Here’s a fast and effective Armbar you can do when your opponent is pushing you away with their arms as you’re trying to pass their Guard.
Whenever you’re passing your partner’s Guard, you want to expect your partner to be framing and pushing you away at times. Every time your partner pushes you, there is an opportunity to attack with an Armbar. Typically, for BJJ beginners, Armbars and other submissions are done once you’ve passed your partner’s Guard and once you’ve secured a dominant position. While this is true, there are opportunities to attach your partner while you are still in their Guard.
This does break a common rule “Position before submission”; meaning, you want to win a dominant position over your partner before you go for an Armbar or a choke. And while this is true, there are exceptions.
In this scenario, you’re very close to passing your partner’s Guard. You have gotten around their legs; but, you haven’t secured a dominant top position yet.
The reason you haven’t won Mount or Cross Side yet is because your partner is pushing you away with your hands. I sometimes call this “Arm Guard”. It’s just a funny term I use to describe using your arms to maintain distance and protection instead of your legs when you’re on your back.
When your partner is pushing you away with their “Arm Guard”, you can do an Armbar on them. Much like how from the Open Guard, you can go for a Leg Lock on your partner. Submissions are everywhere. And while it’s important to win a dominant position in Jiu Jitsu before you go for a submission, this isn’t always the case.
As your partner pushes you away with their hands, you can slide your shin next to their ribs and then sit down with your leg controlling their head. Since your partner is aggressively pushing you, they’ll fall directly into an Armbar.
If you’re a little bit more advanced in Jiu Jitsu and you want to be more experimental in with your BJJ game, give this Armbar a try.
