How To Make Your Side Control As Heavy As Possible by Henry Akins

[@coyoteclone]

Bernardo really took one for the team.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Yeah he did!

[@coyoteclone]

@@HenryAkinsBJJ I picked up your escape videos. Ain't no stoppin' me now.

[@overseasond]

laughing out loud in sympathy, thank you Henry and Bernardo!

[@alexandersarah245]

🤣☝✅ absolutely. Gotta love that pressure.

[@AbatieBell]

Yes he definitely took one for the team. Thank you Henry and Bernardo

[@paisano316]

Towards the end, Bernardo was trying to wrap it up, saying how he was really feeling the pressure, but then Professor Henry goes “So let’s go over all the details again!!” Bernardo:” …ok😩”

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Lol... Poor Bernardo. He definitely took one for the team 🤣

[@Aliens-Are-Our-Friends2027]

fun

[@mrorbit2u]

OMG!!! I can't stop laughing. Thank you Bernardo for letting us see the torture we are about to put our opponents through. Your pain is our gain!! Thank you again for the great video.

[@milkmanpj]

This is great stuff. I served as the dummy for a seminar that Henry taught on this a few years ago. My ribs and diaphragm are just now recovering.

[@MrAwesomeSquad]

My coach was known for this and it's such a relief to hear other people say there's no shame in tapping or desperately giving up an arm.

[@rollinOnCode]

yes! it is another henry akins video!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@colinwaring5249]

Everything Henry is showing here is legit. I know because he has annihilated me with it more times than I can count. Now I pass along my poor man’s version to anyone who’ll listen.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Colin!!! Making people feel the presh??? I love it!

[@adamwood87]

Henry taught this move at my gym as well. i love it, and this is my go-to position after i pass guard, plus there's an Americana with the inside arm.

[@rdunnam100]

Yeah, I used to be the "that judo hold is too easy to escape" guy... until I saw Henry crush people with it. Then I figured it might be a small thing worth learning just so I didn't get caught, now it is part of my game - super legit. And this video was only the fundamentals - so much deeper to go on this journey.

[@christopherjustice7715]

Henry came to our dojo a few years ago. We're still implementing the stuff he taught. Amazing stuff!

[@colinwaring5249]

@@HenryAkinsBJJ for sure, brother! I’m down at Checkmat HQ with Leo these days, and some of the people there have been getting curious about my “weirdly good mount.” Thanks for all the lessons. Every single one is still in my game to this day.

[@scottmarlow6018]

Poor Bernard, Henry's scarf hold is legendary!

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Lol! 🤣🤣🤣

[@kevinchan79]

Thanks for your sacrifice Bernado!

[@nicholasobrien8499]

now this is in my game lmao!! this is freaking awesome details so simple yet so crazy effective

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

You will be crushing people effortlessly! 😉

[@CarryTrainer]

Coach Henry!

[@rollinOnCode]

henry akins is AMAZING!

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

Thanks Rollin!

[@cknasir]

Bernardo sound effects are the best 😂

[@alexandersarah245]

Truth ☝😝🤪

[@thiagobandeira6116]

Amazing class! So many details! Thanks Bernado and Henry! Vlw Bernadão!

[@StephenMoore777]

Yeah this is legit awesome details....I use scarf hold sometimes and I'm always trying to stay heavy but I usually end up over balanced and swept. I'm all over this in training for sure.

[@rdunnam100]

the pullling with the feet and lifting the head made all the difference in the world for me staying in control - keep at it.

[@iamcycle9014]

Got swept once...need to watch this video a few more time to learn how to stop from being swept when we are higher on top

[@johndoe4073]

Finally! Akins is legit. Glad he will be putting more content out there.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Thanks John

[@tigermike74]

I love using this. It was one of the first submissions I learned.

[@iamcycle9014]

I watched...made a mental note, went to class the next day, got out of their half guard,went to full mount but all the while with what I saw on this video, went into side mount and execute to perfection....the pressure without forcing the tap was so amazing I promised to shared it with my opponent I just tapped..and we both drilled it after class... thank you so much!!! Another arrow in my arsenal.....now I have to rewatch in case I missed some details.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

The first of many taps from this position i hope

[@iamcycle9014]

@@HenryAkinsBJJ Tapped bigger and stronger opponents today...but they are like family so I showed them exactly what I had learn...to better us all...so might NOT hit it in the future?? Thank you so much...its so simple and easy that it's NOT even funny. I armbar them using my leg also :)

[@iamcycle9014]

@@HenryAkinsBJJ during live roll today....I was escaping a single X and ended in side control but my opponent had hook or lock my leg..so I held the scarf hold while trying to free my leg...once I did, I was very relaxed and held the position for a few minutes....al the while trying to used my leg to hooked his arm to possible armbar him...I know NOT to roll and tell but the truth is he is testing for his black belt and tapped due to the pressure.....I loved how humbled he was because on our next roll...he told me He doesn't want to be in that position again.....I wanted to shared how I got to that position but would hate to be looked at as a "know it all"....because I am only a 1 striped white belt. Needless to say....he won't be sleepy to allowed me that position again EVER!!! THIS position is so amazing!! For now since it's works so well.. I am a one trick pony :)

[@damirr8722]

Love Henry's material.His "Armlock escapes" video was a game changer for me.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Im so happy you're loving the stuff Im teaching and its helped you on your journey!

[@benmaths2983]

This man is a really great teacher in my opinion!

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Thanks Ben!

[@ItsDave76]

I love Bernardo. What a great sport. 😅

[@johnbarabasch5884]

Man I’ve been smashing people with this!! Great video!! Thanks B!!!!

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

Awesome! Congratulations John!

[@gregstokes7169]

Big fan of Henry and how he demonstrates the small details and even black belts were there learning from him. Simply amazing guy !

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Thanks Greg, miss you buddy#

[@yogsothoth-tz2bu]

I started with judo before bjj , and in judo they teach you kesa gatame since day 1, i am a big guy and when i started bjj and tapped some blue belts with this,its a brutal position .

[@GMunoz-oj5zb]

I am a purple belt and I have tapped black belts in Kesa gatame into americana with my legs

[@amorestperpe]

This approach is my jam

[@keithrunion]

Love the wrist lock fron here

[@Alex_warchild_C]

Thank you professor. Im a white belt that trains under Dante Rivera in NJ/ Renzos in Nyc. I am recovering from a multi-ligament tear in my left knee from August. I will be able to hit the mats again by June/July. I get to the scarfhold / kesa gatame often when live rolling, but I never knew these details. In MMA, I love using the position to transfer to crucifix. These details will be golden for me to use when I return. Thanks again professor Akins, and thanks to professor Bernardo for these awesome technique vids that have been keeping my mind sharp while healing.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

My pleasure Alec, I wish you speedy recovery

[@041882]

Can confirm. GL did this in our gym and subbed everyone with this for *months*. The amount of butthurt in our gym skyrocketed as people were unable to deal with this move.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

So what you're saying is, you have a pretty extensive Soul collection

[@GMunoz-oj5zb]

@@HenryAkinsBJJ Mr Akins, I bought your instructional early last year, it changed my game in working ways to reach Kesa Gatame and my submission rate has increased significantly. I agree is a very underused technique in tournaments but as long as we keep mindful of the details you mention, I don't worry about somebody taking my back .

[@69LP69]

That’s my first ground control position leant from my Judo coach, but I never seen it from my BJJ class. That’s the reason I love cross training with wrestling, Judo, Ju-jitsu, Sambo.

[@chrislittle8527]

Wow great video!

[@monta2max]

Henry Aikins . The man !!!

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Thanks Monta

[@mastersplinter666]

Amazing video!! Henry’s explanation is incredible. It’s so good it’s a true ELI5. He’s a genius😁😁

[@alexandremello182]

Bernardo GOAT

[@seanmiller7889]

18:02 YEEEEEESSSS! OMG!!! YEAH!!! #bernardo #takesonfortheteam

[@MrJamessaucelee]

Thats incredible

[@fox331gt]

Game changer 🔥🔥🔥

[@davidvincent3959]

I used this side-control yesterday. I like it. I going to work to get it more often on more difficult opponents.

[@birdlifesoutpansberg35]

Very insightful!

[@artvandelay2591]

Wow my mind is blown. Thanks! I've been training since 08 and never saw these details. 😁

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

You're welcome Art! These details are just the tip of the iceberg my course has so many details on every nuance of this position

[@aymanabaza6475]

Yeah, a Judoka like myself puts you in a Kesa Katame, you're getting out also we train a few really good submissions from Kesa , one being a Sankaku

[@michaelhoover6961]

Me and my 240lbs of man meat love this technique. I use an less efficient version (because I didn't know the intricate details till now) almost every time I roll.

[@jerryoutlaw3396]

Thank you for making my top game much better.

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

My pleasure Jerry!

[@splint3048]

Bernardo's sound effects alone are enough to prove this is all 100% legit.

[@scottferg81]

ALWAYS great info from Henry! If you can get to one of his seminars, don't miss it!

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Thanks Scott

[@michaelhale211]

Great stuff. 50 this May.

[@tieoneon5240]

great teachings ~~ continued success

[@KaninTuzi]

This channel is gold

[@jaygannon1095]

My favorite position to work from, especially in the gi. Makes the elbow easier to keep off the ground and the added friction really helps as does the option of keeping their isolated arm bent and their wrist pinned to your chest if you need to prevent them locking their hands together which can help them turn into you or to bridge - the great judoka Yasuhiro Yamashita did kesa gatame this way to great effect. Also, Americana armlock is generally considered a lower percentage submission but this might be the single hardest position from which to defend against it - depending on how the position goes they may have to rely on upper body strength to stop it here

[@gosecondmile]

I'm 430 lbs and my coach was so excited to show me scarf hold on my second class. For my size, it feels very natural to get to. Being able to leverage this is super helpful, especially because it'll be a looooong time before I'm ever able to throw my legs up over a shoulder from guard. Use what you got!

[@donovanb9020]

I frequently work a dude who is also on the heavier side (he's easily over 3 bills.) Recently we were working side control positionals and he immediately sat into kesa gatame... Never again... I legit panicked when he started settling into the position and my ribs still haven't healed 100% lol.

[@mp9810]

Oof don't kill anyone with this, lol.

[@MrCmon113]

Well - you don't need to learn any attacks from mount.

[@jonpitale2619]

Thanks for passing on this knowledge, Henry. Do you have any tips on how to keep one's head low and still keep the pressure? I really enjoy playing from this position but find my head caught by the legs of some flexible classmates (especially early on before I can really adjust my pressure). Thanks again for sharing and I hope you and yours are doing well.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

You can drop your head, you also have your free hand to be able to clear the leg if it comes over your face and the last thing is as you start to lift up on their head if they throw their leg over to try to take you back just keep your grip, as you start to go backwards if you continue to lift up on their head gets worse for them

[@100proofhero666]

You took one for the sake of our education man. We appreciate you Bernardo 😂

[@ThugLifeModafocah]

There's a very easy way to scape from what Akins teaches at 5:40 and Rickson teaches it in his documentaries from 90s that it is possible to find in the net. It consists in bring your hips closer to the hips of the top guy and do a upa (which gringos calls it as trap and roll). You need to feel the connection correctly in order to do so otherwise you can't complete it, but it is very powerfull when you get it and the top guy feels like weightless. Here you have it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWjPd55_nb-tpLc Here is the man himself teaching some concepts and variations: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWPLm2OKr5l4Z9E

[@Beatbasse]

Awesome comment, thanks!

[@alexcardoso4487]

there is a small variation between the positions rickson must have studied another way of distributing the weight to see that Akins does another type of stabilization

[@charles9571]

Thanks!

[@rollinOnCode]

i dont find rollover escapes to really be effective as the guy has no reasons at all to let go of the head and arm. he can continue to attack from there or roll you back over into normal kesa gatame.

[@mp9810]

I've tapped to this, and i'm 6ft 2" and 220lb's. It's fucking BRUTAL pressure. Love these tips.

[@brucemcgraw7014]

Lol......loves how Henry casually explains the technique while applying pressure

[@ConcealedSteel]

Lol, it just never gets old watching the bottom guy be a good sport in demos for stuff like this at class.

[@billthebard805]

I’ve loved scarf hold since my earliest days as a white belt. There are a lot of attacks outside the actual position.

[@steveluscombe5693]

😂 Great uke, well done Bernardo 👍😄

[@FR-ty5vn]

Awesome 👏 stuff!!! What prevents the bottom guy from hooking the top guy’s leg with his own leg for leverage to pop his head out? Sometimes I escape that way…

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

if I have the elbow its way harder to get out... you can't just pop your head out

[@FR-ty5vn]

@@HiddenJiuJitsu Osss

[@jimmyeatsgoodfood2277]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I have some of your vids from bjj fanatics and Henry shares some great details to make moves we know better. @Henry Akins BJJ how would we defend against a bite from this position? I looked at your soul stealer course but didn’t see it covered based on the description. Thanks

[@felixrhe2733]

9:20 min if you want to look for it while drilling

[@mattcauth]

Bernardo - my man, you took some punishment for us. Thank you for being such a good sport. I have to confess that I laughed out loud when he went in to the last set of details. OMG he's going to go in for it again?? Lol - you're a tough dude, I wouldn't last for 15 seconds under that pressure.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Bernardo definitely took one for the team in this video

[@khamamtut3646]

Deadly..

[@TonyFernandezjkdjedi]

OMG..... LMFAO...that was hilarious listening to Bernardo in agony from that... this I'm gonna try next roll.

[@Garysmith2045]

Bernardo, please balance the audio level on your outro.

[@jeffdj1975]

Gracie Jiu Jitsu for life

[@fearthetriangle]

There is a force… It is invisible… It is gravity.

[@jabac4596]

So simple but effective, those are always the best techniques. This would be just as effective in MMA, probably even more so because you can use your other hand to punch your opponent in the face while they’re locked in.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Exactly, the other hand is free to through strikes if needed!

[@rollinOnCode]

oh man! i love these details henry. thank you for sharing! now my kesa game is gonna skyrocket! sorry to my training partners :) 😃

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Youre very welcome!

[@leeprice133]

My instructor is a huge proponent of this position, so everyone I train with learned this really early on. Utterly miserable to be caught on the bottom of this - it's the reason why my ribs are usually sore 🤣

[@tapskill3]

Josh Barney tapped a black belt using this Catch-wrestling move. Judo players use it as well.

[@georgesellhorn7603]

This should be renamed "The voluntary Torture of Bernardo Faria"

[@zelatraining]

This in my opinion the most brutal and dominant position to get and hell to get out of.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

I agree

[@HussarsJacket]

My current gym is full of people who are obsessed with this sort of top pressure and the Rickson/Akins meta. I'm switching gyms next month. /s

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

lol, i'm sorry man

[@davidcondit388]

Great way to make friends! :p

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

🤣🤣🤣 yup! People love you after you catch them in this

[@k1n752]

its like the technique that josh barnett used against Dean Lister (catch wrestling vs bjj)

[@NPNP-sz1zz]

Would you recommend to collect the leg with the free arm? I think it might create even more pressure. I saw once Bas Rutten pulling of such a body crusher thing

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

You can but not necessary, just need time, people usually tap in under a minute if you know how to apply proper pressure

[@andrewmurphy9932]

This is the reason Kesa Gatame is my favorite control to tap out position.. It simply works

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

Yup! it's brutal when done properly

[@SwissAir89]

Poor Bernardo :D

[@topdogred]

Every time Bernardo says “Yep” take a drink of papaya juice. You will drown.

[@kstonurai9350]

Haahahahah poor Bernardo ❤️

[@mayilla8462]

This was hilarious. 🤣😂

[@weneedtogoback8553]

Kesa Gatame is 🔥

[@taymerelane]

Thanks for the video. Big question though, at 12:16 and elsewhere why cant't Bernando just hook his left leg around your head and snap you down to the mat? I know if you kept your head low you could avoid that escape, but in this whole video your head is high, which means your demo illustrates proper weight distribution but with an easy to snap down head. If you normally keep it low to avoid the leg hook then please show another video doing it with your head down so we can see what the weight distribution looks like with your head down. Thanks.

[@afnanbogey]

It looks almost the same but with his head tucked, as you said. Just play around with it brah, feeling the weight distribution is better than trying to see it in a demo.

[@taymerelane]

@@afnanbogey ty

[@Mattchew2232]

13:08 The camera man was getting self-conscious. : )

[@Bradley9967]

17:38 For my own reference point.

[@franciscoquiroz1749]

When you can no longer hold a fart while rolling 9:08

[@adamw1555]

Can we see that one more time please coach?😫

[@bilalss1]

I do this but I get rolled over my back side. They pendulum forward and I have no base on my backside, get rolled onto my back. How do you prevent that?

[@grandmasterfash7396]

17:46 review

[@bigro4444]

So kesa gatame. Head and arm pin in Judo.

[@urbansamurai261]

It's all in the details

[@johnferrick6732]

I've been on the bottom of Henry's Soul Stealer and it feels like a 16 Wheeler rolling across your body and squeezing the life out of you like a tube of toothpaste. My toes started tingling. It's the worst. You just want it to stop.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

Hahaha im sorry John, you know I did it out of ❤️ for you though

[@johnferrick6732]

@@HenryAkinsBJJ I was the one who asked for it. Best lesson on the true power of connection and pressure evar. Looking forward to seeing you next month!

[@spacemanpope]

Henry Akins is like a modern day Stu Hart with the instruction. Just torturing poor Bernardo. 😂

[@jcgnzlz]

Like a dentist trying to have a conversation with you with your tooth being drilled :) :0

[@felipesimone1165]

Feeling much better now for tapping to this many times … with a variant named double Nelson 😅

[@duckmcfly6416]

will he pass out or die if you dont get up?

[@cassiooctaviani473]

Bernardo sounds like he's being tortured (and he is a friggin' superstrong monster!).

[@HiddenJiuJitsu]

Yup, he's a really big guy, made me feel small and i'm 6'1", just goes to show the efeectiveness of all the details I show here

[@josepheskenazi2392]

De de Eh How many detaiwwwes are hidden. Ahhhh I can't breeeevee

[@SoundSignals]

Yup 😅

[@codyrod]

Poor Bernardo 😀

[@marcusgottlieb2307]

It’s one of those things where if u never felt it it’s hard to understand.

[@HenryAkinsBJJ]

You can only get a glimpse of the pressure from Bernardos wincing and facial expressions. 🤣🤣🤣