No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu

Armbar

Category: Joint lock Rank: #3 Used Count: 480

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