Side Control
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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
- Armbar Study Guide: Escapes, Grips, and Juji Gatame Control — Armbar flow chart: escapes and combos, grips and grip breaks, armbar types ranked by control up to S-mount, and entries from closed guard and north-south…
- Jozef Chen: Passing Half Guard With Your Hips in the Air — Jozef Chen's half guard pass from his ADCC 2026 bronze match against Gabriel Brod (13-0): head on the mat on the far side, hips high, and the free leg that…
- Lachlan Giles Body Lock Pass, Vol 4: Finishing the Pass — Lachlan Giles' last body lock stages, free the knee and the foot, with counters to lockdown, Kimura grip, and turtle, ending in side control or mount. Covers…
- Roger Gracie Mastering the Mount: Full System Map — How Roger Gracie's Mastering the Mount chapters connect: high mount links transitions, control, and submissions, and Vol 4 feeds the Vol 3 finishes. The Vol 4…
- Roger Gracie Mastering the Mount, Vol 2: Side to Mount — Roger Gracie's six side control to mount paths: clear the near elbow, take the leg path his defense gives you, and the Kimura trap when he blocks the knee…
- 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…
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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