Here’s a common frustration from side control bottom you may relate to…
Your opponent is giving you a heaping helping of shoulder pressure with their crossface, but you manage to get your far arm into an underhook position.
Yes, in most cases that underhook is the superior lever to use from side bottom. It’s mechanically better than framing against the neck and other common arm positions. And if you already know the “connected bridge” I teach, then you’re going to be a lot more confident in your ability to create space once you have it, even when their underhook is really strong.
But here’s the issue.
No sooner do you get the underhook than they bring their arm in between your legs and hug your far side thigh (what we call the “Diaper Check” pin).
Not only does this negate your primary lever (the underhook), they can also use it to pull themselves in so tight it’s impossible to shrimp away to get your shin in between you and pull guard.
There are two common escape options when in this position:
One is to pull the underhook out and frame against your opponent’s head to guide it down towards your legs as you bring them up and lock in a reverse triangle from bottom.
Problem is, if they stay a little higher toward your head where they have the crossface and keep their head pinned tight to your chest, this escape suddenly becomes ineffective.
The second option is to wait it out, meaning to wait until they shift their arm position to attack and then use that moment to create space.
And that is a viable option to be sure, but not so practical in a variety of circumstances –– e.g., your getting cooked with that crossface pressure, it’s a fight and your opponent’s got buddies on the way to soccer kick you in the head, or your down on points in a tournament. You get the idea.
The better I got at the connected bridge the less my training partners wanted to give me that underhook for even a few seconds because they knew it meant I’d be able to create space and get out, so I noticed that the Diaper Check was becoming more and more of an issue I needed to address, especially against the guys with really tight top games.
Here’s the solution I developed, which one of my black belts named The Archimedes Pendulum (after expressing his frustration that I’d ruined his favorite counter to the underhook LOL). Definitely try this out. It completely changes the equation here:
For much, much more on how to get beyond learning more “moves” and instead understand the first principles of escaping from the bottom of side control, headlocks, head & arm, and north/south, be sure to check out my in depth course here.
