🔍
Armbar - No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Technique & Submission | Nogipedia

No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu

Armbar

Category: Joint lock Rank: #3 Used Count: 510

Overview

The armbar is one of the most classic and effective submissions in grappling. Applied by isolating the opponent’s arm, securing control of the shoulder line, and extending the elbow against the hips, it creates a powerful joint lock that can force an immediate tap. Its mechanics are simple, reliable, and usable at every level, making it one of the cornerstone attacks in jiu-jitsu.

In modern no-gi, the armbar is part of a broader attacking system built around breaking posture, controlling the shoulders, and using constant threats of back exposure, triangles, and off-balancing to isolate the arm. High-level athletes often chain failed armbar attempts with leg entanglements. Its versatility and high success rate make it a staple submission from guard, mount, back control, and scrambles.

Common Applications

  • From closed guard: Break posture, isolate the arm, angle the hips, and extend through the elbow while controlling the opponent’s shoulder line.
  • From mount: Step over the head, fall to the side while maintaining arm isolation, and finish with tight hip extension and controlled wrist positioning.
  • From back control or triangle setups: Threaten the strangle or triangle to force defensive reactions, then transition directly to the armbar as the opponent exposes their arm.
  • During scrambles: Catch the arm when the opponent posts, reaches, or frames, turning their defensive movement into a controlled extension. This is often done with the use of the Choi bar.

Related Techniques

Choi bar, Omoplata, Triangle

ARMBAR ATHLETES (RANKS 1–20)

Rank Athlete Count
1 Adele Fornarino 15
1 Dante Leon 15
2 Mateusz Szczecinski 12
3 Deandre Corbe 11
3 Jasmine Rocha 11
4 Haisam Rida 10
4 David Garmo 10
5 Max Hanson 8
5 Ffion Davies 8
5 PJ Barch 8
5 Mica Galvao 8
6 Fabricio Andrey 7
6 Gordon Ryan 7
6 Roberto Abreu 7
6 Dominic Mejia 7
6 Keith Krikorian 7
6 Roberto Jimenez 7
6 Kenta Iwamoto 7
6 Jon Blank 7
7 Aurelie Le Vern 6
7 Alexandre Ribeiro 6
7 Joao Miyao 6
8 Ana Mayordomo 5
8 Amanda Bruse 5
8 Kendall Reusing 5
8 Mason Fowler 5
8 Helena Crevar 5
8 Michael Sainz 5
8 Morgan Black 5
8 Andrew Tackett 5
8 Vagner Rocha 5
8 Gianni Grippo 5
9 Renato Canuto 4
9 Josh Cisneros 4
9 Alan Sanchez 4
9 Brianna Ste-Marie 4
9 Felipe Pena 4
9 Alex Enriquez 4
9 Ross Nicholls 4
9 Grace Gundrum 4
9 Daniel Sathler 4
9 Jason Rau 4
10 Frank Rosenthal 3
10 Shawn Melanson 3
10 Felipe Costa 3
10 Oliver Taza 3
10 Aaron Johnson 3
10 Carlos Henrique 3
10 Kaynan Duarte 3
10 Charles Negromonte 3
10 Julian Espinosa 3
10 Davis Asare 3
10 Roosevelt Sousa 3
10 Izaak Michell 3
10 Achilles Rocha 3
10 Elizabeth Mitrovic 3
10 Lucas Barbosa 3
10 Cole Abate 3
10 Felipe Machado 3
10 Sarah Galvao 3
10 Elijah Carlton 3
10 Lachlan Giles 3
10 Giancarlo Bodoni 3
10 Placido Santos 3
10 Fellipe Andrew 3
10 Marcelo Garcia 3
10 Mayssa Bastos 3
11 Elisabeth Clay 2
11 Derek Rayfield 2
11 Yuri Simoes 2
11 Meyram Maquine 2
11 Beatriz Mesquita 2
11 Maria Clara Cardoso De Abreu 2
11 Margot Ciccarelli 2
11 Abraham La Montagne 2
11 Luccas Lira 2
11 Lucas Pinheiro 2
11 Lily Houben 2
11 Nicholas Meregali 2
11 Javier Barter 2
11 Gabrielle Garcia 2
11 Nikolay Vetrov 2
11 Owen Jones 2
11 Paulo Miyao 2
11 Garry Tonon 2
11 Faris Ben-Lamkadem 2
11 Craig Jones 2
11 John Combs 2
11 Ryan Aitken 2
11 Gavin Corbe 2
11 Samuel Nagai 2
11 Fabian Ramirez 2
11 Ethan Crelinsten 2
11 Jeremy Skinner 2
11 Sirena Allen-de Guzman 2
11 Jett Thompson 2
11 Kade Ruotolo 2
11 Ingridd Sousa 2
11 Bobby Sandhu 2
12 Kieran Kichuk 1
12 Adam Benayoun 1
12 Almog Britch 1
12 Anabel Lopez 1
12 Ana Lima 1
12 Andre Galvao 1
12 Andrew DeGraff 1
12 Andy Murasaki 1
12 Andy Varela 1
12 Anton Minenko 1
12 Bartosz Lukaszewicz 1
12 Bella Mir 1
12 Bernardo Faria 1
12 Bradley Schneider 1
12 Brandon Reed 1
12 Caroline Vinhaes 1
12 Chloe Roberts 1
12 Chris Wojcik 1
12 Danielle Kelly 1
12 Declan Moody 1
12 Diogo Reis 1
12 Dylan Benningfield 1
12 Eddie Cummings 1
12 Eliazar Guardiola 1
12 Emily Leyva 1
12 Eoghan O'Flanagan 1
12 EoghanO'Flanagan 1
12 Espen Mathiesen 1
12 Fabyury Khrysthyan 1
12 Ffion Davis 1
12 Francisco Lo 1
12 Gabriel Brod 1
12 Gabriel Sousa 1
12 Gairbeg Ibragimov 1
12 Gase Sanita 1
12 Geo Martinez 1
12 Hayden Bailey 1
12 Helder Rodrigues 1
12 Igor Tanabe 1
12 Indy Briar 1
12 Jacob Couch 1
12 Jadeya Reber 1
12 Jake Straus 1
12 Jansen Gomes 1
12 Jayden Groner 1
12 Joao Assonitis 1
12 Johnny Tama 1
12 Jonnatas Gracie 1
12 Josh Hinger 1
12 Josh Saunders 1
12 Joshua Squires 1
12 Jozef Chen 1
12 JT Torres 1
12 Keenan Cornelius 1
12 Kevin Beuhring 1
12 Kody Steele 1
12 Kostiantyn Zhyvanov 1
12 Kron Gracie 1
12 Lara Dempsey 1
12 Layla Szymanska 1
12 Liam Urwin 1
12 Liisi Vaht 1
12 Marco Mendes 1
12 Marcus Almeida 1
12 Max Gimenis 1
12 Mikey Musumeci 1
12 Nathan Haddad 1
12 Nick Mataya 1
12 Nicky Ryan 1
12 Nicole Evangelista 1
12 Paige Borras 1
12 Pedro Machado 1
12 Raajus Dewan 1
12 Roger Gracie 1
12 Salla Simola 1
12 Savion Maranon 1
12 Sean Yadimarco 1
12 Sebastian Attard 1
12 Sergio Rios 1
12 Shay Montague 1
12 Tainan Dalpra 1
12 Tammi Musumeci 1
12 Tarik Hopstock 1
12 Taylor Ellis 1
12 Taylor Pearman 1
12 Tommy Langaker 1
12 Travis Haven 1
12 Tye Ruotolo 1
12 Victor Hugo 1
12 Vitoria Vieira 1
12 William Tackett 1