Alias · Top Positions

Head-to-head bottom

Also known as North-South — Bottom — the canonical term used on this site.

Training background: colloquial

Informal — head-to-head north-south from below

Head-to-head bottom is a colloquial name for the north-south bottom position — describing the head-to-head orientation from the pinned player’s side.

Etymology. “Head-to-head” describes the two players’ heads aligned in opposite directions; “bottom” frames the defending side. The label is informal, naming the position by its visual orientation.

Mechanics. Escaping turns on recovering hip mobility: shrimping and turning the hips lets the bottom player spin out from under the head-to-head pin toward guard or a leg entanglement. The pin holds by keeping the hips flat, so restoring their ability to move is the engine of the escape.

Cross-reference. “Under north-south” is a sibling alias. Full mechanical coverage on North-South — Bottom.