Category: Back

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How To Do A Twisting Arm Control Submission

The twisting arm control submission is an excellent BJJ attack that draws on a fundamental principle of Jiu-Jitsu and uses an opponent’s energy against them.

Mount is an extremely effective and dominant position in BJJ, but you may find yourself unable to finish a submission from mount due to your opponent’s strength, excellent defense, or escape attempts. In those cases, the twisting arm control submission is a useful transition to the back and the rear naked choke. 

Twisting arm control is a frustrating position for the bottom player, and many BJJ fighters will fall into this trap just to move out of the position. In MMA or a fight, the position leaves one of the top fighter’s hands free for punches, forcing the bottom fighter to escape or be knocked out.

This technique by the great Rener Gracie for his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy Youtube channel is part of the Gracie How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ guide.

Start: Mount

Step 1: Secure a cross-grip on one of opponent’s wrists and using your free hand to push their elbow, drag that wrist across their body to their opposite shoulder

Step 2: Lay your chest on the twisted arm and post your gripping hand into the mat to secure their arm in place

Step 3: Slide your free hand under opponent’s neck and grab their wrist, switching which hand has the grip

Step 4: Slide your back knee (the side that now has the grip on opponent’s wrist) up behind their shoulders and post front foot next to their stomach

Step 5: Pull opponent’s wrist towards you while pushing their elbow with your free hand, forcing them to turn away

Step 6: When opponent turtles (either out of frustration, to escape punches, or to avoid the discomfort of your heel digging into their stomach), abandon the twisting arm control and post both hands on the ground to get both hooks in and take the back.

Step 7: Slide one arm under opponent’s neck and through to other side, figure four your arms and reach free hand behind their head to finish a rear naked choke

Finish: Tap due to Twisting Arm Control Submission

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How To Do A Twister in BJJ

The BJJ twister is an absolutely brutal submission. The twister in BJJ involves twisting your opponent’s shoulders and hips in opposite directions, wringing their body out like a wet towel. Add in a crank to their neck to finish the submission and the pain is quickly too much. 

The twister BJJ submission is not allowed under IBJJF rules, but it is a legitimate submission in MMA, many no-gi grappling tournaments, and of course in a street fight (and what better way to win a street fight than a cool looking, utterly devastating and demoralizing BJJ submission like the twister?)

Start: Back

Step 1: Get one leg hook in

Step 2: Without a hook, figure-four the other leg over you hook-side leg’s ankle and hook that ankle under opponent’s trapped ankle

Step 3: Hook under opponent’s non-trapped side arm with your same-side arm (similar to the bottom of a seatbelt position)

Step 4: Weave your opposite-side arm underneath opponent’s hooker armpit

Step 5: Swim arm around top of opponent’s head and chain-grip hands together

Step 6: Pull opponent’s head in

Finish: Submission via twister

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How To Do A Bow And Arrow Choke in BJJ

The bow and arrow choke in BJJ is an essential submission for every Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter to have in their quiver (pun intended). This choke submission from the back is very strong and is a great option for when an opponent is very good at defending the rear naked choke. Being able to switch submissions between the bow and arrow choke and rear naked will keep your opponent on the defense and prevent them from working on escaping your back control, keeping you in charge of the roll.

Start: Back control with seatbelt control

Step 1: With top-side hand, grip opponent’s opposite lapel with a thumb in grip

Step 2: Step feet over so that side with grip is on outside of opponent’s hip and other side is across their body

Step 3: Shoot free hand underneath opponent’s arm and fall onto your back, letting free foot float up toward opponent’s head

Step 4: Grip opponent’s pant leg with free hand and cross feet

Step 5: Pull with both hand while pushing down with both legs

Finish: Submission via bow and arrow choke

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How To Do A Berimbolo Sweep in BJJ

The berimbolo sweep is a complicated sweep that provides a way to take an opponent’s back from a relatively neutral position of an open guard, a position many BJJ practitioners find themselves in without many options beyond playing a guard game that they are skilled at. This video breaks down the berimbolo sweep, which is a powerful option to take the back from an open guard in BJJ.

Plus you get to go inverted and look like a ninja, which is awesome.

Stephan Kesting from GrappleArts also shows two great drills to train your body to do the berimbolo sweep. Even if you aren’t dead set on learning the berimbolo, these drills are a worthwhile addition to your drilling for BJJ (and as we all know, you have to drill to win!)

Start: Seated, facing a seated opponent (after guard pull or during scramble)

Step 1: Get De La Riva hook (wind foot around outside of opponent’s shin and inside their thigh) with one leg

Step 2: Grip opponent’s trapped ankle or pant leg with the same-side hand as your hook

Step 3: Grip their belt with your other-side hand at the hip with the De La Riva hook

Step 4: Pull your head towards opponent’s hip on side of hook, inverting and rolling onto your shoulders

Step 5: Step your free foot onto opponent’s belly

Step 6: Switch ankle grip to opponent’s free leg

Step 7: Use ankle grip and De La Riva to spin opponent over, completing your roll and sweeping them onto their side with their back to you

Step 8: Drive knee into opponent’s trapped knee to prevent them from turning into you

Step 9: Climb or scramble onto opponent’s back

Finish: Back control

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How To Do A Rear Naked Choke (RNC) in BJJ

The rear naked choke or RNC is one of the most simple and effective chokes in BJJ. It’s also a natural, intuitive technique, unlike many in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Despite the intuitive nature and the fact that most people off the street understand the basic mechanics of the technique, there are details to the position that can mean the difference between straining your strength against your opponent’s skeleton and sinking in the RNC and getting the submission quickly.

Bas Rutten is one of the original stars of mixed martial arts and famously brought technique together with real world effectiveness to create a functional but effective style that can translate well to any situation.

Start: Back

Step1: With your hand flat, slide it under opponent’s chin, starting at the back

Step 2: Slide hand through opponent’s neck until it reaches behind opponent’s other trap 

Step 3: With your flat, underside hand, grab your topside bicep, push opponent’s head forward with topside hand

Step 4: squeeze arm together and pull shoulders back

Finish: Submission via RNC 

The rear naked choke is an essential BJJ submission and this technique is featured in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ guide.

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How To Get a BJJ Blue Belt – The Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt Requirements

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), getting a blue belt is one of the first major milestone accomplishments in your grappling career. It’s a sign that you have really learned BJJ to the point that you’re not a beginner anymore. Of course, your road is still very long, but it is a great accomplishment and one that most white belts are focused on in their grappling training.

A major problem for white belts is a lack of information on what you need to know to get your blue belt. Luckily, Gracie University Jiu Jitsu has published the basic requirements needed to be eligible for a BJJ Blue Belt in their system. This isn’t a checklist that guarantees you a blue belt (if you’re that desperate, you can always just buy a blue belt but that’s not really the point) but it is a list of the basic knowledge expectations for someone looking to get a BJJ blue belt.

Mount Techniques

There are four sections to the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt test: Mount Techniques, Guard Techniques, Side Mount Techniques, and Standing Techniques.