Side Control Escape - These Small Details Change Everything

This video I review the first youtube video I posted on this channel. Escaping side control is one the most important skills to have a good guard in gi or no gi. Often a few small details make a huge difference in your ability to escape this position. I go through the top 5 main mistakes people make in this video.
more content on my website here
www.jonthomasbjj.com/collections
Kimonos Here
vitalkimonos.eu/

[@BlockheadJiujitsu]

Jon... I've been doing jits for 8 years and I'm an average purple belt who has always wondered how the high level players recover guard so well when I get stuck. I've seen so many side control escape vids and they never covered this stuff. You pointed out so many little mistakes and easy fixes, I'm extremely grateful -- Thank you!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Thanks a lot buddy! It means a lot I try to show the real stuff that makes a difference between high level competitiors and it’s often small stuff like this so I’m happy to see how much you value this.

[@hermixtonen]

I like your videos too. Currently studying Gordon’s pin escapes . Amazing detail in that series

[@hermixtonen]

Love the tip on his lifting your outside leg makes it easier to get your near knee into that hip and get knee elbow connection .

[@hermixtonen]

Awesome details all the way through

[@hermixtonen]

One more note - at the end of the video , where you cover composing yourself back into guard by using your left leg (the leg that is not forming a knee shield of sorts ) Gordon advocates (in this example) placing your left foot onto your right ankle and pushing away by pushing your right ankle with your left foot . Just food for thought

[@HardBodyHanksubject0]

The swinging the left leg up when inserting the right knee detail, is just straight up money! Literally never saw that before. So simple yet so biomechanical clever. 🙏

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Yeah that is such a critical detail, so many high level guard players do it, I think it’s just intuitive most people weren’t taught to do that.

[@HolyMith]

Right!? I used to try shrimp with my opposite foot planted because it felt stronger. But I was missing the whole point of having enough hip mobility to angle the knee in! As with many things in bjj brute strength isn't the answer!

[@litdav]

this.. even if you are not that flexible off the start, you can get your knee in with that tip

[@hermixtonen]

I love that tip , as (for me ) when trying to form that side guard / knee - elbow connection, getting the elbow in has always been the easy part. The hard part has always been getting the knee in . Looking forward to trying this

[@MizzoniDojo]

This is exactly what I needed to see this morning. By far my biggest weakness at the moment. This really helped thanks Jon

[@JonThomasBJJ]

No problem buddy happy to help, side escape is a huge hole for a lot of people

[@mhanif8816]

@@JonThomasBJJ thanks a lot bud. The elbow to knee connection to create a wedge is a detail I was missing

[@benclassen4299]

Everybodies weakness. Side control escape is one of the toughest to master

[@mhanif8816]

@@JonThomasBJJ have you got an instructional on how to pass this? I try to get to the North South if I'm blocked. I appreciate all your videos.

[@edwardludwig6360]

Same!!!

[@maalipaas]

We just had a class where we covered side control escape. Only after watching this video I realize how little am I able to pick up during a single class. It is so great to see a break down like this so I can understand why I need to move in a certain way, this is extremely useful. Thanks Jon!

[@marcelovillarroel6466]

Hard to believe I just received this amount of details for free. Just transformed my elbow-knee escape, Professor Thomas.

[@davidholt8074]

The detail of having the outside leg off the floor is something I've been struggling with an never known. Can't wait to try this next time I'm stuck under side!

[@alexmarin9991]

This video covers a lot more details than John Danaher’s video on escaping side control. Can’t wait to implement them. Keep up the great work!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Yeah there are so many different styles and variations for escaping side, these little details made a huge difference for me.

[@jiujitsustudent604]

Good stuff man. Lately, I’ve just been putting myself in bottom side control at the beginning of every roll. It’s my worst spot, so I figured I better get good at it. This should help!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Yeah once you are comfortable escaping and attacking from there you will be much more comfortable with your guard as a whole

[@Looking-great]

I do the same too. I deliberately put myself in bad positions so I can work on good escapes.

[@NegatingSilence]

Been doing this for 6 years (with some breaks) and this is the first time I've had someone address these details.

[@maxsalmin]

This is next-level instruction, thanks a lot Jon!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

No problem really happy you enjoyed it!

[@JohnnyRugged06]

I like how you have two voices; one for when you're talking to us, and one for when you're talking to the uke or the cameraman. It's helpful and it also makes me laugh.

[@zombies00711]

as a white belt, escaping side control is my biggest hurdle right now. this video was extremely helpful!

[@rolotomase1440]

I'm a blue belt and have been training for a little over 1.5 years 4x a week. After week 1 I pretty much wore out every side control video on YT. As good as those videos are; I wish this video was available to me in the beginner because there a few key details. #1 lifting your foot. It makes total sense but when you're underneath somebody it's hard to know why something isn't working. And second the knee on the chest to lasso. I'm a little bit older, a little bit fatter, and a lot slower but I often get my knee in "that" far. I'm absolutely trying this next chance I get. Thank you for a wonderful and informative video!

[@AnProMunch]

Yet again insane quality content, great stuff! Thank you!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Thanks a lot Luke! Happy you liked the technique!

[@real_roadhouse]

KZbin must be watching my rolls... because yesterday I was able to close the elbow/knee space on bottom in side control, but I was unable to fully recover my guard. Thanks for the details and concepts; teaching a man to fish. 🙏

[@danielblocksom]

Incredibly useful. I'm a white belt kept getting stuck in side control by the brown and black belts when rolling. I got frustrated and watched this. Haven't gotten stuck since. Huge game changer!! Making my way through your other videos too. Thank you so much for sharing so much great content with us. With much appreciation from Japan

[@SoytiTv]

Now i know one of the biggest reason why should i do that side shrimp.. thanks for the vid Jon!!

[@dindogatan3715]

Thank you very much for the details, Jon. I'm a purple belt and have been training for 8 years now and is turning 50 soon and these details will help my game a lot!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Happy to hear it buddy! It’s the small stuff that adds up to make a difference! Some of these small details can change everything for you. I hope it helps you on your journey!

[@jarrodkominsky1023]

This is going to be a huge help for me. I’ve been keeping my left foot planted while trying to bring my right knee inside. All of these little details resonated with me immediately. Thank you.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Yeah honestly that keeping the foot planted on the floor is the biggest killer for so many people. I’m sure it’s gonna make a huge difference for you. Make sure you have good frames first as well so you can properly create initial space.

[@skepticalhippo6376]

Same!! You took the words right out of my mouth. I thought it was just the way I was built that I couldn’t get that knee in. This was an awesome vid!

[@darylkenny4562]

I like this. I trained for a number of years and have been away for almost a decade now. I’ve been getting back in but am not as young as I was then and noticing that perfectly executed technique is a lot more important than it was before. I was reading and watching a lot of stuff about the early days of BJJ and how Helio Gracie talked about how most people cannot lift a car but if they put a jack under the car it’s very easy to lift a car. His basic principle was to look at every position in jiu jitsu and find a way to apply a “jack” to each one. This idea has really started to make sense and I have been watching videos and thinking about what is creating the leverage. I keep thinking that assume I was a 90 lb female with a 220 lb guy holding me in mount or side control. How would I deal with that? Because what works for the strongest person won’t work for the weakest person, but what will work for the weakest person will always work for the strongest person. What you’re showing here is pure. Lifting the legs off the ground and turning your hips towards your opponent is the “jack” for successfully escaping side control and it’s really clear to see that when you showed it. Thank you.

[@guillermo4851]

This video is one of the best I have seen so far in KZbin covering the basics. And me being a WB is what I need, not berimbolos. Thank you.

[@fightfiles]

You are really good at teaching and describing the concepts. I’ve been around the block a bit, and that’s my opinion.

[@terrywolfram2779]

Great material. This makes so much sense after being stuck in side control. As a white belt I’ve actually been able to implement the stuff you explain because it’s so clear and it’s really helped. Thanks!

[@Beef_Supreeeme]

I have super long legs and find it so hard to get my knee back in, particularly against small but heavy opponents who don't leave much space. Will definitely try this technique out.

[@dougreviewstheuniverse9082]

Thank you so much Jon!

[@jonevans870]

Oh my god did I need this video. Thanks Jon!

[@Aceinthehole1179]

Sooooooo good as always! Exactly what I needed.

[@glitzandgratitude1170]

Love it. Such great detail!

[@saharaharris]

Loving the level of detail - thanks for posting!

[@davidcondit388]

These details are gold! Thanks!

[@babylikescoffee]

So many incredible details. Thank you for this!!

[@aaronjeter8523]

Excellent video! I am a 45-year-old white belt who has stayed in side control for the last two years, lol. I hope to use this tonight!

[@Ryaninsanity]

This is gem. Thanks for teaching

[@mephistosteiner8064]

Videos with details like this, are the reason why your teaching is special and so much appriciated. Thank you !!!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Really appreciate it! Happy you see the value von my way of organizing and teaching! I’ll post more soon.

[@robertlester4569]

This was great. Very helpful details. Looking for to future escape videos!

[@Lockdown_502]

I know I'm a year late but THANK YOU for this video. My coach showed me the "chicken wing" under the jaw to create space and I've never heard anyone else talk about it. It helped me tremendously so I started hunting for it on KZbin. Yours is the only video I found that talks about it. Great video!

[@funnyanimals5721]

Absolutely brilliant video! Thank you

[@jamieyoon8956]

John, you are really helpful!! Thanks

[@huskylord123]

Fantastic video with so many critical aspects. Thank you for this. Much appreciated.

[@andyallen1943]

Wow! Lots of tips in that video. Thanks for posting.

[@JohnnyRugged06]

Great details and nuanced understanding. Thank you.

[@motomotoharlem]

This is great stuff. Thank you so much.

[@jujigatame4800]

Really well explained and easy to understand, thanks dude - subscribed!

[@MrStrongBro]

These are details I was never taught, it always goes overlooked. I’ve had some success with it over the past couple of months, transitioning to a clamp position and locking up a triangle. With that said, getting the initial side guard and framing to make space would still fail for me commonly, and now I know why. Thanks a ton Jon! 🙏

[@Eduardo-tq5sk]

Thank you prfe Thomas!

[@askBOSCO]

I NEEDED THIS. THANKS!

[@melanievoltz9844]

Fantastic video. Thank you for this! The leg up in the air and hip jump was a game changer for me tonight.

[@rodrigoep01]

You are the only BJJ guy I watch on YT. Thank you Jon!

[@myoschollum7722]

Thanks Jon, great teaching

[@sethschiele3218]

This is the best video I can find on side control defense as a new white belt!!!

[@ainisarxipovas]

Thank you brother! Very amazing details 😎 I am becoming unstoppable now 🤙🏽

[@MZZ25]

very precise, important details that I've never thought of! It's really mind-blowing, these details could really make a great difference with my side control escape. Thank you Jon!

[@splintchesthair100]

Love the details, never seen leg off the mat detail before. Look forward to practicing this.

[@Trephining]

Ding dang, saving this this one to rewatch at least 2-3 times, as each of these will likely improve my bottom side control escapes. Excellent stuff.

[@vladx3539]

Thx for sharing

[@ryanpatterson3900]

This is delightful - you've explained so many sticking points for me. I was wondering why I kept lifting my posting leg off the ground against my instructor's wishes but I was explaining to him that it helped me get my knees to my chest. Seeing you do the movement really solidified this for me - thank you for this video!

[@theno1glove]

What an amazing video. Brilliant tutoring

[@rodneygiovanatti4850]

great detailed explanation. Thank you.

[@BJJ_Richie]

Jon honestly that is the greatest detail I’ve ever seen of any position in BJJ , I mean this is danaher level detail 🙏

[@tehletkhan3511]

beautiful details... thanks coach

[@medicineandbrazilianjiujit8511]

This is great stuff, Professor! I have never seen these little details before, much appreciated. Be well, always. Nikolas

[@thunderditrick5364]

This is GOLD! Thanks

[@brycecolwell4304]

i too have watched many, and this is a first about the far hip or framing the head with elbow. i like this guys stuff

[@hadial-meraikhi582]

best Bjj channel out there definitely game changer for me ..thank you

[@kevinturner765]

Excellent!! Thank you

[@blueseaturtle6031]

The video I needed, thanks for the post

[@brucemcgraw7014]

As a blackbelt, excellent in detail and explanation. Keep up the good work

[@HamzaShams_]

This information is gold for a smaller guy like myself. Thanks for sharing, definitely will be studying this

[@davebyrne3726]

Thanks for this. The arm movement explanation while your partner was off you was a nice touch too, to see how your arm moves underneath. Great understanding from your partner too. Thanks both.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Yeah the mechanics of elbow positioning underneath is so critical for getting out, one small thing off can make it basically impossible to get out.

[@jlofty273]

Some awesome tips for side control defence. Thank you 🙏

[@richardcombden3663]

Awesome man, thanks!

[@chrisbrightbrazilianjiujit6032]

This is great. Thank you

[@alouahemmsabah]

Finally, now it all makes sense :) thank you

[@ChesapeakeFan]

Good solid video, great details. Thanks!

[@hermixtonen]

This is a great way to recover guard . But I have been working on using this escape to get to the “clamp” position , which is WAY better than getting back to guard. The submissions come very easily from the clamp position.

[@howlinberry1645]

This was amazing! TY 🙏

[@mark1983peace]

This might be the best side control escape tutorial! More like this please...As a coach, I'd love to know the details from every position. Thanks for this video buddy!!

[@TheDurzaw]

so far best video i have seen for side control escape

[@Butterflylo328]

Thanks like always great information 🤙

[@stephaneprevost_1967]

The leg up/kick trick will help me a lot. I needed that little adjustment in my tool kit. thx Peace.

[@markbarber6117]

Love this!

[@ClaarTube]

So useful. Thank you.

[@Downhaven]

That knee on chest as opposed to trying to bring it straight through is exactly the problem I've had. Spot on instructional, thank you.

[@Downhaven]

And it's so basic, I love that type of profound passing of knowledge.

[@philpoma2055]

Great details as always. Thank you!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

No problem happy you found the details useful!

[@johnnylee8489]

Great details thank u

[@gaywrestlingclasses4724]

I haven't looked through your channel yet but the videos that youtube has recommended have all been like this where you're proposing concepts vs showing techniques and I really wish more people on youtube were doing this. I don't know that I always agree with you but I like that this is a "try this and see what happens to your game" sort of deal.

[@ninjashadow727]

Thank you Jon - I love the way you breakdown videos so concisely. This is an area I really needed some light shed on.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Thanks buddy! Doing my best to be clear and concise.

[@emailscottcollier]

The details Jon... wow. Thanks again.

[@JonThomasBJJ]

No problem happy to help!

[@seekthetruthliberateyourmind]

what a phenomenal video great info

[@HarborSite-7]

As they say, the devil is in the details. And this video was as detailed and concise as I have seen on truly effective methods to escape side control. Excellent video Jon. 🙏

[@daveinpenn]

great explanation and fine details

[@tejiriorugbo6431]

Awesome coaching . Much appreciated. 💪🏿👍🏿

[@JonThomasBJJ]

Thanks a lot happy to help

[@AnOnYmOuS-qo7dd]

Wow, another great detailed video. Thanks alot for these videos. Soild work!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

No problem! Really happy you are enjoying them.

[@lujitsu1251]

Excellent details

[@golddee2040]

You and Danaher really have explained the position very well. Personally, I find the run escape is far less energy consuming and it feels like less steps, but it probably isn't since it can absolutely create a scramble.

[@justinmiller1535]

Hey!! Side control escape video!! Thanks for this Jon Thomas!

[@JonThomasBJJ]

No problem happy to help!

[@ac2jones]

Wow great details! 👍

[@magcitrate]

This is some awesome tips!

[@Luisfigueroa999]

Solid insight

[@aliciabrooks2516]

Very informative thanks.