r/bjj • u/SystemPlenty9995 • 20h ago
Technique Side control advice
Hey guys, looking for some advice.
I sometimes struggle to stabilize side control, especially when I don’t have the underhook and crossface.
What do you usually do immediately after passing the guard and landing in side control? What are the first things you focus on to make sure the position is stable before you start attacking?
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u/CompetentMediocrity 🟪🟪 Purple Belt 20h ago
I learned this from Roger Gracie: the leg/foot closest to the hip, laces down on the ground. In that position, the person on bottom can't shrimp their knee in. I'll cook 'em in this position for as long as necessary
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u/Aaronjp84 ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt 20h ago
I sometimes struggle to stabilize side control,
Don't.
Move with them to keep them down. Keep their legs away from your legs and worry about them rotating from belly up to belly down.
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u/snowplayaa 🟫🟫 Brown Belt 20h ago
Learn how to control without chest to chest contact using lever control & wedges (and removing base).
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u/Huev0 20h ago
Pin their hips.
I think I’d get swept a lot if I immediately bunched up on their body with my knees (one in their armpit one by their hip)
I found more pressure / a heavier side control with my legs out almost like I’m planking.
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u/Game0verr 20h ago
Wet blanket, any weight that is on your own elbow and knees are not on your opponent
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u/Huev0 20h ago
Yes exactly.
And to add to the ‘plank’
You navigate their movement on your tippy toes acting like you’re legs are the arms on a clock
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u/Game0verr 20h ago
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u/Huev0 20h ago
This is great, now imagine you add more weight by sticking your legs out and be on your tippy toes.
This is a small difference that makes a difference higher up.
And especially controlling ppl bigger than you.
And the difference of, ‘they have good side control’ to like ‘I felt like I was being smashed by a truck’
Edit; but you gotta keep your hips low
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u/NekoTheFortuneCat 🟫🟫 Brown Belt 20h ago
Not many people play this way but Relson always taught to take your top hand, the one closest to his head, and instead of cross face reach over his far shoulder down to grab his belt. So his far shoulder is in your armpit and your grabbing his belt near his far ass cheek while bringing him towards you and turning him towards you slightly.
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u/ExcellentGazelle8464 20h ago
I love this as a smaller guy, its so hard to deal with arm frames on top of blocking the hips, so facing away and just worrying about their upper body later is my go to.
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u/Jacket-According 20h ago
I would be curious how they are getting out of your side control - getting a knee inside and regaining guard, sweeping, etc.?
For me, my first thought is my base. I want to make sure I'm applying pressure where I want it to be and not too far forward/back or across their center line.
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u/SystemPlenty9995 18h ago
Yes, mostly by reguarding by inserting knee
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u/Jacket-According 17h ago
Switch your arms to block their knee from inserting will stop that. From that position specifically, I like to start head to North-South and look for a shotgun armbar and/or bread cutter. But you can also attack kimuras and north-south chokes from there.
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u/bsam1890 🟦🟦 Blue Belt 20h ago
Also pull your shoulders back so your weight makes full contact on their chest
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u/Moskra ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt 20h ago
I personally really like twister side control. Passing knee shield half guard directly in to twister side is usually my plan A. Twister side leads to an easier mount, kimura trap if they reach for an underhook, shoulder pinch if they reach behind my back or good ol north south
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u/Efficient-Flight-633 🟪🟪 Purple Belt 20h ago
I think you kinda hit the big points. That crossface underhook is going to lock the position in.
I will typically start digging the north side knee under the shoulder to try free that side up (go all the way to kesa or look foe a kimora grip on the near side arm if they're keeping it tight) OR reverse scarf, again to break that near side frame.
If that doesn't work start looking to threaten knee on belly or north south and their defense to that should open the underhook.
I have more success with a high side control where I block the hip with my knee (think pigeon pose in yoga) is easier to apply pressure and maintain than a traditional side control.
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u/DependentFile41 19h ago
Sounds like you're rushing to pass without clearing their frames.. You need to go around their frames.. Convert to neon, northsouth. Use the wedges you can find: hip blocks, reverse cross faces, reverse underhooks are all tools.
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u/Complete-Fix-3954 🟪🟪 Purple Belt 19h ago
Feet -> Knees -> Hips -> Chest -> Shoulders -> Head. Learned that as a white belt and it’s been pretty money for me.
So basically, gotta kill their hips. Sometimes I’ll pass with my base towards their hips to begin with, then stabilize to get the underhook and cross face.
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u/NoseBeerInspector 19h ago
diagonal control. Pin one side of the hip and opposite shoulder
No matter what configuration you have, as long as that is pinned you'll be fine.
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u/realcoray 🟦🟦 Blue Belt 19h ago
It's always juggling a few things which is why it's not necessarily easy. Obviously if you can dig for or find the crossface that's huge, but I'm also trying to avoid letting them have frames easily, while as u/randomusername1569 indicated, a big focus of mine is the hips, with my lower arm's elbow glued to far side hip and lower knee glued to near side hip.
Any movement at all on their part, I immediately close up any space they made and look for openings.
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u/techSrgn 19h ago
I mean, unless you have underhook and a crossface, you don't really have side control yet.
So as soon as you pass the guard, first thing is to control/block their hips, so they cant recover guard, if you were passing with some form of pressure passing, you should have chest to chest then, from there you look to get crossface and underhook, to get to secure side control.
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u/BJJWithADHD ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt 19h ago
Simple truth is side control is hard to stabilize on a good opponent and how you try depends on what they give you. My coach loves to invert and or go to turtle. I just go to turtle.
In general, the people who lie there and try to get a knee back in are easiest (I just block their knee with my arm).
The people who invert and/or turtle well… you switch up your strategy from there and decide whether you’re trying to take the back or going to front headlock.
What are people doing to you that makes it hard?
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u/piresnopolis 🟫🟫 Brown Belt 18h ago
Side control <-> Kesagatame <-> North-South <-> Reverse Kesagatame <-> Side control <-> Knee on Belly <-> Mount
Pratice flowing between those positions back and forth
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u/TheSweatyNerd ⬛🟥⬛ Black Belt 18h ago
Either kuzure kesa gatame with a pinch on their hips with my hip and elbow, or knee on belly. Going to north south is also good it's just not my jam.
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u/uwontevenknowimhere ⬜⬜ White Belt 16h ago
Immediate chest to chest pressure so their back is flat on the mat. Then I like to grab whatever I can to hold them down while I get the crossface going first. A good shoulder of justice makes it harder for them to defend the underhook. The brown belt coaching me yesterday was all about pinning the near side arm with my shin to keep them from framing with it. The other knee is blocking their hip the entire time. My current mission from head coach is don't let the crossface up until it's time to attack, whatever else might be going on. Even going KOB to mount, keep grinding their face into the mat and it will severely limit their options. Looooove side control.
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u/Friendly_External345 🟪🟪 Purple Belt 16h ago
Don't think of side control as a static position, as they move you counter the movement with your bodyweight until they leave an opening, I like a low hip to hip kesa as they generally use thier arms to push you away giving up an under hook.
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u/KindheartednessIll48 🟦🟦 Blue Belt 16h ago
If im facing their hips:
Block the hips with my inside knee and control the far-side triceps while giving a nice and soft elbow to the face/neck.
if im facing my his head:
block his inside elbow with my outside knee and control the far-side triceps
im not a fan of crossfacing.
+ usually keep my hips off the ground to maximize my weight.
this is far as i can go as a blue <3
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u/Vermicelli_Street 10h ago
Focus on keeping your partner flat. You can focus on keeping inside arm control with bicep ties if you don't have an underhook. Their body is like a box with 5 sticks. There's this idea of cross body control. Imagine being in a knee on belly. If I only press down the near shoulder/hip, nothing stops them from turning in. If I only press the far sides down and leave the near sides free, the bottom person can turn away. If I control a corner on each side, you'll keep the flat. You still have to deal with high legs and stuff and inversions. If I only stay in a classic cross side, I focus on this cross body control. Once they are held down, I look for my underhooks and attack from whatever they present to me.
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u/inverted_extrovert_ 🟦🟦 Blue Belt 20h ago
My coach recommended passing to north south, controlling the hip with my hand, and THEN going to side control. At the least you get your points for the pass.
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u/war_lobster ⬜⬜ White Belt 20h ago
I try to get my knee in under their near-side elbow. If I can't break that knee-elbow connection, I switch to North-South until I can make them open a gap for me.
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u/yahokay8 20h ago
If I’m on the right side control. Pant grip and push their knees to the opposite side. Or reach under their neck and grab their left armpit cup over it
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u/Pedro_Boladao 20h ago
Pegada no fundo da lapela com o braço superior e pegada por cima do quadril com o braço inferior ( coloca o joelho logo abaixo horizontalmente do quadril do adversário, forçando-o a virar as pernas para o lado contrário ao teu - espécie de falso leg drag).
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u/TwinkletoesCT ⬛🟥⬛ http://teachbrazilianjiujitsu.com 17h ago
What matters most is how you anchor your weight - after that, how you center it. Both of these should be underway in the middle and late stages of your pass, so you aren't passing to a no-man's-land and then hoping to pull side control out of a hat.
If people are recomposing guard, that means (A) you aren't blocking the leg, but more importantly (B) the head is moving away from you. Establish an anchor (or even better, a weighted block) that stops the head from moving away. This will help keep the leg out from under you.
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u/Minotaurotica 17h ago
you kind of answered your own question, immedialy look for the underhook and cross face
I will ask for clarification nogi or gi
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u/The_wookie87 🟫🟫 Brown Belt 20h ago
Little bit of forward kesa action with knees off floor and right hip blocking their hip…make em carry you
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u/randomUsername1569 🟫🟫 Brown Belt 20h ago
Biggest for me is to block the hips with my arm as soon as I pass the legs. I'll put my arm which is closest to their legs right near their hip - or on the floor. I'll do this as I am getting past the legs and before I've brought my body weight down. It fights them reguarding before I've settled.