Kneebar
Submission · Leg Locks
An armbar for the leg: his knee is straightened over your hips against the joint. It comes from the saddle when he straightens his leg to hide the heel from the heel hook. Hug his leg with both arms, heel by your shoulder, ankle tight to your chest so he cannot bend the leg. Put your hips just above his knee on the back of the thigh, pinch the thigh between your legs and lie back with the leg along your body. Keep his kneecap pointing up, away from your hips; if it turns sideways the extension bends the knee to the side, not against the joint. Finish by pulling the ankle back toward your shoulder and extending the hips slowly. If he turns the knee sideways, switch to the inside heel hook. Brown and black belt only under IBJJF: the knee has little room before injury.
How to do it
- Hug their leg with both arms, their heel by your shoulder, and pull the ankle tight to your chest so they cannot bend the leg or pull it back.
- Put your hips just above their knee, on the back of the thigh, and pinch their thigh between your legs. The knee joint must sit just past your hips: your hips are the pivot.
- Keep their kneecap pointing up, away from your hips. If it turns sideways, turn the leg with your arms until it points up again.
- Lie back with the leg along your body, keeping your knees squeezed, so their thigh is pinned and only the lower leg can move.
- Finish: like an armbar, pull the ankle back toward your shoulder and extend your hips slowly forward into the back of the knee. The knee straightens over your hips; stop at the tap.
Key details
- Your hips go just above their knee, not below: the joint must be past the pivot, otherwise the leg just bends.
- Their kneecap points up: only then does the extension bend the knee against its joint instead of to the side.
- Hug the ankle to your chest: the ankle is the end of the lever, and if it moves, they bend the knee and pull out.
- Extend slowly: the knee has very little room between full straight and injury.
- Keep his leg high and stacked, the heel up: if it drops, he sits up and starts prying your legs apart.
Common mistakes
- Hips below the knee. — There is no pivot, so the leg just bends. — Slide up until the knee is just past your hips.
- Not hugging the leg. — A loose ankle lets them pull the leg free before you extend. — Hug the ankle tight to your chest with both arms, heel by your shoulder.
- The kneecap turned sideways. — The extension goes to the side of the joint: there is only pressure, no lock. — Turn their kneecap to face up before you extend.
- Locking a triangle with your legs. — The triangle leaves space around his knee, he turns it sideways and the kneebar is gone. — Squeeze your inner thighs together with the heels down, as in an armbar, then pull the ankle and bridge.
If they defend
- They sit up and grab your foot. → Finish faster, or roll with them to keep the angle.
How to drill it
Kneebar entries from ashi and 50-50, 6 each side; finish only on a partner who taps early.
Safety
Brown and black belt only under IBJJF. Extend very slowly: the knee has little warning.
What comes next
Where it comes from