SUBMISSIONS
The submission is the ultimate objective of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Each entry covers mechanics, defenses, and the practitioners who mastered the technique.
REAR NAKED CHOKE
Mata Leão
The rear naked choke, known in Portuguese as mata leão (lion killer), is the highest-percentage submission in all of combat sports and the canonical finish from…
BOW AND ARROW CHOKE
Estrangulamento Arco e Flecha
The bow-and-arrow choke is the gi-only equivalent of the mata leão and the most-used back-finish in IBJJF competition. Named for the body posture of the attacke…
GUILLOTINE CHOKE
Guilhotina
The guillotine is a frontal headlock choke executed by trapping the opponent's head and one arm against the attacker's chest while the choking arm wraps the thr…
STRAIGHT ANKLE LOCK
Chave de Tornozelo Reta
The straight ankle lock is the entry-level leg attack and the only leg lock legal at every IBJJF belt level from blue belt onward. It targets the Achilles tendo…
HEEL HOOK (INSIDE SANKAKU)
Chave de Calcanhar (Sankaku Interno)
The inside heel hook is the most controversial and the most efficient submission in the modern grappling game. By rotating the opponent's foot away from the cen…
OMOPLATA
Omoplata
The omoplata is the shoulder lock executed by trapping the opponent's arm between the bottom player's legs and using a forward rotation to drive the trapped sho…
ARM TRIANGLE (KATA-GATAME)
Triângulo de Braço
The arm triangle, called kata-gatame in judo, is a blood choke that uses the opponent's own shoulder to compress one carotid artery while the attacker's bicep c…
NORTH-SOUTH CHOKE
Estrangulamento Norte-Sul
The north-south choke is Marcelo Garcia's signature submission and one of the most uniquely-finished techniques in modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. From the north-so…
D'ARCE CHOKE
Estrangulamento D'Arce
The D'Arce choke is the front-headlock blood choke in which the attacker threads one arm under the opponent's near armpit, around the back of the neck, and fini…
TOE HOLD
Chave de Pé (Toe Hold)
The toe hold is the leg-lock technique that rotates the opponent's ankle inward and downward, transmitting torque through the talofibular ligaments and into the…
KNEEBAR
Chave de Joelho
The kneebar is the joint lock attacking the knee by hyperextending the leg with the attacker's hips as the fulcrum. The mechanics are structurally identical to …
ANACONDA CHOKE
Estrangulamento Anaconda
The anaconda choke is the front-headlock blood choke that threads the attacker's arm around the back of the opponent's neck and under the far-side armpit, then …
LOOP CHOKE
Estrangulamento de Laço
The loop choke is the gi strangulation that uses the opponent's own collar as a noose, looped around the back of the neck and pulled across the carotid arteries…
BRABO CHOKE
Estrangulamento Brabo
The brabo choke is the gi-specific cousin of the D'Arce choke, using the opponent's own lapel as the choking blade instead of the attacker's bicep. From side co…
MOUNTED TRIANGLE
Triângulo da Montada
The mounted triangle is the figure-four leg strangulation executed from the top mount position, with the attacker's legs closing around the opponent's head and …
CROSS-COLLAR CHOKE FROM GUARD
Estrangulamento Cruzado da Guarda
The cross-collar choke from closed guard is one of the four canonical closed-guard submissions in the Gracie curriculum, paired with the armbar, triangle, and k…
CALF SLICER
Compressão de Panturrilha
The calf slicer is the compression lock that traps the opponent's calf muscle between the attacker's shinbone and the opponent's own thigh, applying compressive…
REVERSE TRIANGLE
Triângulo Invertido
The reverse triangle is the figure-four leg strangulation executed from a side-on top position, with the attacker's legs closing around the opponent's head and …
WRISTLOCK
Chave de Punho
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…
OUTSIDE HEEL HOOK
Chave de Calcanhar Externa
The outside heel hook is the leg-lock technique that rotates the opponent's foot outward (away from the centerline), transmitting torque through the ankle into …
TWISTER
Twister
The twister is the spinal lock developed by Eddie Bravo as the signature finish of the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu system. The technique combines a leg-trap from the …
BUGGY CHOKE
Buggy Choke
The buggy choke is the unusual defensive submission executed from underneath side control, where the bottom player uses a triangle-like figure-four of the arms …
ESTIMA LOCK
Estima Lock
The Estima lock is the foot-lock variant developed and popularized by Brazilian brothers Victor and Braulio Estima in the late 2000s. The technique combines ele…
SULOEV STRETCH
Suloev Stretch
The Suloev stretch is the hamstring and lower-back compression lock developed by Russian fighter Amar Suloev in the late 1990s and refined through the modern no…
BULLDOG CHOKE
Bulldog Choke
The bulldog choke is the front-headlock blood choke executed by trapping the opponent's head and neck against the attacker's hip or chest with one arm while the…
CLOCK CHOKE
Estrangulamento Relógio
The clock choke is the gi-specific blood choke executed against a turtled opponent in which the attacker walks around the opponent's body in a clockwise directi…
BANANA SPLIT
Banana Split
The banana split is the compression and stretching submission in which the attacker spreads the opponent's legs in opposite directions to apply force on the hip…
MIR LOCK
Mir Lock
The Mir lock is the rotational shoulder lock named after MMA heavyweight Frank Mir, who used the technique to win his UFC Heavyweight Championship via submissio…
AOKI LOCK
Aoki Lock
The Aoki lock is the wristlock variation named after Japanese MMA and submission grappling specialist Shinya Aoki, who used the technique extensively in Pride F…
CERVICAL LOCK (NECK CRANK)
Cervical
The cervical lock — typically called a neck crank in English — is the submission category in which force is applied to the cervical spine to produce pain and st…
MARCELOTINE (HIGH-ELBOW GUILLOTINE)
Marcelotina
The Marcelotine is the variation of the guillotine choke developed and popularized by Marcelo Garcia in the mid-2000s. The technique uses a closed grip with the…
CRUCIFIX CHOKE
Estrangulamento do Crucifixo
The crucifix choke is the gi-specific blood choke executed from the crucifix position, in which the attacker uses one of the opponent's own collars (or the atta…
HAMMERLOCK
Hammerlock
The hammerlock is the shoulder lock in which the attacker rotates the opponent's arm behind their own back, applying hyperextension force on the shoulder joint.…
LOCKDOWN HYPEREXTENSION
Hiperextensão do Lockdown
The lockdown hyperextension is the leg-lock submission executed from the 10th Planet lockdown half guard, in which the bottom player uses the figure-four leg tr…
INVERTED TRIANGLE FROM MOUNT
Triângulo Invertido da Montada
The inverted triangle from mount is the variation of the mounted triangle in which the figure-four configuration is reversed, producing a strangulation from the…
SPINNING ARMBAR FROM SIDE CONTROL
Chave de Braço Giratória da Cento por Cento
The spinning armbar from side control is the canonical armbar transition from a top side-control position, in which the attacker rotates 180 degrees around the …
FAR-SIDE KIMURA
Kimura do Lado Oposto
The far-side kimura is the kimura variation applied to the opponent's far arm from side-control or north-south position, in which the attacker reaches across th…
TOP WRISTLOCK (TWL)
Mão-de-Vaca (TWL)
The top wristlock (TWL) is the canonical wristlock submission in BJJ, in which the attacker grips the opponent's hand and rotates the wrist past its normal rang…
ANACONDA CHOKE FROM SPRAWL
Anaconda da Sprawl
The anaconda choke from sprawl is the canonical front-headlock blood choke variant in which the attacker, having sprawled on a failed shoot from the opponent, c…
INSIDE HEEL HOOK
Chave de Calcanhar Interna
The inside heel hook is the highest-percentage submission in modern no-gi grappling and the strategic centerpiece of the Danaher Death Squad / New Wave / B-Team…
GOGOPLATA
Gogoplata
The gogoplata is the rare submission in which the attacker uses the attacker's own shin or instep to choke the opponent by pressing the shin against the opponen…
CALF CRUSH
Calf Crush (Esmagamento da Panturrilha)
The calf crush is the compression-lock variation of the leg-attack system in which the attacker uses the attacker's own shin or tibia to compress the muscle and…
INVERTED TRIANGLE
Triângulo Invertido
The inverted triangle is the variation of the triangle choke in which the figure-four leg configuration is established with the attacker's body positioned 180 d…
MONOPLATA
Monoplata
The monoplata is the rare shoulder-lock variation in which the attacker uses a single-leg omoplata-style configuration to attack the opponent's shoulder joint f…
ARMBAR FROM MOUNT
Chave de Braço da Montada
The armbar from mount is the canonical armbar attack from the top mount position, in which the attacker uses S-mount or high-mount geometry to swing one leg ove…
BARATOPLATA
Baratoplata
The baratoplata is the rare shoulder-lock submission developed by Rafael 'Barata' Freitas, in which the attacker uses a modified omoplata-style configuration fr…
FAR-SIDE ARMBAR
Chave de Braço do Lado Oposto
The far-side armbar is the canonical armbar attack from side-control top in which the attacker isolates and attacks the opponent's far-side arm (the arm farthes…
GOGOPLATA FROM MOUNT
Gogoplata da Montada
The gogoplata from mount is the rare variation of the gogoplata choke applied from a mounted position rather than from rubber guard. The technique uses the atta…
ARM TRIANGLE FROM MOUNT
Arm Triangle da Montada
The arm triangle from mount is the canonical variation of the kata-gatame blood choke applied from a mounted position rather than from side control. The techniq…
BANANA SPLIT SUBMISSION FINISH
Finalização da Banana Split
The banana split submission finish is the painful compression-lock submission that forces the opponent's legs into a hyperextended split position, with the fini…
BICEP SLICER
Bicep Slicer (Biceps Crusher)
The bicep slicer is the compression-lock submission in which the attacker uses one of the opponent's own arms or one of the attacker's body parts to compress th…
CROSS CHOKE FROM CLOSED GUARD
Estrangulamento Cruzado da Guarda Fechada
The cross choke from closed guard is the canonical gi-specific blood choke from the closed-guard position, using both of the attacker's hands gripping the oppon…
HIGH-ELBOW GUILLOTINE
Guilhotina Cotovelo Alto
The high-elbow guillotine is the modern variation of the guillotine choke developed and popularized by Marcelo Garcia. The technique uses a closed-grip configur…
WRISTLOCK FROM CLOSED GUARD
Mão-de-Vaca da Guarda Fechada
The wristlock from closed guard is the canonical wristlock variation applied from the closed guard position. The technique exploits the opponent's wrist positio…
CROSS-COLLAR CHOKE FROM MOUNT
Estrangulamento de Gola Cruzada da Montada
The cross-collar choke from mount is the canonical gi-specific blood choke from the mounted position. The technique uses both of the attacker's hands gripping t…
D'ARCE CHOKE
Estrangulamento D'Arce
The D'Arce choke is the front-headlock blood choke variant in which the attacker threads one arm under the opponent's near armpit and across the opponent's neck…
ARM TRIANGLE FROM SIDE CONTROL
Arm Triangle da Cento por Cento
The arm triangle from side control is the canonical variation of the kata-gatame blood choke applied from the side-control position. The technique uses the oppo…
ARM-IN GUILLOTINE
Guilhotina com Braço Dentro
The arm-in guillotine is the variation of the guillotine choke in which one of the opponent's arms is trapped inside the guillotine wrap alongside the head. The…
MOUNTED ARMLOCK
Chave de Braço Montada
The mounted armlock is the canonical armbar finish from the mounted position, using the spider-web geometry that S-mount or high-mount positioning produces. The…
WRISTLOCK FROM MOUNT
Mão-de-Vaca da Montada
The wristlock from mount is the wristlock variation applied from a mounted position, typically against an opponent who has reached up to defend other submission…
STANDING REAR-NAKED CHOKE
Mata Leão em Pé
The standing rear-naked choke is the variation of the RNC applied while both competitors are standing rather than from a seated back-control position. The techn…
LEG TRIANGLE (SANKAKU-JIME)
Triângulo de Pernas (Sankaku-Jime)
The leg triangle (sankaku-jime in Japanese) is the canonical triangle choke variation in which the attacker uses the figure-four leg configuration to compress t…
FAR-SIDE KIMURA FROM SIDE CONTROL
Kimura do Lado Oposto da Cento por Cento
The far-side kimura from side control is one of the most-attempted shoulder-lock submissions in modern competitive BJJ. The technique uses the figure-four kimur…
OMOPLATA FROM CLOSED GUARD
Omoplata da Guarda Fechada
The omoplata from closed guard is the canonical shoulder-lock entry from the closed-guard position. The technique uses the bottom player's leg threaded over the…
BASEBALL BAT CHOKE FROM TURTLE
Estrangulamento Beisebol da Tartaruga
The baseball bat choke from turtle is the canonical gi-specific blood choke applied to an opponent in turtle position. The technique uses both of the attacker's…
CRUCIFIX CHOKE
Estrangulamento do Crucifixo
The crucifix choke is the gi-specific blood choke executed from the crucifix position, in which the attacker uses one of the opponent's own collars (or the atta…
KIMURA FROM HALF-GUARD
Kimura da Meia-Guarda
The kimura from half-guard is the canonical shoulder-lock attack from the bottom half-guard position. The technique uses the figure-four kimura grip to attack t…