Arm Drag to Back
Transition · Butterfly Guard
From seated butterfly guard, when he reaches for your collar or posts a hand, this takes you from in front of him to his back. Grab his wrist and pull the arm across your body, and with your other hand grab high behind his triceps, up near the armpit, not at the elbow. Come up on a knee as you drag, tuck your elbow and turn your chest toward the mat so your weight hangs on his arm and he cannot posture up and pull it out. Move your body around him, not him around you: step your lead foot around his side, scoot your hips there and climb to his back, chest tight to his shoulder, then the seatbelt and the hooks. Pulling while staying seated, or with your chest up to the ceiling, lets him yank the arm back and face you again.
How to do it
- As they reach for grips, grab their wrist and pull it across your body.
- Grab behind the triceps with your other hand, high up near the armpit, not at the elbow; this grip is what holds the arm across you.
- Take the weight off your seat and come up on a knee as you drag, hanging off their arm to pull yourself to their side and stepping your lead foot around their side.
- Scoot your hips to the side and climb to their back, moving your body around them rather than them around you.
- Put your hooks in and lock the seatbelt grip across their chest.
Key details
- Move your body around them, not them around you: you are lighter to move than their whole base.
- The triceps grip pulls the arm across and keeps it there; the wrist alone slips back.
- Come up on a knee as you drag, with the weight off your seat, hanging off their arm to pull yourself to their side.
- Step your lead foot around their side as you drag, so you end beside them, not in front.
- Turn your chest toward the mat, not the ceiling, and tuck your elbow behind their triceps: your weight hanging on the arm is the wedge that stops them posturing up and pulling it back.
Common mistakes
- Pulling without moving. — If your body stays still, they pull the arm back and face you again. — Scoot your hips to the side as you drag so you end beside them.
- Grabbing the wrist only. — The wrist alone does not hold the arm; it slides back to their body. — Add the triceps grip: it holds the arm across your body.
- Staying seated. — You cannot reach their back from the mat. — Come up on a knee as you drag.
If they defend
- They turn to you. → Their weight comes onto you: butterfly sweep in the direction they turn.
- They pull the arm back hard. → The pull brings the head down: guillotine.
How to drill it
Arm drag to the back from seated butterfly, 10 each side; then the partner turns in on half of the reps.
What comes next
Where it comes from