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How To Escape Any Side Control in BJJ – By Xande Ribiero

How to Escape Any Side Control in BJJ by Xande Ribiero

Xande Ribeiro is one of the best grapplers in the world. Having won the World Jiu Jitsu championship open weight division twice and the heavyweight division five times, he has rolled with the best grapplers in the world and come out on top. So when he says his diamond guard side control escape will show you how to pass any side control, you should listen to what he has to say. 

This diamond guard takes a lot of abdominal strength, and Xande talks for a while in the video about his workouts and how he keeps his abs in shape. He also mentions that his guard has not been passed in competition since 2005, so while this side control escape might be tough at first, it is proven. 

Start: Side control bottom

Step 1: Wrap outside arm around opponent’s back, holding tight and maintaining a constant pressure so that you move with any pressure and when opponent pushes into you, it creates space between opponent’s hips and you

Step 2: Bring inside knee and elbow together across opponent’s waist

Step 3: Push off opponent’s hip with inside arm to create enough space to move inside leg into half guard or full guard

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How to Do a Baseball Slide Pass in BJJ

Passing someone’s open guard is one of the essential parts of your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game. If you can’t pass someone’s open guard, your best case scenario is to land in their closed guard, at which point you’d better have a good arm bar and triangle defense or a foolproof closed guard pass or you’ll be in big trouble. 

The baseball slide guard pass, sometimes called the knee slice guard pass or knee slide guard pass, is a tricky pass because if you make a mistake you run the risk of giving your back to your opponent. But if executed well, this pass can have a very high success rate. This is why it’s a part of the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt test curriculum.

This video breakdown of the baseball bat slide includes the legendary Xande Ribiero, who is featured heavily in his brother Saulo Ribiero’s famous Jiu Jitsu University book (which should be in every BJJ practitioner’s library).  Xande’s video includes two different grip variations and a bunch of little details that will help you execute this guard pass perfectly

Start: Standing, opponent on back playing open guard

Step 1: Step one leg in between opponent’s a deep as possible

Step 2: Get cross-collar grip as deep as possible

Step 3: Post free hand as high and far from opponent’s head as possible

Step 4: Slice knee over opponent’s hip between their elbow and knee while stepping free leg outside

Step 5: Move outside posting hand to opponent’s sleeve and use both hands to push-oull opponent’s arm, straightening it and preventing him from using it to slow your pass

Step 6: Slide knee through until foot is past opponent’s hip and proceed to side control