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I absolutely love the BJJ classes here. The instruction is excellent, the staff is friendly, helpful and well organized and the facilities are great. All this comes together to create an environment where the students help each other learn and improve. It is this that really does it for me. PAMA is not just a place to train, it is a community of friends. BJJ is hard. It can be demoralizing. Having helpful, encouraging friends to train with is what keeps me coming back. It is this that will push me to finally get that black belt some day.

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Pendergrass Academy of Martial Arts Raleigh & Wake Forest Martial Arts
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Pendergrass Academy of Martial Arts

Learn 4 Keys for Beginners to Hold Side Control!

February 26, 2020

Our first key to holding side control is head control. If you can control the head, you can control the rest of the body. Most people think of side control with head control as a cross face with the shoulder. That’s not always the case. Sometimes we bring the arm over and get more of a diagonal position. So, I’ll use the side of my ribs to force my partner to look the other way. For him to regain guard he has to be able to turn into me. Whether I use my shoulder or the side of my body either way I keep him pinned and limit his mobility on the bottom.

Key #1: Head Control

 

Key #2 is blocking the hips. For him to get his guard back he has to be able to move his hips back up underneath me. I could use my arm to block the hip or my knee to block the hip.

Key #2: Block Hips

 

Key #3 is to keep your partner pinned flat on the mat. If my partner starts to turn into me, whether he has an arm over my back, under hook or whether he has a frame. The fact that he’s sideways, he’s already starting to gain a positional advantage. And he’s going to start to recover his guard. Or at the very minimum get up to his knees. Which means that I’m going to lose side control. So, my goal is to always keep chest to chest connection and keep him pinned. Whether I’m perpendicular or at a slight 45 I’ve got to keep him pinned the whole time.

Key #3: Keep Partner Flat

 

Key #4 if he does start to get sideways it’s going to be difficult to get him to go flat again. The option is going to be to spin to the other side and regain that side control position. Sometimes, you just have to spin to the other side.

Key #4: Spin to Other Side

 

So remember to keep these keys in mind the next time you’re in side control.

Key #1: Head Control, Key #2: Block Hips, Key #3: Keep Partner Flat, Key #4: Spin to the Other Side – Check out our video for more explanation.

Pendergrass Academy of Martial Arts is proud to serve Wake Forest, Wakefield and the Raleigh Area. Check out our website at www.bjjnc.com. You can also check out our adult program here: https://www.bjjnc.com/program/bjj/

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