Arm bar question

[tomgrappler]

I have been doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at a Royler Gracie academy. One of the first thing we had learned was when doing an arm bar is to not cross your feet because it makes it so much easier to get out of. in this video Nick diaz even though he is able to pull it off crosses his feat. My question is why does he cross his feat along with many other fighter?

‪NICK DIAZ VS. CYBORG .......ARM BAR WIN TONIGHT!‬‏ - YouTube

 

[newerest]

I have been doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at a Royler Gracie academy. One of the first thing we had learned was when doing an arm bar is to not cross your feet because it makes it so much easier to get out of. in this video Nick diaz even though he is able to pull it off crosses his feat. My question is why does he cross his feat along with many other fighter?

‪NICK DIAZ VS. CYBORG .......ARM BAR WIN TONIGHT!‬‏ - YouTube

it depends on a lot of situations. if you're going for an armbar from guard I find it harder to defend against the stack if you cross your feet

but from on top it makes it harder for them to push the leg over the head. Honestly it comes down to preference...rickson crosses his feet

 

[gogokr431]

really? for me, if i dnt cross my feet my partners seem to get out of it easier..

 

[MMAwisdom**]

In some situations, if you don't cross your feet, your opponent can push your leg off his face so you can't apply the armbar anymore.

And if he postures up right he'll also defend the potential triangle.

 

[tomgrappler]

in my experince when somebody postures i am able to grab their heels and sweep them.

 

[tomgrappler]

In some situations, if you don't cross your feet, your opponent can push your leg off his face so you can't apply the armbar anymore.

And if he postures up right he'll also defend the potential triangle.

in my experince when somebody postures i am able to grab their heels and sweep them.

 

[Mumrik]

in my experince when somebody postures i am able to grab their heels and sweep them.

And in mine they're rarely able to sweep me when I posture up.

I've wondered about this big no-no too. I personally like to cross the feet a bit if I'm armbarring from the top and have to spend some time breaking their grip.

 

[zemanjaski]

It's because from guard, you can apply more pressure to their back by having on leg run parallel along their neck, pushing their head down, and your other leg pushing down across their back. The idea is to crush their posture, and to create a base for you to get your hips off the ground as much as possible.

There are a number of benefits. Firstly, it's harder for them to posture up, and if they do, your pressure will make sweeps easier. Additionally, by rising your hips off the ground, the lock will be tighter, which will make the sub easier to put on and harder to pull out of.

 

[RJ Green]

if you cross the uphill leg over the downhill leg, you're propping it up and giving them room to manuver.

if you cross the downhill leg over the uphill leg, you get a pretty nice smoosh.

 

[rms6000]

I prefer not to cross my feet (armbar from top). You avoid them from pushing your leg off of their face by keeping your knee in nice and tight, almost pointing your knee down towards their legs. And now that your other leg is free, you can use it to break their grip or transition into a triangle if they manage to stack.

 

[gocubs1815]

It depends. I cross my legs if I'm going for a Rigan Armbar, where I'm applying leverage to the far side arm if the main armbar fails.

it affects your base and makes it easier to escape, but if you know what you're doing, you'll know how to transition out of it.

So for the traditional armbar it can be bad if you aren't skilled enough.

 

[notafighter86]

alot of times i'll cross my feet to break grips, but then uncross to apply the actual submission. also remember that you want to pinch your knees when applying it, something that is harder to do when you cross your feet.

It just one of the rules that can be broken depending on the situation and your ability.

 

[Drew Foster]

From the top it's usually okay to cross your feet as long as your feet are behind the far shoulder. Also, it's better to have the body-side ankle underneath the head-side ankle.

Just watch this and your armbars will improve. Seriously. You'll see some crossed feet and some uncrossed feet. RNC grips on the wrist. etc.

 

[Uchi Mata]

It's not an absolute. It really depends on the direction you're trying to squeeze. If you want to squeeze in on the arm, don't cross. If instead you're using your heels to pull them tight directly into you, then crossing makes sense. I cross or un-cross depending totally on the situation.

 

[newerest]

From the top it's usually okay to cross your feet as long as your feet are behind the far shoulder. Also, it's better to have the body-side ankle underneath the head-side ankle.

Just watch this and your armbars will improve. Seriously. You'll see some crossed feet and some uncrossed feet. RNC grips on the wrist. etc.

Thank you for posting this video.

 

[DaRuckus337]

You can cross your feet from a top arm bar if you'd like, and it is imo the superior approach IF you have trapped the far shoulder by crossing your feet underneath it. Virtually impossible to escape an armbar in that situation.