The ‘surprise armbar’ escape from side control is great technique for two reasons. First, it’s a a totally valid escape that’s actually much easier to do than it looks, and second, it trains many of the movements and adjustments you need to master in order to do other, more conventional escapes like the elbow-knee escape from side control. Check out the full pin escapes program here: https://www.grapplearts.com/PinEscapes!

Good luck with your training,
Stephan Kesting