importance of leg pressure w/ arm bars

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wallsac

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I'd be interested to read the thoughts of an accomplished grappler on the importance of squeezing the knees or legs together when applying the arm bar. Last week was the first week that I seemed to notice that when applying- or receiving- an armbar it feels much tighter/better when the legs squeeze together at the same time as extending the elbow.

Does anyone have thoughts on the importance of the legs- or other details aside from just cranking the arm (ie- one other thing I learned was when applying the AB frm the bottom, flexing the top leg on the opponents head improves things as well...)

Thanks,
 
I'm only a white belt so I'm not an accomplished grappler, but squeezing the knees together is absolutely crucial to finishing an armbar.
 
Pinching your knees/keeping your feet planted on the ground (or driving them to the ground if we're talking about armbars from guard) is what changes the positions from your entire body vs. their entire body to your entire body vs. their now-isolated arm.
 
Thanks guys- it's always amazing to me how the devil is in the details with BJJ- how squeezing my knees together can make the difference between a loose and tight AB in the same position.

Good luck in your training-

Wallsac
 
i saw a bas rutten instructional video and he said, 'everyone tells you not to cross your feet when doing an armbar, i say why the hell not, i always lock my feet and i dont see the disadvantage in doing so' he also stressed the inportance pinching your knees too
 
wallsac said:
I'd be interested to read the thoughts of an accomplished grappler on the importance of squeezing the knees or legs together when applying the arm bar. Last week was the first week that I seemed to notice that when applying- or receiving- an armbar it feels much tighter/better when the legs squeeze together at the same time as extending the elbow.

Does anyone have thoughts on the importance of the legs- or other details aside from just cranking the arm (ie- one other thing I learned was when applying the AB frm the bottom, flexing the top leg on the opponents head improves things as well...)

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Are you talking about triangle? If not, I don't see why you would need to squeeze your legs together when executing an arm bar.

Do you mean pushing your legs down? If you have the technique applied correctly, simply immobolisi8ng the arm with the thumb up and bridging should apply enough pressure.
 
Knots619 said:
i saw a bas rutten instructional video and he said, 'everyone tells you not to cross your feet when doing an armbar, i say why the hell not, i always lock my feet and i dont see the disadvantage in doing so' he also stressed the inportance pinching your knees too
Click to expand...

why anyone would take Bas Rutten's advice on submissions is beyond me
 
Seibei said:
Are you talking about triangle? If not, I don't see why you would need to squeeze your legs together when executing an arm bar.

Do you mean pushing your legs down? If you have the technique applied correctly, simply immobolisi8ng the arm with the thumb up and bridging should apply enough pressure.
Click to expand...

because if you don't squeeze your knees you will be using your balls as the fulcrum instead of your thighs
 
OK, now for my own input... i have seen instructionals which say to keep your foot planted on the ground up against their head and others that say to keep your leg extended so the weight of your leg is on their face, personally i find the latter much better, It is much harder to dislodge the leg off your head if the leg is straight with all it's weight pushing down on your face than if there is a big ass gap for your to breath easy, and squeezing your knees is crucial... if you are doing the armbar where you don' t have a leg across their body, then you should have the foot (the one with the shin against the ribs) cupping under the shoulder to lock it in tight.

It's also important to apply the armbar with the arm furthest from the legs, so you can use the other arm to control the legs and prevent them from coming to their knees and stacking.
 
To be honest dude, I'd ask your instructor to show you and not take any of our advice :D
 
Seibei said:
To be honest dude, I'd ask your instructor to show you and not take any of our advice :D
Click to expand...

I think you should read CodeMonkey's response to your post. Crushing your nuts to finish an armbar is not fun or a good idea.

Good advice is plenty if you are able to filter out the crap on this forum.
 
Jiu Jitsuka said:
I think you should read CodeMonkey's response to your post. Crushing your nuts to finish an armbar is not fun or a good idea.

Good advice is plenty if you are able to filter out the crap on this forum.
Click to expand...

Yup, I did read it, have never crushed my nuts to finish an arm bar so far! :D
 
codemonkey76 said:
OK, now for my own input... i have seen instructionals which say to keep your foot planted on the ground up against their head and others that say to keep your leg extended so the weight of your leg is on their face, personally i find the latter much better, It is much harder to dislodge the leg off your head if the leg is straight with all it's weight pushing down on your face than if there is a big ass gap for your to breath easy, and squeezing your knees is crucial... if you are doing the armbar where you don' t have a leg across their body, then you should have the foot (the one with the shin against the ribs) cupping under the shoulder to lock it in tight.

It's also important to apply the armbar with the arm furthest from the legs, so you can use the other arm to control the legs and prevent them from coming to their knees and stacking.
Click to expand...

Your last point raises an interesting question for me. A purple belt was teaching us how to do Far-side armbars from knee on belly, and he said that when the armbar is applied, you should be quite close to his legs, so you can grab one of his legs, and keep him from circling away from you, and thereby relieving pressure on the armlock.

What do you think of this?
 
Prokofievian said:
Your last point raises an interesting question for me. A purple belt was teaching us how to do Far-side armbars from knee on belly, and he said that when the armbar is applied, you should be quite close to his legs, so you can grab one of his legs, and keep him from circling away from you, and thereby relieving pressure on the armlock.

What do you think of this?
Click to expand...

You can pretty much be perpendicular and still grab his near leg, actually sometimes when i am using a particlar grip break, i will get a really deep grip on their leg so i am basically laying next to their leg, let them site up a bit and then use both hands to break their grip, learnt this from eddie bravo's book, he calls it "The Filho" after Paulo Filho who uses that method a bit.
 
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