WRISTLOCK

The wristlock is the joint lock attacking the wrist via flexion, extension, or rotation past its natural range of motion. Long considered a secondary submission in mainstream BJJ — often dismissed as "dirty" or unsportsmanlike — the wristlock has been rehabilitated in modern competition by Mikey Musumeci, Robert Drysdale, and a handful of other technicians who built entire competitive identities around its application. The IBJJF permits wristlocks only at brown belt and above in gi competition, and from purple belt in no-gi.

The technique has multiple variations: the flexion wristlock (bending the wrist forward past 90 degrees), the extension wristlock (bending the wrist backward), and the rotational wristlock (twisting the wrist axially). Each is set up from a different positional configuration — flexion is most common from closed guard when the opponent posts a hand, extension is most common from side control when the opponent frames against the chest, and rotation is most common in scrambles when the opponent's wrist becomes momentarily exposed.

Mikey Musumeci's IBJJF and ONE Championship career has prominently featured the wristlock, with his attack chain integrating wristlocks as primary finishes rather than secondary fallbacks. The technique has gained widespread acceptance in modern competition as one of the most efficient submissions for a smaller competitor against a larger one, since the wrist is structurally one of the weakest joints in the body and the lever required to break it is minimal compared to the leverage needed for other joint locks. Defensively the wristlock is escaped by relaxing the wrist (which removes the structural target), by rotating the elbow rather than the wrist, or by tap-to-grip when the lock has fully closed.