The armbar is a staple move used throughout Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It can be attacked from the bottom via guard, or on top whilst using positions such as side control and mount. One of the most effective entries into the armbar is by gaining the Kimura grip whilst in side control. This can be used to dominate your opponent’s arm and get you into the armbar position.
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Entry into the Kimura grip
To begin with, it is essential to get your opponent turned on their side, facing away from you. This can set up various attacks, such as back takes. However, we will primarily be focusing on the armbar in this article. To get your opponent on their side you can use various methods.
The first method is by faking an Americana. By reaching over to the opponent’s far arm and gripping it, they may react by bringing their other arm and connecting it to the threatened arm. In doing this, they have to adjust their body position which tilts them towards their side, facing away from you.
Another method of getting the opponent on their side is by applying brutal shoulder pressure. Some people refer to this as ‘the shoulder of justice’. It is basically when you put your near shoulder into the neck or jaw of the opponent. This pressure can even lead to its own submission if the pain is unbearable, or if it starts choking the neck. However, usually the opponent will turn away to alleviate the pressure. Like the Americana threat, this opens up the opponent and forces them to face away from you.
To complete the Kimura grip, you then want to grip their near arm which will be available due to the position of the opponent. On their side, their arm will be freely available and accessible to grip. By getting the figure four grip on their arm, you have successfully controlled the opponent’s arm and can now move on to turning it into an armbar.
Finishing the armbar
To finish the armbar, you then want to kick your top leg over the opponent’s head. This is the most important leg to use as it pins their head down and disables the opponent’s option to posture up. With the top leg over their head, you can then sit back with the Kimura grip still intact. At this point the opponent will now be fighting to avoid getting submitted by the armbar.
The second leg placement is optional. You can kick it over their chest so it’s adjacent with your other leg. Alternatively, you can tuck it into their body. However, the first leg over their head is essential as it controls their bodies movement. One tip from here is to straighten this leg out and force the opponent’s head into the ground. By doing this you are further breaking their posture. This concept is the same as the shoulder pressure method mentioned above. In doing this, you force your opponent to look away with makes their escape methods much harder.
To start finishing the armbar, there are various methods at hand. One method is to switch your grip from the Kimura to using the crook of your forearm against the opponent’s grip. By using the bottom of your forearm, you are fighting their hands which means you immediately have a strength advantage. By leaning back you put pressure on the opponent’s arm which means eventually their grip will break.
Once their hands are no longer connected, you can take the arm with you. To finish the armbar you need to have the opponent’s pinky finger pointing into your body or legs whilst hipping upwards to put pressure on the arm. Remember during sparring not to apply the armbar too quickly as otherwise, you can hurt your training partner.
Summary
The side control armbar is a fundamental move from the top position. By using the Kimura grip it adds control, as well as the option to take the back. Elsewhere you can even finish by going to the north-south position and using the Kimura to submit. Another alternative is by ignoring the Kimura completely and simply underhooking the opponent’s arm to begin with to lead into the armbar.
In short, there are lots of options from getting the opponent on their side, but perhaps the Kimura grip-to-armbar is the most secure and effective method for getting a submission.
