Side Control is one of those positions you might not feel too afraid of. „Sure, I’m in a defensive position, but it isn’t so bad“, you rationalize to yourself… As your opponent isolates your arm, sets up that Baseball Choke or gets ready to Mount you.
That is to say, there’s no way around it; you must escape Side Control as soon as you can and recover into a more dominant position in order to stay in the fight. These three escapes – demonstrated by Travis Stevens – will do the trick way more often than not!

FRAME AND ESCAPE SIDE CONTROL

The first technique that Travis shows serves as a sort of a reminder for the basics of defense; through the importance placed on framing.

Travis starts with his training partner isolating his arms. While the lack of framing provided by the arm which is further from the partner’s hip can be justified, Travis explains, if your other arm is out of your partner’s hip – then you absolutely need to get it back in there!
To do this, you need to cup your other hand over your opponent’s head, grabbing it just around where his ear is. Then, you need to do a powerful bridge while, at the same time, using that arm to roll your opponent’s head over your own head and away from it.

This will open up space for your second elbow to find its way into the opponent’s hips. However, beside having a frame, you can now also immediately recover guard! Do so by shoulder walking backwards, framing on your opponent’s shoulder and getting inside position with your legs, as shown by Travis.

ESCAPE TO A SINGLE LEG

For the second technique, Travis shows just how well the combination of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling goes hand-in-hand.

His training partner is placing heavy Crossface pressure. Travis, therefore – while having his frames in place – first fakes a recovery. He bridges in order to place his far arm underneath the partner’s armpit. Then, he does a powerful bridge yet again; but this time, he uses the elbow of that arm to push the partner’s face – and then, leading with his pinky finger, he finds a way across the partner’s ribcage on the far side. At the same time, he does a Reverse Shrimp while using the other arm to guide himself out. From there, he switches his base and gets the Single Leg, from which he can choose what to do next.

THE NORTH SOUTH „TRICK“

If you want to ease up the Crossface suffering, Travis gives out a great tip: as soon as the opponent establishes Side Control, make sure that you push your ear towards your shoulder. You’ll be able to preserve your frame and set up escapes much more easily.

For the last escape from Side Control, Travis explains that you need to make your opponent believe that he’s getting the more dominant position of North South. Essentially, you need to have your frames in place and then slide your hips out in such a manner that they’ll think they have a great opportunity for a North South transition.
As they start shifting for it, Travis demonstrates that you need to use your hand to roll it into the inside of their arm; leading it out as you kick through with your other arm, lacing it to their shin from the outside and getting a nice extension of your body.

From there, Travis just walks his feet in, steps over his training partner’s ankle and locks a Half Guard.

Watch Travis greatly demonstrate these techniques below:

Get Out Of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s Worst Positions, Gi Or No-Gi, With Lachlan Giles’s Insights Into Escaping.
The 2019 ADCC Absolute Medalist Teaches How To Get Out Bad Grappling Positions With Narrated Live Rolling Of Him Performing The Techniques.