Grappling & BJJ techniques
Jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and the catch wrestlers who came first. 43 techniques below.
Clinch
3
An underhook slides your arm under the opponent's armpit and around their back. It lifts their shoulder, turns their body and gives you the inside…
The arm drag pulls the opponent's arm across their body while you step to the side, so they stumble forward past you and you end up on their side…
The snap down pulls the opponent's head sharply toward the mat from a tie-up, so they fall forward onto their hands and knees. From there you hold…
Defence
1
Positions
4
Closed guard is the bottom position with your legs wrapped around the opponent's waist and your ankles crossed. It controls their posture and…
2010–now
Open guard is any guard where your legs control the opponent without being locked around them: feet on the hips or biceps, hooks inside the thighs,…
A guard pass gets you past the opponent's legs from the top into side control or mount. Most passes share the same ideas: control the hips or legs,…
Back control means being behind the opponent with your chest on their back, usually with a seatbelt grip across their chest and your heels hooked…
Pins
4The mount is the top position where you sit astride your partner's torso with a knee on each side. In judo it becomes tate-shiho-gatame when you…
Side control pins your partner flat on their back from the side. You lie across them chest to chest, one arm under their neck and the other…
Kesa-gatame is judo's classic side pin. You sit beside your partner's chest, trap their near arm, wrap your other arm around their head and press…
Kami-shiho-gatame pins your partner from above their head. You lie chest to chest with your knees wide, slide your arms under their shoulders, grip…
Principles
3Kuzushi is breaking your partner's balance so they cannot resist your throw. In judo it is the first of three parts of every throw: kuzushi (break…
Ukemi is the art of falling safely. Judo teaches four breakfalls (rear, side, forward and the forward roll) that spread the impact over your arm,…
Kumikata is the way you take hold of your partner's jacket. In judo most attacks start here: the grip helps you control your partner and, under the…
Submissions
12
The guillotine is a front choke: wrap your arm around the opponent's neck so your forearm runs across their throat, lock your hands and lift. It…
The arm-triangle traps the opponent's head and one arm together, so their own shoulder presses into one side of the neck while your arm presses the…
The toe hold is a figure-four foot lock: grip the top of the opponent's foot near the toes, thread your other arm under their Achilles tendon and…
The heel hook traps the opponent's heel in the crook of your elbow and rotates it, twisting the knee rather than the ankle. It is one of the most…
The armbar traps your partner's arm between your thighs, holds their wrist against your chest and lifts your hips so the elbow is forced straight,…
The rear naked choke is a strangle applied from behind. One arm wraps the neck with the crook of the elbow under the chin, that hand grips your…
The triangle choke traps your partner's head and one of their arms inside a triangle made by your legs. One of your thighs and their own shoulder…
The kimura is a figure-four lock on the shoulder and elbow. You hold your partner's wrist, thread your other arm behind their upper arm, grip your…
The cross collar choke uses your partner's own jacket. You feed both hands deep into their collar with your forearms crossed, then pull your elbows…
The kneebar is an armbar for the leg: trap the opponent's leg between yours, hug it to your chest with their kneecap pointing at you, and extend…
2008–2023The straight ankle lock traps the opponent's foot in your armpit and levers your forearm into the Achilles tendon while your hips push forward,…
Okuri-eri-jime is judo's sliding collar strangle. It is applied from behind and uses your partner's own jacket: one hand reaches deep into the far…
Takedowns
6
A body lock wraps both arms around the opponent's torso and locks the hands, pulling their hips tight to yours. From it you can lift, tilt or trip…
The double-leg takedown drops under the opponent's guard, wraps both legs and drives them to the mat. It is one of the most common takedowns in…
The single-leg takedown captures one of the opponent's legs and uses it to take away their balance, then finishes by turning the corner, tripping…
1984–1992
The fireman's carry drops under the opponent's arm, takes their thigh and rolls them across your shoulders to the mat. It is fast, scores well when…
Morote-gari is judo's double-leg takedown. You drop your level, step between your partner's feet, wrap both arms around their legs above the knees…
Kuchiki-taoshi is judo's single-leg takedown, sometimes translated 'dead tree drop'. You step outside your partner's leg, grab it with one hand…
Throws
10
A suplex lifts the opponent from a tight body lock and throws them over by arching back and turning, so they land on their back and you land on…
1948–1982
Osoto-gari is the 'major outer reap'. You break your partner's balance back onto one heel, step deep beside that leg and reap it away from behind…
Ouchi-gari is the 'major inner reap'. You step in chest to chest, hook your leg around the inside of one of your partner's legs and sweep it out…
Kouchi-gari is the 'minor inner reap'. You catch your partner's heel from the inside with the sole of your foot and flick it forward just as their…
2005–2019
Kosoto-gari is the 'minor outer reap'. You drive your partner's weight back onto one heel, then sweep that heel away with the sole of your foot…
Kosoto-gake is the 'minor outer hook'. You drive your partner's weight back onto one leg, hook that ankle or calf from the outside with your own…
De-ashi-barai is the 'advancing foot sweep'. You wait for your partner to take a step, then sweep that foot along its path at the instant their…
Okuri-ashi-barai is the 'sliding foot sweep'. You herd your partner sideways until their feet come together, then sweep both feet in the direction…
Sasae-tsurikomi-ashi is the 'supporting-foot lift-pull throw'. You pull your partner forward in a circle, block the leg they are stepping onto with…
Harai-tsurikomi-ashi is the 'lift-pull foot sweep'. You lift and pull your partner forward onto their toes, then sweep their front ankle backward…
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