Learn Some Leglocks From Side Control

Ricardo Cavalcanti is a BJJ black belt under Carlson Gracie himself and with nearly 50 years of grappling experience, he has more knowledge of the sport than most people on the planet and he’s happy to share some of his most effective leglocks from Side Control. Cavalcanti is an important figure in BJJ, having been awarded his black belt all the way back in 1995 and being one of the preferred coaches and training partners of former UFC Heavyweight World Champion and submission specialist, Frank Mir.

The leglocks that Cavalcanti goes over in the above video all stem from a common situation, being in Side Control on an opponent and them putting their closest foot to the opposite knee, framing against your hip with the closest knee in order to prevent you from moving across to mount. He then traps that leg between his own leg by stepping up to his foot, while using his arm to reach back and hook over the leg.

Once the leg is isolated, he then shoots the standing leg through to the far-side hip and slides the other leg in order to get better control over the opponent’s leg, as he then sits back and extends the leg with his arms. This then puts him in the perfect position to finish the Kneebar, but as Cavalcanti explains, there’s another way to finish the same Kneebar and the option for a Toehold as well.

For more content from Ricardo Cavalcanti, click here to follow his official YouTube Channel.

Side Control Leglocks

Alex Lindsey

Alex Lindsey is the managing editor here at Grappling Insider. Originally starting training in MMA in 2008, injuries and university slowed progress until he decided to put on a gi for the first time back in 2015.

Alex Lindsey has 367 posts and counting. See all posts by Alex Lindsey