The bottom combatant will usually look to sweep the opponent or transition into a better position such as the guard.

A high mount can be used to pin one of the opponents arms under the knee, so as to prevent him or her from defending effectively.

A too low mount on the other hand will result in the opponent being able to sit up, and possibly reverse the position into an open guard with him or her on top.

In addition to punching the head, strikes to the ribs and chest can also be difficult to defend and thus effective.

Such chokes are generally limited to sporting contestants who wear a gi or, in real-life combat, opponents wearing thick jackets, which provide a collar as an aid to choking, but attempting them at a gi-less situation can be successful if the performer manages to hold his opponent.

Pinning holds in budō from the mount include tate shiho gatame (縦四方固, "horizontal four quarters hold", also called hon-tate-shiho-gatame,[1] 本縦四方固), which is similar to kata-gatame except that it is performed from the mount.

[2] An alternative also commonly used is the elbow escape, also referred to as the shrimp or shrimping, this involves using the elbows or hands to create space in between the opponent and the practitioner so that the practitioner can work one leg, then the other in between himself and his opponent, hence obtaining the half guard, or full guard.