Mount vs side control
In mount, you sit on the other person's chest. In side control, you lie across their chest from the side. Both are strong top positions.
Top player: the person on top. Bottom player: the person underneath. Guard pass: you get past the bottom player's legs.
MountThe top person sits on the chest, with one knee on each side.
Side ControlThe top person lies across the chest from the side, past the legs.
Side by side
| What to look at | Mount | Side control |
|---|---|---|
| Your body | Sitting on their chest or belly, one knee on each side | Chest on their chest, across their body, past their legs |
| Points (IBJJF) | 4 points, held for 3 seconds | No points by itself. The guard pass into it scores 3. |
| Main attacks | Armbar, americana, arm triangle, cross collar choke | Kimura, americana, arm triangle, or a move to mount |
| Main escapes | Upa and elbow escape | Shrimp back to guard, escape to the knees |
| Common mistake on top | Reaching for a choke with both hands. You lose your base and they roll you with the upa. | Leaving space between your hips and theirs. They slide a knee in and get the guard back. |
| Common mistake on bottom | Pushing up with straight arms. They take the armbar or arm triangle. | Lying flat on your back. Turn on your side and use frames. |
When to use which
- You just passed the guard: hold side control first, then move up.
- You want to attack the arms and neck: go to mount.
- On the positional hierarchy, mount is above side control. Back control is above both.
You pass your partner's guard and land in side control. You hold it for 3 seconds and score 3 for the pass. Then you slide your knee across their belly into mount. You hold it and score 4 more.
Under IBJJF rules, you pass to side control and hold it 3 seconds. Then you go to mount and hold it 3 seconds. How many points?
In the library
Read the full pages: Mount and Side Control.
Train it on the Path
The map of positions unit turns this into short lessons: you see a position and pick the best move.
The Path goes in order: start free from lesson one and you reach The map of positions on the way. With Rolla Plus you can jump straight here.