The armbar from the closed guard is one of the fundamental and highly effective submission techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and mixed martial arts. It involves hyperextending your opponent’s elbow joint by controlling their arm and applying pressure. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to successfully perform an armbar from the closed guard:
1. Establish a Strong Closed Guard:
- Begin by being on your back with your opponent inside your closed guard. Your legs should be wrapped around your opponent’s torso, ankles crossed behind their back, and your hips should be close to theirs. Maintain a strong grip on their collar or sleeves to control their posture.
2. Control Your Opponent’s Posture:
- To set up the armbar, it’s crucial to break your opponent’s posture. Use your legs, hips, and grips to pull them forward, making it difficult for them to sit up or posture up.
3. Isolate and Control the Arm:
- Choose one of your opponent’s arms to attack. Most commonly, you’ll target their lead arm (the arm closest to your head). Use your opposite hand (if attacking the left arm, use your right hand, and vice versa) to control their wrist and guide their hand across your centerline to the opposite side of your body.
4. Secure a Solid Angle:
- As you control their wrist and guide their hand across, angle your hips slightly to the same side as the arm you’re attacking. This will create a perpendicular angle relative to your opponent, which is essential for the armbar.
5. Trap the Arm:
- With your hips angled and their arm across your body, use your legs to secure the arm by hooking the back of their triceps with your same-side leg. Your calf should be pressing against the back of their arm, pinning it to your chest.
6. Control Their Head:
- To prevent your opponent from stacking you or posturing up, maintain control of their head by either gripping their head or collar with your free hand or by placing your same-side foot on their hip and pushing away.
7. Shift Your Hips and Torque the Arm:
- This is the crucial step in completing the armbar. While maintaining control of their wrist and trapping their arm with your legs, shift your hips out to the side (away from the trapped arm) while bringing your opposite leg (the one not trapping the arm) over your opponent’s face and neck. Your inner thigh should be pressing against their face.
- As you extend your hips and leg, it will create significant torque on your opponent’s arm, hyperextending their elbow joint.
8. Squeeze Your Knees and Maintain Control:
- As you apply pressure with your hips and leg, ensure that your knees are squeezed tightly together around your opponent’s arm. This will add extra pressure and control.
- Keep a firm grip on their wrist to maintain control throughout the submission.
9. Finish the Submission:
- Once you have extended their arm to its limit and feel the tap or sense that the arm is about to break, release the pressure immediately to avoid injury. Your opponent should tap to signal submission.
It’s important to practice this technique under the guidance of an experienced BJJ instructor to ensure that you perform it safely and effectively. The armbar from the closed guard is a versatile submission that can be used to attack both arms and is a valuable tool in your BJJ arsenal.
