The Bicep Slicer is a good counter when your opponent defends the armbar. Sometimes, opponents can be stubborn when defending the armbar and hold on for dear life. One option from this position can be to switch to a bicep slicer.
The reason for this is that the slicer can create a quick and easy finish. If the armbar is not addressed, the opponent could potentially escape if the position is compromised. Not only is the slicer a submission on its own, but it’s also a good way to break the grip to attack the arm. In some circles, it is referred to as a bicep crusher.
Table of Contents
Setting up the Slicer
Imagine having your opponent’s arm but they’re holding onto their other arm to defend. The opponent may not even be trying to escape but especially if they’re strong they can stall in this position. Even if you isolate the arm they can still escape by doing the hitchhiker escape. This is where the bicep slicer becomes an option.
Firstly you should place your arm under the opponent’s arm. This should already be in place anyway by attacking the armbar. The next step is to bring your far leg over the opponent’s near side arm. From here you can then triangle your legs. With the leg over the opponent’s arm you can push down and lean backward as if trying to break the grip. This will put massive pressure on the opponent’s forearm and results in the slicer submission.
As an alternative, if the pain is that bad for the opponent, they may end up letting go of the grip. In this sense, the bicep slicer can act as a grip breaking technique to free the arm. This provides a simultaneous attack offering the slicer and grip break at the same time. Because of this, the opponent is put in a losing situation and their only options result in failure.
Finishing variations
There are some variations in finishing the bicep slicer. One way is moving your legs to the outside of your opponent’s head. Once the leg triangle has been applied, instead of keeping the legs over your opponent, you instead move to the side and lean back. The benefit of this is that it creates more pressure, however it also releases your legs from the opponent’s head.
This can allow them to posture up and start escaping, however this is a trade-off for gaining a more painful submission. With this in mind, it’s down to personal preference to keep the legs over the opponent’s head or off towards the side.
One benefit of learning the slicer from this position is that you will understand the mechanics of slicers as a result. For instance, you may eventually start hitting slicers from the bottom positions. Similarly, you may even start hitting calf slicers which are similar, yet focus on attacking the leg rather than the arm.
Are bicep slicers illegal in BJJ?
Bicep slicers are illegal under IBJJF rules up until brown belt. Because of this, in some gyms, you cannot attack bicep slicers until brown belt. However, in some gyms, they are legal for all so it is best to check before trying them. Normally, gyms will have the same rules applying to calf slicers too. In other words, if one is allowed then so is the other.
What does a bicep slicer do?
The reason bicep slicers are illegal is that they can cause long-term muscle damage if the opponent doesn’t tap. In some rare cases, they can even break the arm, so they are not just a ‘pain submission’ which is sometimes wrongly attributed to the move. In brief, they rely on crushing the muscles which puts them into the compression lock family.
Because of this, the aftermath of bicep slicers can be bad and some people are more willing to tough out the pain due to ignorance, hence why the move is illegal for many. Whilst bone breaks are rare, there is a possibility you could tear muscles from this lock, so it can still injure you for months if you refused to tap.
Having said this, slicers are legal in most sub-only competitions. Similarly in NAGA, they are allowed in the advanced category which generally means over 5 year of training. Although slicers may be banned under some rules, even when they’re legal, they are not a common sight in BJJ.
Should you attack the armbar instead?
At the highest level of BJJ and MMA, bicep slicers are seen as low percentage moves. This is because some people will stubbornly accept the pain and try to escape. This means you may have more time to escape a slicer submission compared to one which directly attacks the bone. Because of this, it’s more common to see top BJJ athletes attack the armbar instead.
However, at gym level the bicep slicer is a fine option and can still cause brutal damage. Overall it’s a good move to learn as an alternative to the conventional armbar. By having more surprise attacks available, your game will improve by becoming less predictable and diverse.
Having said this, the slicer is still a high percentage way to break the initial grip so it still has uses outside of it being just a submission. Even the toughest of people will eventually break their grip when being hit with a slicer. This means you can often chain between armbar attacks and slicers, depending on the opponent’s reaction.
