Side Body Lock

You want to pull the hips tight towards you to maintain control and prevent them from having too much space, which would make it harder to pass their knee line and weaken your grip pressure. According to Absolute MMA St Kilda, you need to ensure you're past the waistline but not positioned too high.

Use an S-grip with your palm facing up on the hand closest to the leg, and position your tricep and armpit as high as possible on the leg so you can apply weight through your forearm and body rather than your hands. Absolute MMA St Kilda emphasizes that the deeper your hand goes, the more pressure you can apply to pull the knee away from the chest.

The body lock connects your hands to your opponent in a way that sticks you together and makes it much harder for them to create space or escape with techniques like underhooks or cross faces, making it one of the most effective methods for passing the guard.

The Side Body Lock subfamily covers positions where the attacker locks the grip around the opponent's torso from a lateral position, with the attacker's hip against the opponent's hip. The side body lock creates a unique mechanical dynamic where the attacker can use their hip as a fulcrum for rotational throws and takedowns, leveraging the lateral angle to topple the opponent sideways.

Side body lock positions have been part of wrestling systems as transitional clinch positions that occur naturally during body lock scrambles. The position gained recognition as a distinct clinch category as coaches identified reliable offensive techniques available from the lateral angle.

Unified MMA: legal — Legal — clinching is integral to MMA; IJF: legal — Legal — kumi-kata (grip fighting) is fundamental to judo; IBJJF: legal — Legal — standing grip fighting and clinch work permitted; IFMA: legal — Legal — the clinch is a core element of Muay Thai, clinch dominance is highly…; WBC/Boxing: restricted — Holding is technically a foul — referee breaks clinch, excessive holding resu…; K: restricted — 1/GLORY — One attack from clinch allowed, then referee breaks; WAKO: restricted — Clinch generally broken by referee — limited or no clinch fighting in most fo…; UWW: legal — Legal — clinch is fundamental to wrestling, the primary position in Greco-Roman

Danger rating 4/10. Moderate — body clinch positions enable throws and takedowns; rib compression risk

The standard setup chain: Close Distance → Secure Both Arms → Clasp Hands → Hip Drive.

Standard counters include: Pummeling — fight for inside position by swimming arms under opponent's grips / Frame and Push — create distance using forearm frames against the chest or neck / Grip Break — systematically strip the opponent's controlling grips / Posture Up — straighten the spine and drive the hips forward to break clinch control.

Common variants: Front body lock (locked hands around the torso face-to-face); Rear body lock (hands locked around the torso from behind); Side body lock (angled body lock for trips and throws); Over-arms body lock (locking over both arms to pin the opponent's arms to thei…).

The side body lock is used in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling to attack from an angular position, setting up lateral trips and lateral drop throws in competition.

Top errors to watch for: Not pressing your hip into the opponent's hip — without hip contact, you have no throwing fulcrum / Wrapping too loosely — the lock must be tight to prevent the opponent from turning to face you / Not attacking immediately — the side position is transitional; the opponent will try to face you or turn away / Standing too upright at the side — bend your knees and get your hips below theirs.

The Side Body Lock is also known as Saido Bodi Rokku, Side Bear Hug Lock, Lateral Body Lock, Yoko-Kumi.