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Armbar defense: closed guard and mount

How to save your arm when they attack an armbar from closed guard or mount: hide the elbow, connect your hands, stack, rotate and pull out. Use it the moment an arm is isolated, and tap if it's straight and their hips lift.

In closed guard In closed guard

BJJ Beginners Tutorial - Armbar Defence from Closed Guard · Chess Club Jiu-Jitsu · YouTube · shown in the gi; the mechanics carry over

Step by step

  1. Prevent it: keep your elbows tight and inside. In their guard, hands on their hips with elbows in. Under mount, never push their chest with straight arms.
  2. Hide the elbow: the moment they isolate an arm, pull that elbow back to your ribs before they can swing a leg over.
  3. If they swing the leg over, clasp your hands together (or grab your own wrist) so they can't pull the arm straight.
  4. Stack them: come up onto your feet or knees and drive your weight forward and down, so their hips lift and their weight goes onto their shoulders. From mount bottom, sit up and turn into them to get there.
  5. Rotate your thumb down toward the mat so your elbow turns out of line with their hips, then pull the elbow out toward your own hip.
  6. Tap when your arm is straight and they lift their hips. Elbows can pop before it really hurts.

Details that make it work

  • Bent and tight beats strong. Once the arm is straight, strength won't save it.
  • Your weight is the escape. Stacking takes away the hip lift they need to finish.

Common mistakes

  • Pulling the arm straight back while they're still flat, which straightens it for them.
  • Waiting to see if it's really on before tapping.

Drill it

Partner attacks at 50% from guard and from mount: 5 escapes each side, each position. Then 3 × 1 min positional where they only hunt the armbar.

If it fails, or what comes next

Set it up from

This defends against

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