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What is an arm bar?

Author

Emily Ross

Published Jan 13, 2026

The arm bar is the most-used joint lock submission in MMA today and it very well may be the most used submission period. This submission is performed by placing your legs across your opponent's chest, with one of his arms between your thighs and with the elbow joint against your hips.

Do arm bars hurt?

One of the most basic moves in grappling, the armbar is also among the most painful.

Is BJJ an arm bar?

In BJJ, the armbar from the guard is a key stone technique. If you can master a single key stone technique, it will help you with the rest of your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

What is arm bar in jujitsu?

The armbar, also called cross armlock (judo), chave de braço in Portuguese, or ude hishigi juji gatame in Japanese; is a common grappling submission hold used to force the opponent to quit (tapout) thus ending a match in either jiu jitsu, judo or mixed martial arts (MMA).

How do you do the arm bar?

Armbar from spider guard

Straight the leg on the arm that you attack and turn your hips. Then kick off your foot as you pull their arm into you. There's already tension on their arm, so just bring your leg back over to get your armbar.

43 related questions found

What is an Americana submission?

The Americana, or "Americana Lock," is a submission tactic used in Brazilian jiu-jitsu whereby the practitioner of the move takes control of his/her opponent's arm and putting it in an "L" shape, making the elbow and shoulder joints vulnerable.

What is a triangle in BJJ?

The triangle choke occurs when the attacker wraps his legs around the opponent's neck (commonly) leaving one of the target's arms inside this “leg wrap” and another arm out. The pressure of the thigh across the neck will cause the blood flow to be disrupted leading the target to either submit (give-up) or pass out.

Why is the armbar so effective?

The arm bar is a very simple submission, often one of the very first techniques shown in many jiu-jitsu programs because it can be set-up and completed from just about every position on the ground. From your guard all the way to having the mount, some sort of effective arm bar is available to your arsenal.

Can the Kimura lock break an arm?

If dislocation does not occur, the bones of the forearm will be under a high amount of pressure. This pressure can result in the breaking of one or both of these bones. The Kimura Arm Lock is a very devastating hold.

What does a bicep slicer do?

The biceps slicer becomes most effective as a compression lock when the bony parts of the limb such as the shin or any of the bones in the forearm are forced into the biceps of the opponent.

How do arm bars heal?

Treatments include RICE:

  1. Rest. Rest allows the elbow joint time to heal. ...
  2. Ice. Applying an ice pack to the joint immediately after injuring the elbow alleviates pain and swelling. ...
  3. Compression. ...
  4. Elevation. ...
  5. Pain relief medications. ...
  6. Elbow brace. ...
  7. Surgery.

What is the most painful submission?

Here are the 25 most painful submission moves in the sport today.

  • Armbar. 8 of 25.
  • Wrist Lock. 7 of 25. ...
  • Ninja Choke. 6 of 25. ...
  • Banana Split. 5 of 25. ...
  • D'Arce Choke. 4 of 25. ...
  • Pace Choke. 3 of 25. ...
  • Rear Naked Choke. 2 of 25. ...
  • Arm-Triangle Choke. 1 of 25. This vicious blood choke has been used many times inside the Octagon. ...

What is a Kimura move?

Named after Masahiko Kimura, who used the move to defeat Helio Gracie who was one of the founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a Kimura is an double joint armlock, used in many mixed martial arts. This technique applies painful pressure on the opponent's shoulder and is difficult to escape.

Is Americana a shoulder lock?

The top shoulder lock, (Also known as the figure-four armlock, bent armlock, americana, keylock, V1 armlock, paintbrush, or ude-garami) is a grappling keylock technique in which both of the practitioner's arms isolate and cause flexion to the shoulder, elbow, and to a lesser extent the wrist of the opponent.

Is the Americana effective?

Although the Americana submission has found success in Jiu Jitsu and MMA, it is the less versatile and less commonly seen shoulder lock compared to its cousin the Kimura. The Americana has the potential to be a powerful technique that advances with the rest of your Jiu Jitsu journey.

Why is it called an Americana?

In the 1990s, radio programmers coined a new, related usage: "Americana" became a nickname for the weather-beaten, rural-sounding music that bands like Whiskeytown and Uncle Tupelo were making. It was warm, twangy stuff, full of finger-plucked guitars and gnarled voices like tires on a dirt road.

Is an armbar legal in basketball?

It's not legal for the player with the ball to use a hand/elbow/forearm to prevent a defender from attacking the ball. (FED 4-24-7; NCAA 4-34-5. The NCAA rule doesn't specifically address a defender attacking the ball, but it does say that you can't extend the arm to hinder the normal movement of your opponent.)

How do you counter a flying armbar?

Counters to a Flying Armbar

If you are doing a flying armbar when both competitors are standing, a common counter is to stack the armbar. It's a common mistake even for high-level competitors to pull out an armbar hoping to wiggle out the elbow out of its fulcrum.

What is a Kimura lock?

The kimura lock, also called double wristlock (catch wrestling), chicken wing or gyaku ude-garami (judo) is a grappling submission hold of uncertain origin, being catch wrestling and judo the likely authors of the position.

Who has the best arm bar?

It's an amazing hold that proves one person's limb, no matter how strong, will always lose to his opponent's entire body and the power of science. Ronda Rousey, the undisputed queen of the armbar, has brought the hold back to the forefront.

What is the difference between a Kimura and Americana?

The difference between the americana and the kimura lock relies on which way the forearm is pointing, if the forearm is pointing downwards (towards the hip) the position is called a kimura, when the forearm is pointing up it is called an americana.

How do you perform a guillotine?

More videos on YouTube

  1. From the standing position, pull your opponent's head down using a collar tie grip with one arm.
  2. Wrap your arm around and under your opponent's neck.
  3. Insert your opposite arm beneath the opponent's arm and grab your own wrist.
  4. Squeeze your elbow.
  5. Sit down, bringing your opponent to the ground.