The side control position is undoubtedly one of the best attack and submission positions in Jiu Jitsu. When you reach this position, you have certainly managed to gain a huge advantage because, most of the time for you to reach side control, you need to have passed the guard of your opponent, or to have swept them and already falling into side control.
The most curious thing is that even though it is such a basic, common and well-known position in Jiu Jitsu, there are still people who feel lost when they reach the side of their opponents, with no idea what to do from there …
There are countless attacks and transitions that you can do when you reach the side control, so we have listed some important things for you to do when you reach the famous side control.
1 – Control Your Opponent
The first and one of the most important things to do when you reach side control is to stay there … That’s because, as we said earlier, to get to that position you probably struggled a lot, whether in a guard pass or in a takedown, if you control your opponent for at least 3 seconds you will earn points for the score and have the chance to progress further in that position.
2 – Putting Too Much Pressure on Your Opponent
After guaranteeing the first 3 seconds of side control, it is now important that you show your opponent who is in charge and that you are up there to really win the fight. Thus it is necessary that you place your shoulder on their face and also use your body weight so that they feel discomfort.
3 – Put your knee in your opponent’s belly
One way to demonstrate mastery of side control is by placing your knee on your opponent’s belly. That way, in addition to showing him that you are not kidding, you will have 2 points marked on the scoreboard and will also open up a huge range of possibilities for progression in the fight, whether going to the mount or going straight to a submission
4 – Progress to the Mount or Back
Side control is a great position in Jiu Jitsu, but it is not considered a position of absolute dominance like the mount and the back control. So it is very important that you are attacking and looking for either a finish or progress to one of these 2 positions so that you have more calm and time to finish your opponent
5 – Finish your opponent
There are countless possibilities of finishing when we are in side control, several armbands, such as arm lock, Americana, Kimura, omoplata, countless chokes, triangles and even combinations of double and even triple attacks, are possible.
Check out this great triangle set up from side control by Matheus Gonzaga taken from his instructional Sinde Control Masterclass.
Smash And Tap Your Next Opponent From Top With Matheus Gonzaga’s Complete System Of Destruction From Side Control.
- Attack submissions with the most leverage and the best set ups, to give yourself the highest chance for success against opponents of any level.
