Actually, I should have said that I hate it when someone gets side control on me. I have an easier time getting out of the mount than I do side control. I am just about ready for my blue belt, but I feel like I am missing something really basic that everyone else seems to be clued into. Why do I struggle so much when someone has me in side control?
This only happens when I am grappling someone better than me. We will have a pretty even exchange of rolling. I will pass his guard, make submission attempts, and escape submissions attempted on me, but as soon as someone gets side control on me, it is downhill from there.
Using the half guard has helped me a little bit. I know the basic escapes from side control--going to my knees or spinning to guard, and sometimes even reversing the position by rolling him over my body towards my knee. The problem is that by the time I execute one of these escapes I am completely exhausted and I am pretty much wothless after that.
I have seen some purple belts in this situation and they seem very relaxed and even seem to be sitting up into there opponent. Should I do this? Somebody help me. I am dying here.
How often do you do positional sparring? By this I mean that you start in a specific position like the bottom of side control and then you learn to work from there. If you do that a lot you will develop more confidence in your escapes and feel more relaxed. A lot of escaping a pin is a matter of feel so that when you move perfect timing allows you to escape rather than brute force. If you just try to escape with no real plan you will get tired very fast.
If you can't do positional sparring in regular class see if somebody would like to train that way on the side.
One of my instructors told me that you don't get out of side control unless your opponent lets you out. Basically, if he has every intent in just holding you then your efforts will just end in exhaustion or you getting caught in a submission. So with that in mind you have to take advantage of his attacks to allow you the opportunity to escape. Sometimes you have to bait him with something. Sometimes I let my opponents go for the key lock to push them over me by shoving them in the armpit down towards my feet. Or you can bait the mount to either roll them or catch one of their legs in the half guard as the step over to mount. But if someone is just gripping your pants and just camping out in side control just relax with your hands in posture so you don't get caught. I once had a purple belt who started humming everytime I got him side control just to put pressure on me to do something.
lol @ the humming trick...I have done that...it's like, quite stalling and try something so I can escape...lol.
Anyway, Ridgeback is right. As the old saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.....and side escape is your weak link....therefore don't even bother with anything else for the next month. Ask all your sparring partners to put you in side and pin you there and only work your escapes. Forget about everything else. Take a private with your instructor if you have to.
I got the biggest guys in the class to pin me while I drilled escapes. Take your weakest area and tell yourself you are going to not only improve it, you are going to make it the strongest part of your game...then do it! Once you can escape anyone, learn to avoid the position by escaping during the transition...i.e. when he's moving to side from passing or whatever. Then, even if you do get caught you will be much more relaxed knowing you can get out fairly soon anyway!!
These are all great suggestions. Thanks guys. I am going to have my training partners start in side control when ever the opportunity arises. I know that I am going to hate it, but I will not get better at it if I do not work from there. It looks like I have a lot of work to do.
If I'm having problems with a certain position I will focus on that position for a month or 2. I used to have a lot of problems with side and north south. For an entire summer, every time we sparred I would have guys start on my side. If I got stuck in a position I would ask my coach to help me figure out what I should be doing. It sucks in the beginning becuase you are going to tap to guys who you usually don't tap to and your going to get stuck. However, eventually you begin to figure out the position and your game really jumps up.
Also, it's important to work with guys that are not as skilled as you. If you are a blue belt and you ask a purple or brown to start on your side chances are you gonna get stuck. Grab a few white belts and start working your escapes on them. Once you start getting the feel, start going up the chain until you can pull it off on guys your level or better.
Look at it this way too. There are some black belts out there who have blue belt level escaping abilities but they just avoid that position like the plague. Would you rather have a balanced game where you don't fear any position or would you rather only focus on a couple things and hope you don't wind up in your weak spots?
If you're getting exhausted, then you are using too much energy. When you escape, you don't want to do it explosively. You should stay really relaxed and just go step by step. You're not stalling, you're always improving your position, but you can do it slowly.
Just keep making small movements, always making more space, always getting better posture.
Another problem I see with a lot of beginners is they just pull their arms in really tight and huddle up in a little ball. That's okay for not getting submitted, but you'll never escape.
MainebjjWB,
By "snakey move" do you mean, moving my hips and shoulders so that I am kind of slithering on the ground like a snake? Will that help create space?
Ridgeback,
"Would you rather have a balanced game where you don't fear any position or would you rather only focus on a couple things and hope you don't wind up in your weak spots?"
You have really good point there. I defenitely want a balanced game; I am going to get good at getting out of side control if it kills me.
Andrew Yao,
"If you're getting exhausted, then you are using too much energy."
This is exactly what my problem is. I am going to try using really small movements slowly like you said. That has to be more effective than what I am doing now. Thanks.
I am not familiar with your terminology. What exactly is "sambo posting"?
What you said about Guy Metzger does sound helpful. It makes sense that someone might have a more difficult time pinning you if they are having to defend a submission attempt, but I need more detail about how this is accomplished. Thanks.
I think Matt Thornton teaches that if you feel like your guard is going to get passed you should reach your opposite hand and try to touch your opponent's knee with it as he comes around. In other words if he is passing on your right side reach your left hand and touch his closest knee. This will already put you in a position of being turned completely on your side and ready to escape. He may pass kind of funny so it doesn't exactly work but the principle is to already be on your side before you are pinned. Remember that preventing a pin with proper posture and body positioning will make it ten times easier to escape. Its a beginner's habit to let the opponent really sink a pin tight and then try to escape.
If you are totally flat on your back one trick to get on your side (which is a necessity for most escapes to work) is to stick both of your legs straight up in the air at the waist with them stuck together like one unit. You then throw your legs as a unit directly to the side toward your opponent and that momentum almost always moves your upper body as well so you find yourself on your side. From there bringing your knee through to put him in guard or going to your knees is much easier.
By the way, for in depth study of escape techniques I would recommend Mike Jen's Pin Escapes or Roy Harris's stuff (I think BJJ 101 and 201 cover this) and also Kukuk's A-Z. There is a lot of good escape info on Kukuk's set but you have to go searching for it a littl among all the techniques.
I have also heard that Matt Thornton has some pretty good stuff on this subject but I don't have any of his instructionals.
At this point in my development, i train escapes more than anything else, where i used to sort of panic and spazz on the bottom, i now have a game plan and strategy for my escapes. I'm not saying i dont have trouble escaping at times, and in fact there is one guy i train with that i am absolutly pinned (everyone at my club is unable to escape his pins at this point), but my escapes are 1000% better.
Thinking through escapes, Gordon hit the nail right on the head, and when i watch escape dvds, or bjj matches, i usually watch with his words in my mind.
When rolling, lots have said it right, when you know your getting passed or a pin is going to come, GET READY! Don't let them sink a pin 100% in, at the very least establish posture, make space where ever possible.
When you drill, really practice getting posture. Let your partner put in a pin where you have no posture, then the drill is for you to get posture, and for him to break your posture. Once you get posture, start over, this really also help your top game too because you are going to start to develope a feel for both getting posture, and breaking someones posture.
When you start drilling full escapes, the goal for me is to escape using as little energy as possible, and dont think you have to do it quick. Me and my partner also moniter each others breathing, if either one of us starts to hold our breath, we tell each other, this has helped TONS.
" if you feel like your guard is going to get passed you should reach your opposite hand and try to touch your opponent's knee with it as he comes around."
and
"If you are totally flat on your back one trick to get on your side (which is a necessity for most escapes to work) is to stick both of your legs straight up in the air at the waist with them stuck together like one unit."
Awesome. Thank you. I will start applying those tricks immediately.
Guys, thanks for the heads up on the instructional dvd's. It is good to know where I can get that information in the future, but right now my discretionary funds are limited so I will have to use the advice you give me here as my "outside the gym instructional."
P.S. I appreciate all the thoughtfull responses. This is very helpful.