Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is divided into two forms of submitting the opponent. These include choking the opponent unconscious and breaking bones. We have already looked at the total number of chokes in BJJ, however, we have not focused on the total number of joint locks that are used in BJJ. Here is a list that includes all of the different joint locks and brief analysis of what they involve.
Upper body joint locks
Neck crank – Typically done from the back mount position, the neck crank is similar to the Rear Naked chin but attacks the jaw. If held hard and long enough, it can break the jaw and even the neck.
Twister – The Twister is a spinal lock where the position is a variation of back mount. Whilst twisting the head and shoulders one way, the attacker twists the lower body in a different direction. This results in the spine snapping if enough pressure is applied.
Kimura – Also known as the double wrist lock, the Kimura is when the practitioner gets a two vs one grip on the opponent’s forearm. This leads into the arm being dragged behind the opponents back which leads to the shoulder socket being ripped from the shoulder and arm
Armbar – This is when the arm is straightened out and is trapped in between the attacker’s legs. From here it is hyperextended and snaps at the elbow joint, breaking the arm if pulled far enough.
Wristlock – There are many variations of the wrist lock. This involves bending the wrist beyond its physical limit and can require twisting it towards the side. The result is a broken wrist if it is moved too far
Tarikoplata/Baratoplata – These are common variations of the Kimura which involve using your legs to finish the move. The Kimura relies mostly on upper body pressure to isolate and bend the arm, whereas the Tarikoplata and Baratoplata also include using your legs to get the same result.
Omoplata – This is another shoulder lock that bends the opponent’s arm forwards. However, unlike the other shoulder locks, it mostly relies on using your legs to bring their shoulder forwards whilst using your arms to keep the opponent pinned.
Americana – The Americana is a key lock similar to the Kimura. Often done on from side control whilst pinning the opponent, your one arm moves their arm up whilst the other pins the same arm down. This puts pressure on the elbow and can break it if done hard enough.
Mir Lock – This is similar mechanically to the Americana. However, it is done from a bottom guard position such as half guard or closed guard. This involves using your hips to bridge out and add pressure to the opponent’s elbow.
Straight Armlock – From various positions, the Straight Armlock is a versatile attack. This involves straightening the opponent’s arm out to create hyperextension. It can be done by a Kimura grip or by pressing both hands into the opponent’s elbow and pressing downwards.
Bicep Slicer – Commonly mistaken as a pain submission, the Bicep Slicer can break the bone on the forearm. This works by entangling your opponent’s arm in between your arms or legs and applying pressure. It is quite difficult to break the bone but can be achieved if enough pressure is applied.
Kasa Gatame hold – Used in Judo, this move is also referred to as scarf hold. Typically used as a pinning position, it can also be used to apply pressure on the opponent’s ribs. If done with enough weight and the right technique, it can break the opponent’s ribs.
Lower body joint locks
Straight Ankle lock – Also referred to as the Botinha or Achilles lock, this is done by creating a leg entanglement. The next step is to wrap your arm around the opponent’s foot under your armpit. From then you lean back to create tension, resulting in the ankle eventually snapping.
Heel hook – Similar to the Straight Ankle lock, the attacker instead puts the opponent’s toes into their armpit and rests the heel on their forearm. Then twisting the heel inwards, this creates tension on the opponent’s heel and knee, resulting in the possibility of a broken ankle and/or knee.
Knee bar – This involves trapping your opponent’s leg with your own legs, similar to an armbar. From there you hip into the opponent’s knee whilst bending their foot backwards. This puts pressure on the knee and eventually breaks the knee if done hard enough.
Toehold – By getting a Kimura grip on the opponent’s toes, you then twist the foot away from their body. This puts pressure on the ankle joint. With enough extension, the opponent’s ankle or knee can eventually break.
Caio Terra Ankle lock – This is a variation of the Achilles lock. However, it involves a different leg entanglement. This differs in having one of your legs over the opponent’s shin which puts further pressure on their ankle.
Estima Lock – Used by the Estima brothers, this is done by forcing your opponent’s outer ankle into your stomach. Mechanically similar to the toe hold, it creates force on the ankle and can be used to break the foot.
Calf Slicer – Also known as a calf crusher, this has a similar setup to the bicep slicer. Again, this involves an entanglement around your opponents leg. It is also mistaken as only being a pain submission. If the pressure is hard enough then it results in breaking the leg at the knee.
Shin lock – Mostly a catch wrestling move, it is rarely used in BJJ. This involves putting your leg or shoulder onto the opponent’s shin and using your other hand to pull their ankle upwards. With the leg pinned it puts pressure on the shin which can result in the shin or ankle breaking.
Aoki lock – This is cross between a straight ankle lock and a heel hook. With a similar position, instead of bending the heel inwards, you fall back as if attacking an Achilles lock. This finishes by snapping the ankle if applied with enough force.
As seen, there are a total of 21 different joint locks in BJJ. Interestingly, 9 of these are lower body submissions whilst 12 attack the upper part of the body. This shows that there are roughly an equal amount of submissions for each part of the body even though most people aim for upper body submissions.
It should also be noted that many of these submissions are illegal under different rule sets. Although they are all legal under submission only rules, the likes of Heel Hooks and Twisters are illegal under most IBJJF rule sets. As well as this, there may be some variations that have been missed off or similar moves under different names.
