How to dominate from the top. Chest-to-chest pressure and submission setups.
Side control is a top position in BJJ where you lie perpendicular to your opponent, chest-to-chest. It is one of the most dominant positions in BJJ, worth 3 points in IBJJF competition and offering numerous submission and transition opportunities.
Side control is typically reached after a guard pass or takedown. From here, you can attack submissions, transition to mount, or control the match.
Mastering side control is essential because it is the foundation for most top-game strategies in BJJ. Good side control makes sub-par guard passing still rewarding.
Follow these steps to execute the Side Control correctly. Every step matters — skipping one leads to a failed attempt.
Drop your chest heavily onto your opponent's chest. Weight distribution is the entire point — light side control is useless.
Secure an underhook on the far arm and a crossface with your near arm. These two points define effective side control.
Use your near leg to control the opponent's hips. This prevents shrimps and guard recoveries.
The main escape is the elbow-to-knee shrimp. Block it by keeping your hips low and your crossface tight.
From stable side control, attack kimuras, americanas, armbars, north-south chokes, and transitions to mount.
These are the most common errors people make when attempting the Side Control. Recognize them in your own game and fix them systematically.
Side control without chest pressure is nothing. The opponent will escape or recover guard easily.
Fix: Drop all your weight onto the chest-to-chest connection. Be heavy.
High hips give the opponent space to shrimp back to guard.
Fix: Keep your hips low and close to the opponent's hips.
Without a crossface, the opponent can turn in toward you and regain guard.
Fix: Always secure the crossface. It is the defensive anchor of side control.
Losing the far-side underhook lets the opponent frame and escape.
Fix: Maintain the underhook actively. If you lose it, re-secure immediately.
The Side Control is a intermediate-level technique that is tested and refined at different stages of belt progression. White belts learn the mechanics, blue belts refine the setups, and purple belts integrate it into complex chains.
Mastery of core techniques like the Side Control is one of the things professors evaluate when considering a promotion. Beyond time in grade, your practical application of fundamentals matters.
Open the BJJ belt calculator to see where you stand against IBJJF minimums.
Open CalculatorSide control is one of the top three dominant positions in BJJ, along with mount and back control. Each has its own advantages.
Side control is worth 3 points in IBJJF competition, but the passer must stabilize for 3 seconds for the points to count.
The main escapes are the elbow-to-knee shrimp to recover guard and the belly-down roll to turtle. Both require framing and hip movement.
Kimura, americana, armbar, north-south choke, baseball bat choke, and paper cutter are among the most common side control submissions.
Mount is worth 4 points vs side control's 3 points, so transitions are valuable. However, stable side control often gives more submission options.