BJJ Submissions from Guard — Armbar, Triangle & More
☰Contents
The complete guide to attacking submissions from closed and open guard — armbar, triangle, omoplata, kimura, and chaining them.
The complete guide to attacking submissions from closed and open guard — armbar, triangle, omoplata, kimura, and chaining them.
Why the Guard Is the Best Attacking Position
Guard is unique: you are on your back, but you control your opponent's posture and movement. High-level guard players submit opponents at the same rate as top-position players. The guard is an offensive weapon.
Posture Breaking — The First Step
No guard submission works against good posture. Your first task is to break posture: pull the head down with collar grips or overhooks, create an angle, and keep them disrupted throughout the attack.
Armbar from Guard
From closed guard with posture broken: secure the arm with both hands, open the guard, shoot the leg across the face, pinch the knees, and drive the hips up. The elbow must be at hip level — too low and the lock won't close.
Key Details
- Control the elbow — wrist control alone is insufficient
- Pinch the knees tightly to prevent the stack pass
- Extend the hips, not just the arms
- Angle your body perpendicular to theirs
Triangle Choke from Guard
After breaking posture: redirect one arm across their centerline, shoot the leg over the shoulder (not behind the neck), lock the figure-four, angle to 90°, and break the posture further while squeezing the thighs.
Omoplata
The omoplata is a shoulder lock that opens when the opponent defends the armbar or triangle. When they pull their arm free from the triangle, reach under the arm with your leg and swing your hips through into the omoplata position.
Kimura from Guard
Sit up to break posture, secure the figure-four grip on the near arm, fall back to the kimura angle, and rotate their arm behind their back. The kimura can also be used as a sweep platform (hip bump kimura).
Chaining Submissions
High-percentage guard attacks flow in chains. Armbar attempt → they stack → triangle. Triangle attempt → they pull the arm → omoplata. This is not coincidence — it is the designed architecture of guard attacks.
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FAQ
The triangle choke is the most reliable long-term guard submission because it uses the strongest body parts (legs) against the weakest (neck and arm).
Angle your body at 45–90° to theirs, pinch the knees tightly, and break their grip before shooting the hips up. Angling eliminates most stack defenses.
They all require breaking posture, controlling the arm-head line, and creating an angle. Learn all three from the same setup — they flow naturally into each other.