GRANBY TO BACK TAKE
Granby para Tomada de Costas
Also known as: Inverted Back Take, Granby Back Take
The granby to back take is the offensive application of the granby roll in which the bottom player, rather than re-emerging in open guard, continues the inversion until they arrive behind the top player and establishes back control. The technique converts a defensive guard-recovery move into a high-percentage back-take, and it has become one of the canonical no-gi answers to a passer who has committed to one side without securing the underhook.
The entry begins when the top player has chosen a passing direction and started to walk around but has not yet established cross-face or underhook. The bottom player plants the head and shoulder, inverts upward, and rolls under the top player's body in the direction opposite the pass. Instead of stopping when the roll has completed, the bottom player continues the rotation, emerging on the top player's back rather than on the opposite side of their body. As the back emerges, the bottom player establishes hooks or seatbelt control to consolidate.
Mica Galvao has used the granby-to-back-take as a primary IBJJF and ADCC technique in the 2020s, and the broader Atos competition team has integrated it as part of their open-guard offensive system. Gordon Ryan has used variations in no-gi competition. Defensively the technique is countered by committing fully to the cross-face during a pass (which denies the inversion space), by walking around the inverting bottom player rather than chasing them, or by attacking the bottom player's exposed back during the inversion window.
KEY POINTS
- 01Time the granby to a top player who has committed to a pass direction but not secured cross-face.
- 02Plant the head and shoulder firmly before inverting.
- 03Continue the rotation past the standard granby re-emergence to arrive behind the opponent.
- 04Establish hooks or seatbelt immediately upon arriving at the back.
- 05Commit fully to the rotation; partial-commitment granby-to-back-take exposes the back.
COMMON MISTAKES
- ✕Stopping the rotation at the granby re-emergence rather than continuing to the back.
- ✕Trying the technique against a top player with cross-face already established.
- ✕Failing to establish hooks immediately at the back.
- ✕Partial commitment that leaves the bottom player exposed to a back-take from the opponent.
- ✕Drilling without integrating into live pass-defense scenarios.
TRAINING DRILLS
- →Granby continuation drill: from a granby roll, continue past re-emergence to arrive behind a compliant partner.
- →Hook-insertion drill: from arriving behind the partner, immediately insert hooks 25 times per side.
- →Live granby-to-back-take rounds: 5-minute rounds with the technique as the only allowed back-take entry.
- →Granby-vs-pressure drill: partner applies passing pressure; you choose between granby recovery and granby back-take.
- →Inverted-to-back transition flow: combine inverted guard with the back-take rotation.
NOTABLE PRACTITIONERS
Mica Galvao · Tainan Dalpra · Gordon Ryan