“Little Hands” Side Control Attacks with Lachlan Giles!

 

When it comes to attacking from side control, the possibilities are quite vast, especially in the gi. There are hundreds of attacks ranging from arm bars to simple collar chokes, but with the gi in the mix a whole new range of opportunities are available. With the use of the lapels we can create scenarios for our opponents that are incredibly difficult to deal with and put ourselves in advantageous positions. One great way to begin setting up attacks with the lapel, is to wrap the far side arm. With the arm in a sling and constricted, our opponent is at an immediate disadvantage and we can begin to get to work. 

Using the gi creatively is an important aspect of our training. With an entire catalog of techniques at our disposal, it only makes our game that much more efficient and dangerous. Let’s check out a couple of these techniques using the lapel to trap the far side arm. Lachlan Giles has some great insight on the subject that you should definitely see. 

In this first video, Giles uses this particular method, which he refers to as “little hands”, to set up the triangle. This super slick and it’s a great one to add to the tool box. Have a look!

Giles beings by acquiring the lapel. If its mid match and the lapel is hanging out, then by all means, snatch it up. If its still tucked within the belt, Giles advises us to switch the hips, which will expose the lapel and allow us to grab it. Giles also suggest the at when we do acquire the gi tail, that we pull as much slack out as possible. This will make it much easier to work with the lapel as we progress through the steps of the technique. If you switch your hips to hunt for the lapel, keep it balled up and tight to your partner’s far side hip while switch back to a standard from of side control. 

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Next, Giles must deal with the nearside frame so he can begin to advance. As his partner pushes his hip, Giles secures the elbow and sweeps his bottom leg under the arm, then stepping forward with his top leg, Giles makes sure to get his partners elbow above the lone of the hip, so that the frame is permanently removed. 

With the nearside frame killed, Giles’s partner begins to frame on the neck (a common reaction) and this is what gives Giles the opportunity to begin wrapping the arm. As he stretches the lapel over his partners forearm, he hands it off to his cross-face hand and secures it tightly. Be sure to position the lapel closer to the wrist than the elbow as it may be much easier for your partner to foil your plans by slipping out. There’s much more security at the wrist. 

Giles then shoots his left knee up close to the head and begins to fall to his hip, creating an opportunity to throw his right leg up and over the body. As he clears the body with his leg, he lifts up the head and tucks his leg deep underneath the neck. He can now release the lapel, replacing his hand with his foot. Posting on his free hand and foot, Giles then lifts the head and drives his right leg deep underneath the neck.  Giles could choose to stay on top here for the finish, but instead opts to roll to his back and lock the triangle as he travels in to a guard scenario. 

Very good details on a great technique here. I myself and many other have probably struggle with transitioning the leg up and over the body to begin attacking the triangle. That’s one of my favorite details here. Falling to that hip really seems to be an integral part of the puzzle here. Great instruction from Giles!

Let’s move on to another method of attacking from this same scenario. Here, Giles attacks a baseball bat choke. A very devastating technique and one of the great assaults from the side control position. Check this out!

With the arm already wrapped, Giles pulls the lapel tight and close to his partner’s head. He then makes smooth transition to the knee on belly position. He then swims his free hand in between himself and his partner and achieves a palm up grip on the lapel completing the baseball bat grip configuration. 

To complete the technique, Giles needs to transition to the north south position but there’s a problem. As he begins to travel, his partner can simply follow him, stopping progress. To remedy this, Giles transitions his knee to the other side of the head, blocking it and keeping his partner from spinning. With his partner stuck in place, Giles can begin to drop in to the choke and squeeze for the finish. Be sure to keep a post with the leg that’s blocking the head. Putting the knee on the floor could cause you to get rolled as you try to finish. 

As you make your exit from knee on belly to continue pursuing the choke, its likely that your opponent will be framing on your hip. To eliminate this frame, Giles pommels his outside knee to the inside of the framing arm, pinning it to the mat. He then passes of the arm to his trailing foot and can continue on to pursue the submission unobstructed. For the finish, Giles places his head tot eh opposite side of the body, tightening the choke even further and commanding the tap. 

These are great techniques coupled with excellent instruction from Giles. Its in our best interest to learn some more creative ways to utilize the gi. These types of attacks can confuse your training partners and allow you to experiment with some new attacking scenarios. Give them a try! 

Lachlan Giles is one of the BEST teachers around. His YouTube channel has helped grapplers across the globe. The Guard Passing Anthology: Half Guard By Lachlan Giles is easily one of the best resources available ANYWHERE. Giles has world class technique matched with UNPARALLELED teaching ability!

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