TFS#56: Fighting Side Control

“Don’t let them get to side control.”

You’ve probably heard that one when you’ve asked about how to avoid side control.

Pretty useless advice if you ask me.

Escaping side control is a set of techniques you’ll need as long as you do Jiu-Jitsu.

0. How to prevent it

The best way to escape side control is to avoid it completely. (Yes, that initial quote is true.)

So this is where your guard retention comes in.

The best way to avoid getting stuck in side control is to improve your guard.

Escapes are your last resort while your guard is your prevention measure.

At this point in your Jiu-Jitsu journey, you’re guard isn’t great so that’s why you’re constantly stuck in bottom side control.

1. ​Bicep Push Escape​

Let’s say your guard gets passed and now you can no longer use your legs to frame.

You still have your arms. Frame on the bicep. This helps prevent the head control.

If their head isn't in front of their hips, you'll be able to push and sit up, reversing the position.

2. ​Reguarding​

You’ve now prevented the head control, go ahead and shrimp to your side and do your best to get a knee in.

A common mistake is to bridge upward.

Also keep your head and hips constantly moving to create space. Small bumps and moves can help create small gaps which will give your knee the opportunity to squeeze in between you and your opponent.

3. ​Elbow Push Escape​

You’ll start by pushing on the bicep.

As you push, you can redirect their arm to the opposite side over your head.

So now they’re facing away from you.

From this point, you push on the back of their elbow and reverse the position.

4. ​Granby Roll​

This escape is popular even in competition.

However, the down side to this is that your back is now exposed.

Note: as you roll, you want to roll from one shoulder to another shoulder, minimize the amount of your back being exposed.

Put it all together

There are obviously more escapes that exist but the ones I've listed are the most common ones.

And you probably won’t hit one escape but you’d have to chain these attempts together to find success.

Just like passing, you don’t pass on the first attempt.

For Your Jiu-Jitsu

→ Weak core = weak guard retention. ​Follow these 5 easy exercises to develop a longer lasting core​.

→ If you’re looking for more pointers on improving your guard retention, ​check out these 7 tips here​.

→ These ​4 BJJ mobility drills​ are a great way to warm up, wake up, and cool down.

→ If you’re still struggling with grip fighting, ​you’ll want to give this a listen​.

Closing Words

I’ve shared with you a few different things you can do to improve your position when in bottom side control.

But the best way isn’t to just try them during sparring.

Before every roll, suggest to your partner that you’d like to do situational sparring and have them work on passing while you work on guard retention.

Once they pass, you have a chance to work your bottom side control escapes.

Even ask them to go 60% on you. Or when they’re stabilizing side control, have them go at a lesser pace.

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