Side Control
Side control is the top pin where you lie perpendicular across the opponent's chest after passing their legs. It is a scoring position and a hub: from a solid pin you can attack submissions or transition to mount and the back.
Holding the pin
Good side control is about a crossface and an underhook that flatten the opponent and kill their hips. Once they cannot turn in or bridge you free, you can switch your hips, step over to mount, or hunt the far-side arm without losing the position.
Attacks and transitions
The kimura, the americana, and far-side armbars are the staple submissions, while knee-on-belly and mount are the natural upgrades. Because the opponent's escapes are limited to a few framing and bridging routes, side control maps neatly into a pin, react, and re-pin flowchart.
Community flows for Side Control
- Armbars: Deep Dive Study Guide — Armbars are the second most common submission in high-level competition. The main idea: closed guard and mount are the same position flipped. The chart covers…
- Bodylock Pass, Vol 4: Finishing the Pass — Lachlan Giles' last two stages of bodylock passing: free the knee, free the foot. Half-guard base mechanics with the body lock still on. Counters for…
- Mastering the Mount: Full System Map — How Roger's four chapters connect. High mount is the doorway between transitions, control, and submissions. Vol 4's seminar reinforces the same climb live and…
- Mastering the Mount, Vol 2: Side Control to Mount — Six side-control mount paths sharing one rule: clear the near elbow first, then pick a leg path off whichever defense he commits. Includes the belt-hold step…
- Open Guard Passing Macro Mechanics — Jon Thomas' mechanical principles for entering, controlling, and passing various open guards into stable chest-to-chest pins.
- Escapes Map — Survive & escape from bad positions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- Knee on Belly Game — Breaking them down from knee on belly. Every reaction they give you is a direct path to a submission or dominant position.
- Defensive Foundation — Escapes, frames, and defensive posture from side control, mount, back control, and other common attacks. Building a solid defensive base through proper…
- Positional Flow — Standing through dominant ground positions! Understanding how positions connect through specific actions rather than mechanical steps.
- Half Guard Passing Concepts — Passing the half guard from the top. Pressure, leverage, & positional control to get to side control & knee on belly. Rooted in base, posture, & progressive…
- Back Is the Endgame — Top game where every dominant position is a stepping stone to back control. HQ, side control, mount, & north-south all mapped toward the gift wrap & the rear…
- Street Survival Ground Fighting — Dominant top positions for real-world defense. Side control and mount with high-percentage submissions, capitalizing on reactions to secure chokes, armlocks…
Frequently asked questions
How do I keep someone in side control?
Win the crossface and an underhook to flatten them, keep your hips low and heavy, and stay mobile so you can switch your hips when they bridge or shrimp. Chasing a submission with loose control is the usual reason the pin is lost.
What submissions work from side control?
The kimura and americana shoulder locks, the far-side armbar, and in the gi a range of collar and paper-cutter chokes. They pair well with the threat of advancing to mount.
Where do you go from side control?
To knee-on-belly, mount, or the back as the opponent defends. Side control is best treated as a hub you move through, not a place to stall.
Map your own Side Control game
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