You go to YouTube, search “how to escape side control BJJ” — boom, slick tutorial. You watch it, they show you step-by-step how to escape, and honestly, it works. You drill it, go back to the gym, try it during sparring…

Then your opponent shifts. Suddenly, you’re not in side control anymore — you’re stuck in mount, or north-south, or some weird position that’s not even in the video. Now you’re confused. That tutorial? Useless now.

Here’s the problem: you’re learning in isolated pieces. One video, one position, one answer. But BJJ doesn’t work like that — it flows. It’s like chess. You can’t just memorize checkmates — you need to understand the whole board.

In this post, I’ll break down some of the most common BJJ control positions, how they pin you, and how to think about escaping — not just using technique, but understanding why it works.

And look — I get it. There are tons of ways to escape. What I’ll share is what works for me. It might not be the best fit for your game, but that’s okay. You’ve got YouTube — pick what makes sense. Just remember this: pick one move, drill it until it’s sharp, then move on to the next. No jumping around. Stay systematic.

🥇 1. Mount

Why it sucks?
Your opponent’s sitting on your hips with full pressure. Gravity’s their best friend. If they’re skilled, they’re either hunting your arms or your neck. You’re basically a wrapped gift — and they’re the kid on Christmas morning.

Now picture this: you’re the horse, and they’re the rider — not on your back (thankfully), but right on your hips. You can’t move. And if they’re a good rider, they’ll be aiming for two things: your arms and your neck. That’s where submissions start. Arm triangle, mounted triangle, armbar — they’re all right there.

What they’re doing?
They’re locking down your hips and flaring your elbows out. As long as you’re flat and inactive, they’re chilling. They don’t need to rush — mount is a dominant position, and they’ve got time. From here, they’ll slowly start setting up submissions — maybe an arm triangle, S-mount, or even isolate a limb for an armbar.

What you should do?
Rule #1: Don’t panic. And don’t bench-press them off you — that’s how you get armbar into next week.

Think about it like this: just like a rider needs balance to stay on a horse, your opponent needs balance to stay in mount. If you off-balance them, you create openings to escape.

Start by framing — your elbows should dig into their hips or belly. Keep your hands connected, ideally one elbow pinning one hip and your two hands pinning the other. You can use both hands to pin both hips, but I’ve found elbow + hand is more solid and sneaky.

Now here’s the move: push their hips like you’re pulling your pants down with urgency (you know the vibe 😏). At the same time, bridge and bump — shift their weight to one side. If you did it right, you’ll open up space under their groin. Slide both your knees into that gap.

From there, keep pushing upward until you land in a butterfly guard. Congrats — you just pulled off a slick mount escape.
Time to take some legs and black magic maybe. 🦵✨

🥈 2. Side Control

Why it sucks?
Ever had a tree branch fall on you while you’re lying down? Not enough to break anything, but enough to keep you stuck — pressure on your chest, lungs compressed, limbs useless. That’s side control.

Your opponent’s pinning you down, staying tight on one side of your body. They control your head, smash your near-side arm, and pour all their weight on your hips like they’re trying to crush your soul (and your will to shrimp).

One mistake? Boom — they’ve got your arm. Americana, kimura, armbar. Or they slide up for a mounted arm-triangle. Nasty stuff.

What they’re doing?
They’re smashing and cooking. Shoulder pressure. Crossface from hell. Locking your far-side arm. Gluing your hips to the mat. Most of the time, the only goal is to keep you flat — because flat is death in BJJ.

Some might be hunting mount, others just cooking you slow for a sub. Either way, they’re in full control — and you feel like you’re drowning in cement.

What you should do?
First rule: don’t stay flat. Being flat is how you get cooked, not how you escape.

Now here’s my go-to move:

You’ve got two elbows — use them wisely. The elbow on the close side (where they’re controlling) should frame their hip. The other elbow (far side) goes to their neck. If you get both in place, congrats — now you’ve got space to move. But stay sharp — like I said, your opponent would love to hunt your arm for an armbar, kimura, or americana. Don’t serve it up easy.

From there: shrimp like your life depends on it, get a knee in, and recover. Or turn into turtle and start a new scramble. Bonus: if you see an underhook opportunity? Take it. That’s your ticket to getting out and maybe even flipping the script.

That’s just my usual method to get out — I like to retain open guard, so I focus on filling the gaps with my knees and creating distance. But you? Maybe open guard isn’t your thing. Maybe you’re stronger from closed guard, half guard, or even scrambling to north-south. It’s your game. You pick the move that fits your style. Just remember the main rule: don’t get flattened, or none of your effort’s gonna work.

🥉 3. Back Control

Why it sucks?
This one’s the nightmare scenario — the most common control in BJJ, and I probably don’t even need to explain it. You already see it in your mind. Yeah, it’s that bad. Kinda traumatizing, even just thinking about how to escape it.

They’re behind you. You’re basically blindfolded while carrying a backpack full of danger. Hooks in, seatbelt grip locked, maybe even a body triangle — and all they want is your neck. Rear naked choke is the go-to, but they’ll gladly take an armbar or anything else if you slip.

I remember once during a roll, I had my partner’s back. He was defending the choke, but I flipped the seatbelt grip into an arm-triangle transition. Boom — rolled through, got the tap. So yeah, back control isn’t just about RNCs. The finish could come from anywhere. That’s why you’ve got to stay sharp every second.

What they’re doing?
They’ve got full control of your upper body with a seatbelt grip, and they’ve locked your hips with hooks or a body triangle. That combo is a nightmare: you can’t move, can’t see what’s coming, and they’re hunting your neck like a heat-seeking missile. Your arms are also in danger — one mistake and they’ll snatch an arm too. You need solid defense immediately.

What you should do?
Rule #1: Protect your neck. Chin down. No exceptions. Forget about escaping if your neck’s exposed — you’ll be tapping before step two.

Now, fight their hands. Focus on the overhook side — that’s the arm draped over your shoulder. Your job is to keep that hand away from your chin at all costs. A neat trick: lean your head to the opposite side of their overhook. Imagine this alignment:
(their head) — (your head) — (their overhook shoulder)
If your head slips out of that line, you’re way harder to choke. You’ve broken the seatbelt. It should look something like this:
(your head) — (their head) — (their overhook shoulder)

Once your neck’s safe and you’re winning the hand fight, it’s time to ditch the backpack. You’ll need to free your hips — start by peeling off one of their hooks, just like when escaping mount. It’s not too complicated. Once one leg is free, your hips are mobile again. Turn toward their hook and start sliding out. Boom — you’re out.

You can always try your own variations — everything’s possible. Just remember this order like a mantra: neck, hand, hip, leg. Miss one, and you’re probably still stuck.

🥉 4. North-South

Why it sucks?
It’s way easier to picture you and your girl having a “good time” in bed — well, except for 69 reasons 😏. North-south kinda looks like that, except no one’s putting anything nice in your face — and trust me, that’s the problem. Your opponent’s chest is smothering you, their hips floating over your belly, and you’re just lying there like a sad pancake. Vision’s gone. Breathing? Optional. Mobility? Lol.

You can’t even see what they’re cooking up, and that’s what makes it brutal. Could be a kimura, could be a north-south choke, could be a slick transition to mount like they’re flipping cheat codes in a video game. And if they’re heavy and know how to float? That’s a long, boring death.

What they’re doing?
They’re pinning your shoulders with their ribcage, keeping your face nice and smothered, and working to control your arms — especially that near-side one. If they trap it, welcome to Kimura City. Or worse, they glide right into mount like butter sliding off toast.

Also, watch out for sneaky head control — they might be lining up a north-south choke, and you won’t even know it’s coming until your brain starts buffering.

What you should do?
Step one: don’t flail. You’re not bench pressing a ghost. Panicking just drains your gas tank. Shrimping here doesn’t work without a setup. So here’s how I roll:

Frame under their armpit with your far-side arm — slide that elbow in like you’re trying to flick a mosquito off your shoulder. Near-side arm? Frame the hip or shoulder, whichever gives you an angle. Then slowly scoot sideways, get your shoulder underneath them, and suddenly — bam — oxygen. Welcome back.

From there, you can recover turtle, or if you’re slick, slide into open guard. It’s like crawling out of quicksand — nasty, but it works. Think raccoon escaping a dumpster. That’s you. But instead of garbage, it’s submissions trying to eat you.

🧠 Final Thoughts

You can’t escape if you don’t understand what’s holding you down. Techniques are great, but what really helps is knowing the why behind the control — and matching it with the timing to escape.

Drill your escapes, yes. But also start reading control like a language:

• Where are they pressing you?
• Where are they balancing?
• Which spaces are open and can be filled?

It’s less about memorizing moves and more about reading your opponent. And the best way to get better at that?

Get stuck. Get smashed. Learn. Repeat.

🥋 Your Turn to Escape the Suck

Tired of getting stuck in side control like it’s quicksand? Been there. Now it’s your move. Hit the mats, drill those escapes, and start turning bad positions into your playground.

👇 Got a favorite escape I didn’t mention? Drop it in the comments or shoot me a DM — I’m always down to learn new tricks from fellow scramblers. And if you liked the post, don’t forget to share it with someone who needs to read this (especially that one friend who keeps getting stuck in mount 😅).

Train hard. Escape smarter. And remember: being flat is death.

Related posts:

The Art of BJJ: A Complete Guide for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Practitioners Why Beginners Should Stop Chasing Submissions in BJJ (+ What I Wish I Knew Earlier) What is MMA — The Art of Punches, Kicks, Fighting, and Hugging The History of MMA: A Knockout Journey Through Time