The dos and don’ts of submission grappling

Marcio Pe de Pano
(Over 98kilo champion – ADCC 2003)
When things get hot, every well done move works. So much that you see people tap out from everything in the ADCC. For this Abu Dhabi [2005’s, held last May] I’m only training with the gi. I had started to prioritize no-gi but then realized what you need to do is have a keen Jiu-Jitsu, be confident and go after it. A move I usually apply in submission grappling is the katagatami. The guy wants to shove his arm to leave and you end up making some pressure that usually works. A move that never works? I don’t think there is one. There are some tough ones, though. The triangle, for example, I find a bit complicated. If you do attain it, you win, but it’s hard to tighten it, because if it’s a clever opponent, it’s a slippery move, especially if the guy stands up.

Ze Mario Sperry
(Absolute champion in ADCC ’98 and superfight winner in ’99 and 2000)
A move I find even easier to use in no-gi than in Jiu-Jitsu is the guillotine, since the hands’ movement in order to control the foe’s neck is facilitated both by sweat and lack of friction from the opponent’s gi. Now, one move I’m always very cautious about using in no-gi is the back-grab, by attacking the adversary’s waist. In my fight with Roger Gracie in 2003’s ADCC he made use of that position to give me a reversed armlock. As there was no cloth for me to get a grip and block my arm, there was no avoiding the attack and I gave the position away.

Vítor Shaolin
(Third place in the under 76kilo category in 2003)
One position that works very well in no-gi comes from wrestling: the armdrag. The opponent’s elbow ends up serving as a grip, it substitutes the cloth. With the armdrag you easily get to the foe’s back, whence you can go on to many other moves, including the souple. On the other hand, one move I don’t advise is the foot-lock. You never know how flexible the adversary’s foot is – some fighters simply do not resign in that position. Some even offer the foot as bait in order to reverse the position. Also, you end up giving the opponent your own foot, and he might counter-attack with the same move.

Ricardo Arona
(98kilo and absolute champion in 2001; superfight winner in 2003)
In submission I really like using the armbar-in-guard. Wrestlers usually forget about their arm when they pass guard, they tend to support the palms of their hands on the ground… I’ve seen Tito Ortiz, Mark Kerr, Coleman and many others make the same mistake – and that’s when I attack with the armbar. As to the move I find inefficient in submission grappling, I’d choose the omoplata – a move that requires too many grips. After all, I think the adversary can escape on the base of the explosion and end up passing guard.

Renzo Gracie
(under 76kilo champion in 1998’s and 2000’s ADCCs)
The move that works in no-gi is the one the opponent gives you. Every time there is a chance of surprising the enemy you must tighten the attack as much as possible, not worrying whether you’ll waste too much energy… One of ADCC’s most common submissions is the triangle. Fighters usually lower their head a lot while passing guard, which makes the triangle possible. I really like that move, as long as you believe in it – you must tighten it 100%. A move that can go wrong is the guillotine. When you try that choke, the opponent has a chance of getting a takedown and scoring if he is not submitted. Hence the need to believe in the attacks.

Marcelo Garcia
(Under 76kilo champion in 2003 – deemed most technical athlete in the event)
Two moves that work very well in no-gi are guard repositions and the rear-naked choke. Repositions become easy because there is no way for the opponent to stall, he must let his game loose and go along. The rear-naked choke works for me not only because I deem myself agile, but also because you can go straight to it, without worrying about hooks or points. While the opponent starts worrying about not yielding points, I’m already getting ready to tighten his neck, even at the cost of not scoring back hooks. That which doesn’t work in submission grappling, in my opinion, is the open guard, because you can’t resort to the gi to control your opponent’s arms and so you get too vulnerable to foot and heel locks.

Alexandre Soca
(Under 65kilo champion in 1998 – deemed most technical athlete in the event)
To me, there is no Jiu-Jitsu move that can’t be efficiently used in no-gi. My advice to submission fighters if to use a lot of the basic Jiu-Jitsu moves. The foot-lock is a move I really like using. If it is well performed, not even sweat can stop it.