It’s often said that you should focus on high percentage moves in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Another term for this is to do the fundamentals. These moves are things which work on all belts, shapes and sizes. In brief, it’s moves like a bow and arrow choke or an armbar which are tried and tested. So, what about low percentage moves? These can be categorised as moves which won’t often work and can also be seen as gimmicky. Another way of putting this is that they don’t work against higher belts or stronger opponents.
It’s easy to submit a white belt with a flashy move, but if you constantly fail with this move against a better opponent, then it may be low percentage. In brief, there are just somethings which you should probably avoid when rolling. Having said this, some of these low percentage moves will sometimes work against good opponents if you catch them out. Whilst this happens, if it’s still very rare then these moves can still be seen as low percentage.
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Are Slicers low percentage?
To date, there’s not really a slicer specialist in BJJ, or at least not at the higher levels. Not only this, but I don’t think these moves have ever really been hit at ADCC or Worlds. From memory, perhaps one or two have happened in the UFC. Whilst these moves are taught and can be effective in the gym, they’re really not fantastic against better opponents.
It should be noted that slicers can actually break limbs, and they can also seriously damage your muscles and nerves if held for a long period. In short, they are not a joke and can cause real damage. Having said this, some people can seemingly see out the pain and eventually escape the positions. Other practitioners such as Dean Lister have shown that subtle movements can also relieve the pressure of a slicer.
In defense of the slicer, you can occasionally see it hit at black belt level in competition. With this in mind, it’s not awful. However, in terms of percentages – it isn’t in the same league as something like a kimura or darce choke. Because of this, it has to be deemed as a low percentage move. Until someone hits it regularly or it features at the higher levels, this move will continue to be seen as something which works in the gym and the occasional competition – but isn’t really something of substance either.
Armless triangles/leg scissors
These moves are very low percentage and unlike slicers aren’t up for debate. Sometimes, you can see videos where people drill a move where a triangle choke is hit without either of the opponent’s arms inside. This is sometimes referred to as a copacabana choke.
Whilst this may catch out a newbie, it’s fundamentally flawed against a good opponent. Counters to this can include heavy stacking and using your arms to pry open the legs. In short, if you don’t panic then you can get out quite quickly. Of course, if you panic then tight legs against your carotid arteries can lead to a choke.
Similar to this is the leg scissors. Although leg scissors are slightly more high percentage, the actual chance of hitting this move is quite slim. Unlike armless triangles, leg scissors have the benefit of being hit from the top position. Even with gravity on your side, it takes quite a delicate positioning of the legs to hit this choke. Again, as your opponent has two arms free, they can use this to escape.
Like the copacabana submission, you will rarely see this move hit with success outside of the gym. Other triangle variations also include the buggy choke or fly trap from bottom side control. Although these moves may work as a one-off, percentage-wise they are very low.
Ankle locks from the back
Instead of trying to escape the back position, some people will try and trick their opponent and hit an ankle lock. Again, this will work in the gym against lower belts but most over blue belt will know how to defend this. Firstly, you can avoid crossing your feet on the back or have them in a side or high angle to avoid them getting trapped.
Secondly, you can easily defend this ankle lock from pushing forward on the opponent’s head which relieves pressure. As a result, this submission is very low percentage. Although it’s worth teaching as a hail mary and learning the defense is very important, sadly this move is fairly redundant against good opposition.
Shin and rib locks
Some forms of grappling teach shin and rib submissions. To hit these, you need perfect positioning and to have pinned the opponent perfectly. Similar to the ankle lock from the back – the shin lock requires giving your opponent your back. Some people will counter this by pulling your arms which can then expose your neck. In short, the idea is to try and escape the back instead of submit from your worst position. Rib submissions are from a similar background but often require substantial strength over your opponent. With this said, these two submissions rarely work against people similar to you or bigger than you.
Chokes from the bottom position
To establish this, we mean chokes from ‘bad’ positions such as bottom mount or side control. Some people will try hitting sneaky Ezekiel chokes or baseball chokes from here. Whilst Magid Hage successfully mastered the baseball choke from a passed guard, no one else has really shared this success. Similarly, Alexei Olenik has hit nogi Ezekiel chokes from bottom mount however this isn’t really common.
Whilst these moves may look stylish on social media – the truth is they very rarely work. For instance, if someone defends the choke properly then you can end up in a terrible position. Just because something works once in fifty attempts, it doesn’t mean it’s worth pursuing. Instead, you should focus on the basics and try to claim positional dominance before hitting submissions.
Thoughts on low percentage moves
One thing that most of these submissions have in common is that they often sacrifice position before submission. For instance, instead of trying to escape bad positions – some people will try to attack from there. This is a lazy way of training as you need to develop escapes from bad positions. If you tap a white belt from bottom mount then it may be a novelty, however trying it against a better opponent will be less successful.
In summary, trying these moves may be fun as a rarity but focusing on the fundamentals is a bigger issue in terms of progression and trying to improve as a grappler.
