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

Armbar

Category: Joint lock Rank: #3 Used Count: 477

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