If you are ready to torture everyone on the mats from side control, then you’re looking for the right resource for the job. While most people only see side control as a temporary transitional position, Alex Smith presents it as a super-powerful pin of its own in his Side Control Authority DVD.
There is a lot to be gained from being dominant from side control, even though the position itself doesn’t earn points. Instead of points, it offers so many different direct upper-body submissions that the trade-off is more than favorable! The trick to side control success? Knowing how to isolate the arms of your opponent to both control and tap them out!
Key Takeaways
- Improve your side control pinning by isolating arms.
- Side control attack chains and follow-ups that will annoy your opponents.
- Meticulously organized Gi BJJ DVD by a Roger Gracie Academy instructor
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 8 out of 10.
DOWNLOAD THE SIDE CONTROL AUTHORITY DVD HERE!!!
The Attacking Versatility of Side Control
Of all the top position pins available in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, side control is by far my personal favorite. It allows for so much dominance and control while giving the bottom person the illusion that they can somehow wiggle out and get free, that it almost seems unfair to use.
The one key thing to keep in mind when you’re after side control authority is that you will never be able to settle down and ride it out, like in the mount or back control. For side control, you need to constantly keep working, adjusting how you attach to the opponents so that you take space away and tighten your control over the opponent.
Speaking of attachments, they are the one thing that people seem to take for granted once they achieve side control. Namely, simply getting to the position, despite its name, does not mean you’ll automatically have absolute control over the bottom person. You’ll need to adjust constantly, and simply having an arm under or over your head is not enough.
That’s where arm isolation comes in. The closer you can get to one, or ideally, both of your opponent’s shoulders, the easier it will be to keep them pinned. It also means you now have direct access to all side control armlocks, bent or straight, as well as a combo of direct and arm-in chokes. Sounds better, doesn’t it?
Alex Smith – A Roger Gracie Academy Instructor
The name Alex Smith might not be immediately recognizable to you if you are not a UK-based grappler. It does seem like a spy name, but rest assured, Alex is as real as it gets, both as a person and a BJJ black belt.
Smith is part of the Roger Gracie Academy in the UK, where he has been training his entire grappling life. At the moment he teaches in the academy, alongside Roger and Mauricio Gomes, mainly taking care of the fundamentals classes. He was promoted to black belt by Kev Chappel who got his black belt from Roger.
Alex is a very versatile grappler who particularly enjoys working with the Gi. His style is an interesting blend of old-school BJJ, grappling for MMA, and carefully chosen and refined aspects of the modern Jiu-Jitsu Gi game. Combined with the fact that he has been one of the top instructors in Roger’s academy for years, his pedigree in teaching something as fundamental as side control dominance is very well substantiated.
Side Control Authority: Complete Alex Smith DVD Review
In a couple of hours of your time, the Side Control Authority Alex Smith DVD is going to teach you one of the most difficult things to master in BJJ – how not to lose side control. Alex’s tactics and approach are great for grapplers of all levels, but, as he also iterates, you’ll have to put in the work and hours on the mats to make all the material in this DVD work for you:
Part 1 – Controlling Side Control
As this Alex Smith DVD opens, the first thing that catches the eye is that Alex takes no time to blow his own horn, but rather gets straight to it. I admire that, since when I got this instructional, I already knew I was getting a side control attacks DVD, so skipping over unnecessary intros was very welcome.
In the very first chapter, Alex shares the mechanical intricacies of side control, and how you can ensure that the bottom person is going to:
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- Stay on bottom
- Be unable to replace the guard
From there, he explores some classics of BJ Jside control, starting from the crossface and letting it lead to one of the most devastating side control positions that Roger’s father came up with, known as the Mauricio Side Control.
Perhaps the most important chapter of this entire volume is the final one, in which Alex shares strategies on how to still keep a hold of a fleeing opponent, without losing side control.
Part 2 – The Kesa Gatame Game
Once control is secured, it is time for the fun part – torture the person you have pinned. While I tend to stay away from the Kesa Gatame position, even though I am a former Judoka, Alex Smith makes some compelling arguments for its prolonged use in the Side Control Authority DVD.
All of the attacks in this DVD begin by targeting the near side arm, which is very accessible from the Kesa Gatame side control variation. Alex goes through all the basics, such as Americana, straight armbar, Kimuras, and a bunch of ways to combine all of these attacks into a versatile system.
He also covers how to add the far arm into the loop, obtaining control over both shoulders, which lets you build a game centered around armbars. What makes this instructional great for grapplers of all levels is that Smith offers follow-ups to the mount and knee on belly when the attacks fail, which is an issue that beginners will undoubtedly face.
Part 3 – Near Side Followup Attacks
Personally, I found volume number three from this Alex Smith DVD the most useful for my game and research at the moment. As I am exploring all kinds of Crucifix variations, including those done from side control, I found very valuable information in the chapters about near and far side isolation.
Most of this part of the instructional covers follow-ups and techniques combos that come together as the opponent reacts to both your side control and the attacks you’re trying to launch by isolating their arm. The good news is that they have two arms, so you have plentiful options that also provide additional attacks such as the paper cutter choke.
Isolating Arms from Side Control
As I stated above, I have been playing around with isolating arms from both top and bottom lately, and the Side Control Authority Alex Smith DVD came in very useful. I am still clearly in my research (it’s only been a few months) but looking at how to travel along the length of the arms from top positions, and looking to attach to the shoulders seems to solve many problems I’ve had with pinning.
In fact, attaching to the opponent’s arms allows for much more improved and versatile dynamic control as opposed to endlessly trying to outmaneuver them by grabbing the legs (which I used to do) or trying to scramble around and hope for the best.
Even if you don’t want to use Kesa Gatame or attack armlocks (I don’t) your side control will still benefit immensely from exploring how isolating arms helps you achieve positional dominance. On top of it all, you’ll get unintended taps from the sheer pressure you place on the bottom person. Happens to me all the time.
GET THE SIDE CONTROL AUTHORITY ALEX SMITH DVD HERE!!!
A Blueprint to Side Control Dominance
Alex Smith’s Side Control Authority instructional is a very interesting BJJ DVD. It does not go overboard, covers exactly what it promises, has no fluff, and blends old-school and modern BJJ in a very balanced way.
As a black belt, I found some stuff in there that helped me develop a much better understanding of the relationship between isolating arms and controlling an opponent. For you, it may do the same, or it may open up a whole new direction of thinking, or open your eyes to techniques and combinations you’ve never thought of. I’d recommend it to everyone.
Roger Gracie DVD Review: The Roger Gracie Side Control System
