Armbar from Guard
Submission · Closed Guard
The classic armbar from closed guard: it hyperextends the elbow over your hip bone. It comes when their posture is broken and they straighten the trapped arm or push into you. Pin that wrist to your chest with both hands, open the guard, foot on their hip on the side of the free arm, and pivot until your body is almost at 90 degrees to theirs; keep the other leg high across their back with your hips off the mat. Swing the hip leg over their head, keep it heavy on the face and pinch the knees on the arm. Turn their thumb up so the elbow points at your hips, then pull the wrist to your chest while lifting the hips slowly. If they pull the elbow out, go to the omoplata; if they stack you, roll to the belly-down armbar.
How to do it
- Control the wrist of one arm with both hands and keep it pinned on your chest, while the closed guard pulls them in so they cannot posture.
- Open the guard, put the foot on their hip on the side of the free arm and pivot until your body is almost perpendicular to theirs; if you need more angle, shrimp and grab your own shin to pull yourself around.
- Put the other leg high across their back, hips lifted off the mat, so their posture stays broken while you climb.
- Swing the hip leg over their head and keep it heavy on the face; pinch your knees tight around the arm.
- Turn their thumb toward the ceiling so the elbow points down at your hips and sits over your hip bone.
- Finish by pulling the wrist down to your chest while you lift your hips slowly into the elbow, knees pinched.
Key details
- Angle first: your body should be almost at 90° to theirs before the leg goes over, otherwise the leg cannot reach the face.
- Knees pinched on the arm the whole time; a gap lets the elbow slip out.
- Thumb up means the elbow points down to your hips: that is the breaking line where the joint cannot bend away.
- Keep your hips off the mat while you climb: lifted hips are heavy on their back and stop the posture.
- The finish is two forces at once: the wrist goes down to your chest while the hips rise, with the elbow over your hip bone as the fulcrum.
- Gain the shoulder first: the leg on the trapped-arm side goes high over their shoulder and stays there; while it is on the shoulder they cannot push away, so the leg over the head comes only when you are ready.
Common mistakes
- Swinging the leg without an angle. — Square to them, the leg cannot reach the face and they posture out. — Shrimp and grab your own shin if you need to pull the angle.
- Finishing with the thumb sideways. — The elbow bends sideways and the lock does not bite. — Turn the thumb to the ceiling before lifting the hips.
- Letting the knees open. — With space between the knees they stack you and pull the elbow out. — Squeeze the knees and keep the leg on the face heavy.
- Winging the leg wide over the head. — The big swing opens space and they pull the head and elbow out. — Shave the leg tight across their face, then pinch the knees and clamp the heels down.
If they defend
- They stack you and push forward. → Switch to the triangle: the stack puts the head right where your legs are.
- They grip their own hands (a defensive lock). → Break the grip with your leg or push on the wrist; or go to the omoplata.
How to drill it
Armbar-triangle-armbar chain on a cooperative partner, 10 reps, then start from a real guard pass attempt.
Safety
Lift the hips slowly: the elbow gives way suddenly and the partner has little time to tap. Release at the first tap.
What comes next
Where it comes from