Side control. If you’ve spent any time on the mats, you know how soul-crushing this position can be. Whether you’re rolling with a heavier training partner or a black belt specializing in pressure, getting stuck under side control can lead to panic. But with the right technique, you can turn the tables and reclaim control.
Just listen to Mauricio Gomes, a black belt under Rolls Gracie and a fighter known as the “Godfather of British Jiu-Jitsu.” Gomes has spent decades refining the art of escaping tight, suffocating pins. His approach emphasizes staying calm, framing correctly, and using precise mechanics to escape efficiently.
What is Side Control?
Side control is one of the most dominant positions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and for good reason. When done right, it allows the top player to apply relentless pressure, shut down movement, and set up submissions with little risk of being swept. Unlike mount or back control, side control doesn’t require hooks or leg entanglements. Instead, you just need good weight distribution, strong grips, and an understanding of how to nullify an opponent’s frames and hip movement.
For the person on bottom, being trapped in side control can be frustrating. Beginners struggle with it, smaller grapplers hate it, and even experienced practitioners can find themselves stuck against a well-seasoned pressure passer. Compared to mount, where an upa escape can be a quick get-out-of-jail card, escaping side control requires patience, proper framing, and calculated movement, which is something that Mauricio Gomes has spent decades refining.
Who is Mauricio Gomes?
If you’ve trained BJJ long enough, you’ve probably heard the name Mauricio Gomes. An 8th-degree coral belt and one of the few black belts directly promoted by the legendary Rolls Gracie, Gomes has been a force in the grappling world for over five decades. His contributions to the sport extend far beyond his own competitive success—he’s been instrumental in spreading BJJ to the UK, training some of the world’s best grapplers, and refining key defensive techniques, including escapes from bottom positions like side control.
Gomes’ philosophy emphasizes efficiency over brute force. Instead of explosive movements that waste energy, he teaches a structured approach based on framing, timing, and precise adjustments. His techniques focus on:
- Maintaining proper frames to keep an opponent’s weight from fully settling.
- Using subtle, technical movements to create space instead of relying on strength.
- Recognizing the right moment to transition from defense to offense rather than simply escaping and resetting.
Beyond his own accolades, Gomes is the father of Roger Gracie, a 10-time world champion widely considered one of the greatest BJJ competitors of all time. His coaching legacy spans decades, influencing some of the most technical grapplers in modern BJJ.
Key Scenarios of Side Control Escape
It doesn’t matter if you’re up against a relentless pressure passer or a slick submission hunter; knowing how to defend and escape effectively can be the difference between surviving and getting tapped. Gomes’ approach to escaping side control emphasizes proper framing, patience, and strategic movement rather than relying on explosive strength.
In one of his instructional videos, Gomes highlights the importance of hand positioning:
“No matter what you do, I will not remove my hands from here. My arms are always between me and you. Because of that, I can always create space and move.”
How to Execute Mauricio Gomes’ Side Control Escape
Mauricio Gomes’ approach to side control escape is built on fundamentals, leverage, and efficiency. He doesn’t waste energy and takes no unnecessary risks. His escapes aren’t just about getting out but about neutralizing pressure, protecting yourself from submissions, and transitioning into a stronger position.
Let’s break down the key steps of his escape system:
Set Up Elbow Frame to Create Distance
Before any movement, you need create space with framing. Gomes emphasizes keeping your hands between you and your opponent at all times. A forearm should press against their neck or shoulder while the other controls their hip. This structure prevents your opponent from fully settling their weight and allows you to create openings for an escape.
Use Your Hip to Slide into Guard
Once you’ve created space with proper framing, the next step is to recover guard. This is where hip movement becomes essential. Bridging explosively lets you disrupt your opponent’s balance just enough to create an opening. The moment they shift, use that space to shrimp away and slide your knee inside. This knee acts as a wedge, keeping your opponent from flattening you back down. From here, you can keep adjusting and shrimping until you successfully transition into a more favorable position, such as closed guard, butterfly guard, or half guard.
Gomes stresses that this movement should be fluid and continuous. If your first attempt doesn’t succeed, keep re-framing, adjusting your angle, and staying active. The worst thing you can do is remain flat and let your opponent dictate the exchange.
Counter Opponent’s Pressure
One of the biggest mistakes when escaping side control is forgetting about submissions. If your opponent controls your head and arm, they can set up chokes, arm triangles, and other dangerous attacks. Gomes emphasizes keeping the chin tucked and actively hand-fighting to prevent these setups. Keeping your elbows tight denies your opponent the ability to isolate a limb. If they start working on a submission, that’s often the best time to make your escape.
The key here is staying aware. By constantly monitoring your opponent’s grips and positioning, you can defend against threats while waiting for the right moment to escape.
The Rolling Escape
When an opponent applies relentless top pressure and completely shuts down your space, sometimes a conventional escape won’t work. That’s where the rolling escape comes into play. Instead of trying to force movement directly into your opponent, you can use their pressure against them. Keeping your frames active and baiting them into driving forward creates an opportunity to roll over your shoulder and reverse the position.
This escape is especially useful when the opponent is overly committed to pinning you down, as their own weight and forward pressure will help propel the roll. Executed correctly, this can either land you in top position or at least allow you to scramble back to guard.
Neutralize Control
Even if you’re stuck in side control, that doesn’t mean you’re helpless. Using leverage properly makes it difficult for your opponent to maintain control. Keeping your inside knee and elbow engaged against their hips forces them to constantly adjust, limiting their ability to transition to mount or north-south. Even if you can’t immediately escape, staying active with small adjustments creates discomfort for your opponent and opens up opportunities for movement.
The most important element is timing. Rather than attempting to muscle your way out, you should be patient, keeping your frames strong and waiting for your opponent to make an adjustment. The moment they shift their weight or attempt to advance position, that’s when you explode into your escape.
Differences in Gi vs. No-Gi Escapes
One of the biggest advantages of Gomes’ escape system is its adaptability. You can use it while training in gi or no-gi, because his techniques rely on positioning, framing, and leverage rather than grips or speed.
In gi, opponents can use lapel grips, cross-collar chokes, and fabric control to maintain dominance. Gomes’ emphasis on elbow framing and inside position helps counteract this, as it prevents opponents from fully setting their grips.
In no-gi, top players rely more on underhooks, head control, and chest-to-chest pressure. This makes hand-fighting and preventing head control even more critical. Gomes’ methods work seamlessly in no-gi because they focus on keeping your hands between you and your opponent, using mobility, and leveraging their pressure against them.
Time to Level Up Your Side Control Escapes
Escaping side control is a skill that separates casual practitioners from seasoned grapplers. Focusing on proper frames, precise hip movement, and strategic escapes will not only get you out of bad positions but also allow you to transition into dominant ones.
Gi or no-gi, Gomes’ system is adaptable and reliable. His techniques apply at all levels of BJJ, from white belts learning the basics to black belts fine-tuning their defenses. Consistent drilling is key, because the more you rep these techniques, the more instinctive they become.
If you find yourself getting smashed under side control, don’t panic. Follow the system, stay patient, protect your neck, and time your escape. Now, get on the mats and start sharpening your escapes!