After Marcelo Garcia arm-dragged his way to ADCC glory back in 2003 the arm drag became one of the most powerful attacks from the guard in BJJ overnight. The arm drag is so successful nowadays at every level of competition that I'd go so far as to say it's a mandatory technique, especially if you train without the gi sometimes. A well-executed armdrag from the guard teleports you directly … [Read more...]
Arm Drag
Countering the Armdrag
Arm drags from the guard went supersonic when a little-known brown belt named Marcelo Garcia choked out four-time world champion Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro at ADCC 2003 in São Paulo, Brazil. It was over so quick! Here's the whole match... Marcelo winning this match (and then the whole division) was such an upset that thousands of grapplers, myself included, immediately started working on … [Read more...]
The Four Simplest Armdrags for BJJ and Submission Grappling
The armdrag is one of the most important attacks in BJJ and submission grappling. Not only does hitting the armdrag give you a route to your opponent's back, it's also a great probing attack that sets up a whole host of other techniques. The armdrag can be performed in both gi-based BJJ and no gi submission grappling. It was popularised in BJJ when Marcelo Garcia burst onto the scene in 2003, … [Read more...]
Top 10 Wrestling Moves for BJJ
by Jeff Meszaros In many ways, wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu are total opposites. The core concepts of the two sports run against each other, and what's a great idea in one art is often a terrible idea in the other. In wrestling, you do anything you can to avoid having your back put on the mat. But in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, people will often fall to their backs immediately to "pull guard" … [Read more...]
Standing Armdrag Attack
The standing armdrag to rear naked choke is one of the most powerful combos in jiu-jitsu, used with great success by GOAT Marcelo Garcia. Here's a step-by-step on how to do it! Go tap out one of your training partners for me! Stephan P.S. This technique is from the brand new 30 Second Fight Finishes instructional in app, DVD, and online streaming formats featuring Elliott Bayev and … [Read more...]
The BJJ Arm Drag
The arm drag is one of the most versatile BJJ techniques. You can use it to take the back, sweep your opponent, set up a barrage of chokes, sweeps and submissions, defend your guard, and even just spam your opponent so he's reacting to you rather than planning his own offense If you're thinking about adding the the arm drag to your game then starting in the butterfly guard is the way to … [Read more...]
Top 10 Throws and Takedowns for BJJ
I'll go ahead and say it: every practitioner should have at least a couple of throws and takedowns for BJJ. Yes, it's true that pulling guard is an option in sport BJJ competition, but ultimately this is a martial art, which means we have to at least occasionally consider the self defense aspects of what we're doing. Are you going to pull guard in a streetfight? Not bloody likely. In this … [Read more...]
Arm Drag from Reverse de la Riva Guard (Simple and Effective)
The Reverse de la Riva Guard is a variation of the regular de la Riva Guard, but with your inside leg entangling your opponent's lead leg instead of your outside leg. This picture should make it a little clearer what the difference is... Why Use the Reverse de la Riva? Most of the time players use both the regular and the reverse de la Riva positions, because they complement each … [Read more...]
An Easy Armdrag Defense
OK, this is a quick post because it's only a short video that I filmed right before training today... If someone tries to armdrag you they're usually gripping your triceps area with their cross hand and pulling you hard, trying to either get behind you or elicit a pulling reaction. And it's a legit threat, because a good armdrag can set you up for a number of things, including... The rear … [Read more...]
10 Key Techniques and Tactics of Marcelo Garcia
Marcelo Garcia is probably the most dominant jiu-jitsu athlete of the last 15 years. When he was competing he owned both the gi and the no gi divisions (4 x ADCC champion, 5 x Mundial World Champion). As if that wasn't enough, his amazing performances in the absolute division against giants like Ricco Rodriguez have ensured his place in grappling history. It’s always a good idea to … [Read more...]
Armdrag Counters
Q: "What are some simple ways to prevent armdrags as well as handle them once they're in process or completed?" A: Armdrags are a great tool to get behind your opponent or to set up other moves. They can be used on the ground (e.g. from the butterfly guard) or on the feet (e.g. to set up a tackle). They are simple, powerful and effective, and because of that they are also pretty popular, so … [Read more...]
Armdrag Adversity
The following question was submitted by a subscriber to the Grapplearts newsletter. Q: Do you have any tips/entries to the arm-drag? A: The arm drag is a great move (click here for an example of it at work). It works best when his arms are stiff, and/or he is driving into you.Anything you can do to make him do either of those things will help set up the armdrag. Try driving into him … [Read more...]