How To Hit A Basic Arm Lock From The Guard: Part 1

Introduction: Catching A Basic Armbar From The Guard

Armlocks are an easy and effective submission to apply from a variety of positions. Stats have shown that the armlock is actually the second most successful submission in the UFC.

Moreover, the guard is a position with a lot of potential. There are a lot of sweeps and submissions that you can pull from guard. Some examples are the scissor sweep, the triangle choke, and the arm lock from the guard.

Today, we’ll be discussing this last move. The basic armlock from the guard is excellent for finishing a fight quickly. It’s a great technique to use in a number of situations and there are many ways to get this lock and many variations of it as well.

Let’s break down the steps to a just a very basic form of the armlock from the guard when an untrained tough guy tries to “hand choke” you.

Step 1: Grab your opponent’s wrist, under hook his leg, and swivel to the side

Start with your opponent in your guard. Assume he is getting desperate to find a way to get out of your legs, so he puts his hands down on your throat.

This is NOT a great jiu jitsu technique for him to use, and definitely not one you want to use yourself. However, it can actually be dangerous to you if you don’t know what to do because your opponent can actually choke you out from here.

To counter, first, take one arm and grab your opponent’s wrist.

With the other arm, under hook your opponent’s opposite side leg. This gives you enough leverage to be able to swing your body to the same side as the leg you under hooked. Pull yourself around at a perpendicular angle to your opponent.

Now, you are still holding onto his wrist, and you have his leg under hooked.

Step 2: Get Your Legs In Position

The next step is to bring both of your legs into position for finishing the lock. Once you’re on your side, you are going to swing your legs so that one is chopping down on your opponent’s neck, and the other is chopping down across his side.

From here, bring your opponent down with your legs.

Step 3: Finish By Lifting The Hips While Holding The Wrist Down Tight To Your Chest

You can now lift your hips while still holding your opponent’s arm. This will eventually snap his elbow- unless he taps, of course.

Conclusion: The Basic Armlock From The Guard

The basic armlock from the guard is an excellent technique for countering an opponent’s primitive choke attack from the guard. The steps for the basic version are first, grab the far wrist. Next, underhook the opposite leg. Third, pull your body around to a perpendicular position to your opponent while swinging one leg over his head and clamp down on his back with both legs. At this point you can release the leg you are underhooking and hold his wrist. Make sure his thumb is pointing up and slowing lift your hips as you squeeze him down in a “leg curl” fashion.The basic armlock technique applies the same principles as the other arm locks. This being true, always make sure you turn your opponent’s thumb up while executing this technique.

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