I am starting to get side-mount every once in a while now. I even get side on a blue for like 10 seconds,lol.

But now that I am starting to pass guard a bit, I am noticing I have no base in side. Is there a way to practice that? Or just keep passing and the base will come?

What is happeing, is they are easily restting my guard or sometimes worse.

I know I am not supposed to be using strength but I think I am trying to hard to use gravity and keep my ass down, and it feels like I just don't have enough pressure on them, and they are easily escaping. Should I use some strength, like "squeeze them and push down"?

Is there a way to work on holding side? Or it just comes the more frequent I get side?

I am starting to get side-mount every once in a while now. I even get side on a blue for like 10 seconds,lol.

But now that I am starting to pass guard a bit, I am noticing I have no base in side. Is there a way to practice that? Or just keep passing and the base will come?

What is happeing, is they are easily restting my guard or sometimes worse.

I know I am not supposed to be using strength but I think I am trying to hard to use gravity and keep my ass down, and it feels like I just don't have enough pressure on them, and they are easily escaping. Should I use some strength, like "squeeze them and push down"?

Is there a way to work on holding side? Or it just comes the more frequent I get side?

Be careful not to give power to intangible "base". Simply saying so and so has ridiculous base doesn't really cover what he's doing. It's technique.

Make sure to stop any posting arms on your opponent they confuse your balance - if he gets one limb in between you and him he can stop you. Side control is'nt as dominant as some would like to think. Your still grip fighting even when in side-control. Think about trying to hold down someone that's having a temper tantrum. You have to eliminate their hand that are pushing you back.

Take control of the higher parts of his torso; but not his head or shoulders. If you direct your weight , as best as possible, right into your opponents sternum and not his abdomen or shoulders you'll feel heavier. His center of gravity must stay underneath you and you have to move with it.

Play with a small medicine ball underneath your body. Circle and roll over it while trying to keep it's weight pressed underneath you. If you let it slip to a side or out from underneath you that's when someone has a chance to escape. keep the balls weight centered underneath and gradually move faster and more explosively adding in front rolls right over the ball once your able. This will all help to build neccessary muscle memory. And it will help you understand what 'base' really is.


PM me if any of this sparks your interest and i can give you some more tips. I'm a lanky 5'10' and had to really work on base.

In my inexpert opinion you shouldn't be trying to stay in side right away, if you pass guard and get side, go to north south, then side side, then mount or knee on belly or whatever, but always keep your weight and pressure on them and flow, make them do the work.

Flow grasshopper flow!!!!

Good post, Franz.

As a newb, here are few things you should focus on while in Side Mount.

1. Cross Facing
-Your shoulder and his face need to be best friends. Keep his head and shoulders on the mat to reduce his chances of regaining guard, turning into you, or bridging out.

2. Scarf Hold Swimming
-Side Mount is hard to hold against a REALLY squirmy opponent. Instead of bulldog stepping your knees around, use Scarf Hold to maintain pressure on your opponent's upper body and to control his arm. Be careful about holding scarf hold too long, though. Until you get better, it's an easy position to reverse.

3. Transition
-Unless you have a Matt Hughes style side mount, you should be aiming to transition immediately to mount or north/south. To build solid technique, though, work on gaining knee on belly instead of just flinging yourself into mount.

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As an aside, are you training Gi or No Gi?

Is there a way to practice base in side mount?yes. find a partner and drill.

the biggest thing people forget is to keep their hips low.

yes. find a partner and drill.

the biggest thing people forget is to keep their hips low.

You're right, but to a newb "Keeping your hips low" is usually incompatible with keeping your weight on your opponent.

i.e. Newbs typically either keep all their weight down, and none on the opponent (allowing the opponent to squirm and escape easily), or they put ALL their weight on their opponent like a drunken polar bear...and therefore get swept easily due to the overcommitment.

Unfortunately, "Good Base" is one of those "Ah HA!" things that can't be explained adequately.

For a beginner, though, I personally have found the following to be the easiest way to train "Good Base" from side mount:

-Keep your hips low...BUT make sure you squeeze and apply pressure through the cross face. The idea is to constantly feel like a teeter-totter...squeezing puts your weight through your opponent but wants to overextend you, while keeping your hips low increases your balance but wants to pull weight away from the opponent.

It's a balancing game that you'll get better at with practice.

What pauli said.
Ask people if you can start in side (don't be a douche, rotate top and bottom).

Don't be afraid to release grips to allow for better mobility for yourself. Counter his attempts at escaping or reversing by moving your body, not just by trying to clamp down harder.

the biggest thing people forget is to keep their hips low.

QFT - drop your butt to your heels if you can.

In my inexpert opinion you shouldn't be trying to stay in side right away, if you pass guard and get side, go to north south, then side side, then mount or knee on belly or whatever, but always keep your weight and pressure on them and flow, make them do the work.

Flow grasshopper flow!!!!


I would disagree with this to a degree. Knowing how to get and keep position is a key skill. Obviously camping out with a guy pinned for a minute or two isn't the most important skill but if you don't know who to control someone positionally, you're going to end up diving for subs you've already lost.

When I started, one of the guys told me to not even bother trying for subs for several months. Get position down first.

I would disagree with this to a degree. Knowing how to get and keep position is a key skill. Obviously camping out with a guy pinned for a minute or two isn't the most important skill but if you don't know who to control someone positionally, you're going to end up diving for subs you've already lost.

When I started, one of the guys told me to not even bother trying for subs for several months. Get position down first.

Absolutely - being able to lock someone down and hold them in that position is integral for a good BJJist

Technique has been covered, just going to pick you up on this point.

"I even get side on a blue for like 10 seconds"

This is most likely the blue belt practicing from inferior positions and not a testament to your skills. Not trying to be a dick, we had a thread recently talking about how beginners would see themselves as better than they were due to not being dominated by people of greater skill.

I would disagree with this to a degree. Knowing how to get and keep position is a key skill. Obviously camping out with a guy pinned for a minute or two isn't the most important skill but if you don't know who to control someone positionally, you're going to end up diving for subs you've already lost.

When I started, one of the guys told me to not even bother trying for subs for several months. Get position down first.


I find that if I go from guard to half guard, to side, to north south, to mount and then back to side again by the time I get the second side control I have it in real tight and low on the guy.

This might be more due to weighing 207 and having squashed them with it for a minute or two as I transition on them thus tiring them out.

On the other hand I just discovered I have my hand position wrong on the collar and haven't been locking them down as well as I should from side.

If you're setting position properly, you're setting position properly.
In part it depends on what type of game you want to develop (e.g. floating versus crushing). However, if you're unclear on even how to keep position you probably shouldn't be worrying about developing a particular game yet.

If they are re-gaining their guard, you are leaving too much space and not blocking their hips. Put a knee right next to their upper thigh, or post an arm there to block them from spinning into you and inserting a knee across. Most likely they will need to shrimp as well, and you've got to keep good grips and enough weight on them to keep them from shrimping and making space. But blocking with a knee or posted arm should give you that time to make your adjustments without them immediately regaining guard.

If they are stiff arming you with the close side arm and using it to try to make space, don't be afraid to switch to kesa, isolate that arm, then hip heist back to straight side control. This should force their arm up and across, in a bad place for them to push with it. It also puts it in a good place for you to mount attacks.

Technique has been covered, just going to pick you up on this point.

"I even get side on a blue for like 10 seconds"

This is most likely the blue belt practicing from inferior positions and not a testament to your skills. Not trying to be a dick, we had a thread recently talking about how beginners would see themselves as better than they were due to not being dominated by people of greater skill.

Don't worry, I am under no illusions. Anything I get I always think was given to me anyway, regardless of belt.