There is a really awesome article on The Jiu-Jitsu Laboratory this week, breaking down the most important topic in a young Jui-Jitsu practitioners early development
The Jiu-Jitsu Laboratory - Escaping Side Control
How many times have you heard the phrase, “Hey, I saw someone do a Guatemalan Death Slicer in the UFC, I wanna do that!” All the time, right? Often in Jiu Jitsu our first impulse is to learn all the cool submissions. But as Jiu Jitsu players we live and die by our abilities in bad positions.
As much fun as learning a cool choke from the back or armbar from mount is, how often do newer students end up there to practice these techniques? The same problem exists for instructors. Let’s face it – basic positional Jiu Jitsu can be boring to teach over and over again. But it’s our positional escapes and transitions that allow us to survive against higher belts and really open up our offense without worry of getting passed or reversed.
For beginners it is absolutely necessary to start from the ground up in Jiu Jitsu with techniques that they are actually able to practice on a day to day basis in rolling. There’s a reason why the first two chapters of Saulo Ribeiro’s Jiu Jitsu University focus on survival and escapes, respectively.
Side control can be one of the most frustrating positions to be stuck under in Jiu Jitsu, and one of the most dangerous.