no top or bottom yet, so the roles are Scorer, Defender, and Neutral.Front Headlock Controller holds the head, often with an arm, while the defender is bent over or turtled. It sits between standing, turtle, and the back.Leg Entanglement / Ashi Garami The legs are connected in a control system such as ashi garami, outside ashi, saddle/411, or 50-50. Top and bottom labels do not apply.