49 Most Effective BJJ Submissions and Techniques

Written by Jeff Campbell in At Home Training,Jiu-Jitsu Last Updated January 26, 2023

Submissions are one of the most important aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since they provide instant dominance to those who successfully submit their opponent. But how many are there, and what are the best ones to know? Let’s review the BJJ submissions list.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is a martial art that teaches you how to defeat a bigger and stronger opponent.

Since it was adopted from Judo in the early 1900s, BJJ is a young martial art that is continually growing. Many submissions from other grappling sports, such as Wrestling and Judo, have been included.

Keep reading to find out the most effective BJJ submissions and techniques.

1. Rear Naked Choke

The Rear Naked Choke is a basic grappling technique in which the practitioner uses their forearms to immobilize and crush the opponent’s neck from behind.

The back control is an advantageous position where the practitioner has power over their opponent from behind while utilizing their feet and hands, which is where the rear naked choke commonly occurs in BJJ.

The Rear Naked Choke is also known as the rear naked strangle, mata leo in Portuguese, and hadaka-jime in Judo.

2. Triangle Choke

The Triangle Choke is an essential grappling submission completed with the practitioner’s legs and the opponent’s arm.

The Triangle Choke originated in Judo, but it has become a standard BJJ submission due to its versatility to be performed from various positions and in both gi and no-gi situations.

It is most usually started from the closed guard; however, it is also possible to start from:

  • Mount
  • Standing
  • Half guard
  • Back control

3. Guillotine

The Guillotine is a flexible submission that compresses the opponent’s neck with the practitioner’s arms, commonly from a closed guard position.

The guillotine choke is one of the first submissions that many white belts learn. It may be done from several positions, including mount, open guard, and even standing. It can also be done in both gi and no-gi.

4. Bow and Arrow Choke

This is one of the most well-known Jiu-Jitsu submissions. The bow and arrow choke is one of the most powerful in BJJ and one of the tightest among Gi chokes.

You gain many points before you even get to set it up since it operates from the rear. To complete, wrap one hand around the neck and grip the collar with the thumb pointing in.

The body is positioned so that you end up like a T in respect to your opponent’s torso, and you may hold the Gi trousers at knee level as if firing a bow.

It is legal for everyone but only worth considering if you are wearing a Gi.

5. Ezekiel Choke

The Ezekiel Choke is a sleeve choke in which the practitioner wraps their forearms over their opponent’s neck and leverages himself with their own sleeves.

It is a flexible choke and one of the few alternatives for submission from within an opponent’s closed guard.

It is based on the Judo choke sode-guruma-jime, which Brazilian Judo Olympian Ezequiel Paraguass popularized in BJJ.

6. North-South Choke

The North-South Choke is a choke that employs the use of the practitioner’s bicep over the opponent’s neck, as well as back pressure on the opponent’s head.

As the name implies, this is done from a north-south posture, which is a variant of side control in which both players’ feet face in opposite directions.

In most cases, the north-south choke is started from side control.

7. Cross Collar Choke

When a practitioner clutches their opponent’s collar with both hands crossing over each other, they are doing a Cross Collar Choke. To finish the choke, the practitioner pulls the opponent towards them, bends the wrist bones towards the opponent’s neck, and flares the elbows.

Because of its simplicity and efficacy, the cross collar choke is one of the first chokes a novice BJJ student will learn. Like many other BJJ submissions, the cross collar choke has Judo roots, with the technique known as the nami-juji-jime or normal cross strangle.

8. Baseball Bat Choke

The Baseball Bat Choke is a collar choke in which the practitioner’s hands grab the opponent’s collar the same way that a baseball bat would be gripped. After that, the practitioner turns their body while maintaining the hold, resulting in a tight blood choke.

The Baseball Bat Choke can be done in a variety of ways, including:

  • Bottom half guard
  • Side control
  • Knee on belly

9. Crucifix Choke

The Crucifix Choke is identical to the rear naked choke; however, it is done with only one arm and from the crucifix posture.

The crucifix position, which resembles a Christian cross, is a form of back control posture. It involves wrapping the practitioner’s legs over one of the opponent’s arms and shoulders and their arms around the opponent’s neck and other shoulder.

The Crucifix Choke is generally used when your opponent is in the turtle position. In addition to chokes, armlocks may be utilized to submit an opponent in the crucifix position.

10. D’Arce Choke

The D’Arce is an arm triangle variant that employs the practitioner’s forearm in conjunction with the opponent’s own arm and shoulder. It is inspired by the brabo choke, a gi-based choke that exploits the opponent’s lapel.

The D’Arce choke is typically used from the following positions:

  • Side control
  • Turtle
  • Half guard

11. Loop Choke

The Loop Choke is a collar choke in which the practitioner’s free arm is used to finish the choke by going behind the opponent’s neck. It is frequently used to counter a guard pass.

The loop choke, like other collar chokes, is adaptable and can be done from a number of positions, including:

  • Open guard
  • Closed guard
  • Side control
  • Turtle

12. Clock Choke

When facing a turtling opponent, the clock choke is a collar choke. When the practitioner grips their opponent’s collar, lays their hips or chest on the back of their opponent’s head, and then moves towards their head, they are doing this technique.

As previously stated, the collar choke can be used against an opponent in the following situations:

  • Turtle
  • Side control

13. Thrust Choke

The Thrust Choke is achieved by pulling the opponent’s lapel tight over their neck while thrusting their fist into their opponent’s neck.

The Thrust or Thrusting choke, also known as tsukkomi-jime in Judo, can be initiated as part of a guard pass, from within a guard, or from a mount.

14. Arm Triangle

The Arm Triangle is a choke that involves wrapping the practitioner’s arm around the opponent’s neck and finishing with the opponent’s shoulder. It generally begins with the practitioner mounted and ends with the practitioner dismounted.

Arm triangles can be started from several different places, including:

  • Mount
  • Side control
  • Closed guard

15. Peruvian Necktie

From the turtle posture, this is a version of the arm triangle. The Peruvian Necktie employs the practitioner’s legs on top of the opponent’s head and back to finish the choke and the arms.

16. Step Over Choke

This collar choke employs a leg to step over the opponent’s head to effectively tighten the choke, commonly from topside control.

The Step Over Choke can also be initiated from the following positions:

  • Turtle
  • Knee on belly

17. Anaconda Choke

The Anaconda Choke is a version of the arm triangle choke that completes the choke with the practitioner’s arms and the opponent’s shoulder.

The Anaconda Choke is similar to the D’arce Choke, but it varies in that it includes a rolling motion to finish the choke after the practitioner’s grips have been secured.

The Anaconda Choke may be started from any of the following positions:

  • Turtle/front headlock
  • Open guard

18. Japanese Necktie

A comparable head and arm choke to the D’arce choke. To finish the choke, the Japanese Necktie employs the practitioner’s arms and chest on the back of the opponent’s head, as well as the opponent’s own arm and shoulder.

Depending on how it is worn, the Japanese Necktie may function as both a crank and a choke.

As previously stated, the Japanese Necktie can be done from:

  • Side control
  • Turtle
  • Half guard

19. Paper Cutter Choke

The Paper Cutter Choke is a collar choke that is completed by passing the practitioner’s forearm across the opponent’s neck, generally from topside control.

The Paper Cutter Choke has a reputation for being a submission that many people do not see coming because of how it is set up.

20. Gogoplata

The Gogoplata is a more uncommon submission that involves choking the opponent using the practitioner’s foot and hand (or collar). The way the leg and foot wrap over the opponent’s shoulder and neck is sometimes misinterpreted as a surrender that necessitates flexibility.

In both gi and no-gi, the Gogoplata may be done from a variety of positions, including:

  • Closed guard
  • Rubber guard
  • Mount

21. Brabo Choke

From the top half guard, a lapel choke is usually used. The top practitioner must release the opponent’s lapel, grasp the bottom of it, wrap it around the opponent’s neck, and swap grips to finish the Brabo Choke.

The Brabo Choke can be done in a number of ways, including:

  • Half guard
  • Side control
  • Closed guard

22. Lapel Half Nelson

From the side mount, a collar choke is applied. The practitioner must loop one arm over the opponent’s neck to hold their lapel with one hand while the other arm threads under the opponent’s arm and behind their neck to finish the Lapel Half Nelson.

23. Von Flue Choke

A choke in which the practitioner drives his or her shoulder into the opponent’s neck. When attempting to defend against a guillotine in topside control, the Von Flue choke is commonly used.

Because of how it is administered, the Von Flue Choke may often catch an opponent off guard.

24. Monoplata

The Monoplata is a shoulder lock that leverages the practitioner’s legs to trap the arm and accomplish the submission.It usually begins from mount or ¾ mount.

The Monoplata is a rather adaptable submission that can be started from any of the following positions:

  • Mount
  • Spider guard
  • Failed triangle
  • Guard passing

25. Americana

The Americana operates like a Kimura, but with the opposite arm bent. Given the orientation of the arm, it is a submission that is only available to top positions. When you hold a figure-four grip on the wrist, you get an Americana, this time the other way around.

Your elbow protects their neck, and your grasp protects their elbow. Simply pull the back of the palm over the mats towards the opponent’s hips on the same side for a finish.

Americanas may be performed from side control, mount, or top half guard, and there are no constraints on who can do them. They work well with and without a Gi, just like all other armlocks.

26. Kimura

The Kimura is a basic BJJ submission in which the practitioner controls the body while pushing one of their opponent’s arms behind their back and beyond their natural range of motion.

The Kimura, like the Americana, focuses on the shoulder joint. After Masahiko Kimura, a Japanese judoka, submitted the legendary Hélio Gracie and fractured his arm with this technique in 1951, it became known as the Kimura.

27. Armbar

The Armbar is a simple yet effective submission in which the opponent’s elbow joint is hyperextended. It does this by isolating the opponent’s arm while controlling their body with the practitioner’s legs, hips, and hands.

It is one of the first submissions that most BJJ students learn, and it is also one of the most adaptable.

28. Cutting Armbar

The Cutting Armbar is a version of the normal armbar in which the practitioner traps their opponent’s arm with their head and shoulder and their opponent’s shoulder with their knees. The submission is completed by applying pressure on the rear of the opponent’s upper arm.

29. Bicep Slicer

The Bicep Slicer, also known as the bicep crusher, is a submission in which the opponent’s bicep is squashed between the practitioner’s shin and forearm bones. Because of the ease of setup, it is frequently employed as a response to an armbar defense.

Bicep Slicers are only permitted in IBJJF contests for brown belts, black belts, and other higher belts.

If you are interested in knowing all about the different belt levels in BJJ, I wrote about it in a recent article. I cover all the belt levels for both kids and adults, all the way from white belt to black belt. And I get into when and how kids transition from the kid’s belt system to the adult belt system.

Click on the link to read it on this website.

30. Omoplata

The Omoplata is a shoulder joint lock in which the practitioner traps and controls one of their opponent’s arms with their legs.

Similar to a Kimura, the practitioner sits up to spin the opponent’s shoulder past its normal range of motion to complete the submission.

31. Wrist Lock

Wrist Locks are submissions that target the wrist by extending, flexing, or rotating it beyond its usual range of motion.

In order to accomplish a good wrist lock, the practitioner must first immobilize the opponent’s forearm and elbow, then force the palm back or forward, depending on the posture.

32. Mir Lock

The Mir Lock is an Americana version of the guard in which the opponent’s arm is immobilized by an overhook.

Frank Mir made it famous when he utilized it from open guard to submit his opponent Pete Williams in UFC 36.

33. Hammerlock

The Hammerlock is a wrestling shoulder lock in which the opponent’s arm is turned and pushed behind their back.

The Hammerlock is frequently begun in BJJ from the turtle position, as well as from positions like the cross-body ride.

34. Banana Split Hip Lock

The Banana Split is a hip lock that is commonly performed in the turtle posture. The practitioner must capture one of the opponent’s legs with their own legs while trapping the other leg with their arms. This permits the practitioner to separate his or her legs and induce a painful hip lock.

35. Electric Chair

Eddie Bravo of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu popularized the Electric Chair, which is both a sweep and a groin-stretch submission from half guard. It starts with a lockdown, which is a half-guard posture in which the bottom half guard player locks one of their opponent’s legs with both of their legs.

Off-balancing your opponent with your hands and then grabbing your opponent’s opposite leg and keeping it on your shoulder to finish is how the submission is done.

36. Straight Ankle Lock

A simple foot lock submission that targets the ankle joints and Achilles tendon is the straight ankle lock.

It is done when the practitioner uses both of their legs to immobilize one of their opponent’s legs, wraps their arm around their opponent’s foot, and then arches the back to hyperextend the foot down and away from the leg.

37. Squirrel Lock

The Squirrel Lock, the sneakiest of all arm lock Jiu-Jitsu submissions, relies on the legs to get the tap.

However, this time, the bottom side control is the preferred position, resulting in a very unexpected submission. The setup takes some practice and experimentation, but you are executing a Kimura by tying your far arm to your knees.

The submission can be completed from the bottom up, or it can assist you in rolling over to the top to complete it.

38. Kneebar

The Kneebar is a leg and knee submission that aims to hyperextend the opponent’s knee joints, inflicting agony and injury to the menisci and ligaments.

The practitioner must immobilize one of their opponent’s legs while securely grabbing their opponent’s foot and maintaining the shin near to their own chest in order to achieve a kneebar.

The practitioner pushes and stretches against the opponent’s knee to complete the submission.

39. Suloev Stretch

When it succeeds, the Suloev Stretch is a highly specialized submission that is deadly. It is put together from the back.

You want to obtain a grasp on one leg against a turtled opponent so that you may entirely extend it. Because you are behind the individual, the hamstring muscle is under a lot of strain.

In fact, this submission has the potential to shatter the muscle, so proceed with caution.

40. Tarikoplata

Tarik Hopstock, who is credited with inventing the Tarikoplata, popularized the maneuver. If the Squirrel Lock is a Kimura with legs, the Tarikoplata is a hybrid of the two — it has one arm and one leg.

In essence, you substitute the arm that clutches the opponent’s wrist with a leg that passes over the arm, freeing up your hand to maneuver.

The technique is often performed from the guard, but it may also be set up and completed from top positions such as side control or mount.

41. Dog Bar

A kneebar done with the legs instead of the arms is one of the most unique Jiu-Jitsu submissions. The over underpass, when you can triangle your legs over the half guard leg, is typically the best position to start from.

When you stretch your hips into the knee, your shoulders obstruct the hips, while the triangle of the legs pulls on the calf.

42. Calf Slicer

The Calf Slicer is a compression submission. When the practitioner inserts their shinbone or forearm under their opponent’s knee and drags their opponent’s leg towards it, the calf is compressed, causing agony to the opponent.

The calf slicer, like the bicep slicer, is prohibited in IBJJF events below the brown belt level.

43. Crotch Ripper

Although the Crotch Ripper differs from the other techniques that target tendons, it is still a physical surrender.

Another one done mainly from the truck is the Crotch Ripper or Banana split. The objective is to rip the tendons from the hip bone by stretching both legs in opposite directions. With various grip combinations, the truck position makes the submission a breeze.

44. Estima Lock

The Estima Lock, courtesy of the Estima brothers, is a severe surrender.

Even though you may set it up using Ashi Garami positions, it operates without much positioning, usually from the top. The idea is to use your belly to trap the side of the foot, wrapping the ankle up with a hold that runs from the heel to the toes.

The second arm is placed in a rear naked choke position to achieve a painful combination of toe hold and ankle lock.

45. Texas Cloverleaf

If it were not illegal, the Texas Cloverleaf would be the ideal ankle lock. This straight ankle lock is well-exemplified by the 50/50 guard. Take the distant leg, the one that is not under your control, and wrap it over your armpit. You should then thread the same arm under the second leg and wrap it in.

46. Toehold

The Toehold is a figure four footlocker in which the practitioner immobilizes their opponent’s leg while turning their foot backward.

47. Heel Hook

Heel Hooks are joint locks in which the practitioner immobilizes one of their opponent’s legs while twisting their foot, causing the knee ligaments to be strained and damaged.

Elite BJJ teacher John Danaher and his students, known as the “Danaher Death Squad,” have popularized heel hooks in recent years.

Heel Hooks have a reputation for being deadly because of the possibility of ligament strains, ruptures, and meniscus injury to an opponent’s knee.

48. Can Opener

The Can Opener is a neck crank that is commonly done from the top closed guard, with the practitioner cupping the back of the opponent’s head and pulling it towards the opponent’s chest. It is occasionally used to induce an opponent to open their guard.

49. Twister

The Twister is a type of spinal lock used to target the ligaments and bones of the neck, generally from a half-back control position. The practitioner traps one of their opponent’s legs with both legs while dragging their opponent’s head towards them with both arms to complete the submission.

Not sure BJJ is right for you or want to see how it compares to other martial arts?

In a recent article, I discussed the advantages and disadvantages of practicing BJJ. You can click on the link to read about it on this website.

The First 10 Bjj Submissions You Should Learn

Conclusion

Understanding how submissions function is the first step in improving your ability to receive them. This article has listed over 40 BJJ submissions that you can try out at your next BJJ practice.

If you are interested in practicing these BJJ submissions on your own, you can purchase a BJJ Dummy.

In a recent article, I listed and reviewed the best BJJ dummies available this year. Click on the link to read the full review on this website.

Image by gregorycosta from Pixabay

 

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