MasterclassBottomEscapes
Escaping Side Control: Get Your Guard Back
Rory van Vliet
A full course of escapes back to guard from bottom side control
Rory van Vliet's complete free course of side control escapes that end with your guard recovered.
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Side control (bottom)
You are pinned. Frame, create space, then get your knee in or turn to your knees.
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Essentials
You’re flat on your back with them chest to chest across you after they passed your guard. It’s the position beginners spend the most time in. The plan is always the same: survive the pressure, build frames, make space and get your knee or your guard back in.
Your goals
- Build frames: forearm on their neck, other hand on their hip
- Turn onto your side toward them
- Shrimp to make space and slide your knee in to recover guard
What they want
- Keep you flat with a crossface and heavy chest
- Advance to mount or knee on belly, or isolate an arm
Key principles
- Frames hold space, hip movement creates it
- Never push with straight arms: you’ll get armbarred
Common mistakes
- Pushing straight up on their chest
- Lying flat and trying to bench-press them off
Techniques to learn
Each one opens its own page and video.
Where it leads
- Other side
- Side control (Yoko Shiho Gatame)
- Moves from here
- Half guardClosed guardTurtle (bottom)Standing
- In courses
- Foundations I: Survive & escape
- Seminars
If this happens…
- they drive a crossface into your jawTurn your chin toward them, frame on their neck and shrimp your hips away
- you win a little spaceSlide your bottom knee in between you and recover half guard or full guard
- they switch to north-southKeep frames on their hips and turn to your side
Seminars
All seminars →Longer seminars, classes and masterclasses that teach this. Free on YouTube.
Full seminarBottomEscapes
High Percentage Sidemount Escapes
Roy Dean
A full seminar on getting out from under side control
Roy Dean's full seminar on reliable escapes from bottom side control, filmed and published on his own channel.
MasterclassBottomEscapes
The Perfect Side Control Escape
John Danaher
Long-form lesson on escaping bottom side control
John Danaher's long-form lesson on escaping side control: why pins hold and how to get your elbows and knees back inside.
Class recordingBottomEscapes
Side Choke / Arm Triangle Defense
Priit Mihkelson
Where the arm triangle usually comes from
Priit Mihkelson's Summer Camp 2022 class on defending the arm triangle, also called the side choke.
Advanced detailsTransitions, threats, reactions, troubleshooting and a sparring drill
1. Overview
You are pinned. Frame, create space, then get your knee in or turn to your knees.
Key controls
- Forearm frames at neck and hip
- Protect your underhook side
- Hip escape before you push
In this position
4 transitions · 3 threats · 3 reactions · 2 troubleshooting fixes · 1 sparring exercise · 4 techniques
Read about itGrapplearts articlesBJJ Heroes
Finish this lesson
0% of this lesson0/17 videos completed · 0/4 techniques practiced
Test yourselfSide control (bottom) lesson quiz5 questions · pass with 4