There are some fundamental, core skills that are vital to anyone who wants to have a good understanding and ability at armlocks. It’s important to study these core skills and not dismiss them, as things only novices should learn. While it’s true novices should learn these skills, but these are core values that have to be performed every time by anyone of any level of expertise.

Two core skills for every successful armlock are (1) Position and (2) Set-ups. Following is an explanation of these two core skills and why they are so important.

We all have heard the old saying in real estate; if you want to sell property, the three most important things are location, location and location. It’s the same thing in judo, jujitsu, sambo, and any form of grappling. It could also be easily said for any form of personal combat. If you’re not in the right place at the right time, and don’t put your opponent in the wrong place at the wrong time (for him), your throw or hold won’t work...period.

Position is purposely (and with forethought) placing your body is such a way that you can successfully work the move or skill you want to accomplish. An example is, when in groundfighting: get behind your opponent in a wrestler’s ride position, controlling at least one of his hips and his near arm. From this initial position, you can sink your legs into his crotch as you climb on his low back and work into the rodeo ride. From this rodeo ride, you have the option to roll him into a sitting position, break him down and flatten him or work from there to do a hip roll or head roll juji gatame or other submission hold.

This is what I mean by position. I like to work from the wrestler’s ride position, taking the advice of Neil Adams, the World Judo Champion from Great Britain, when he once told me to “Always get behind your opponent.” Conversely, try never to let your opponent get behind you.

A major goal in any groundfighting is to establish a position of control and dominate your opponent. This is especially true when attempting to secure an armlock. A rule of thumb is to always try to get behind your opponent. Another way of saying this is to try to get your opponent’s back. In other words, get behind your opponent, establish a strong position and don’t let him see what you are doing.

There are many positions that are useful. Fighting off the buttocks (what has come to be known as the “guard” position) is a useful and often effective position. This position is as old as judo itself and it’s an instinctive movement for many of us. Remember, in any position you take, have a goal in mind. It may be a really short-term goal of simple getting to another, more stable or controlling position. It simply may be to get out of a bad position and get out of trouble. Not every position ends in a cool, sophisticated submission hold with the opponent tapping out. Often being in the wrong position leads to bad results. When you are in a bad position, do what you can to work out of it. (What I like to call “get out of trouble moves.”) An example of a bad position is what I’ve called the “chicken” position for many years. The chicken position is when an athlete lays flat on the mat, face down with his hands up around his neck and elbows tucked in. We’ve seen this for years in judo. It’s like an ostrich sticking his head in the sand hoping a threat will go away. But that threat never does go away. It simply takes advantage of the situation. When an opponent is in the chicken position, say a silent “thank you” and then work him over. Here is a great opportunity to do just about any breakdown or set-up you want if you are the top person. He’s flat on his belly and face and not fighting back and not in a position to be able to fight back.

Another factor to consider about position is that the body has a lot of handles. Every part of the opponent’s judo uniform or clothing is a handle. An opponent’s arm is a handle, or a shoulder or hip...just about any part of his body can be used as a handle to pry or lever him into a position where you can gain further control.

Also remember that patience is a virtue in groundfighting. Be methodical and persistent. Go from point A to point B to point C to point D. Remember to take your time, but do it in a hurry!

With all of this in mind, there are specific positions to keep in mind that often lead to a successful set-up of an armlock. Basically, good groundfighting is establishing a series of positions that lead to a successful submission or hold. Often, an ideal position to get into if you want to secure your armlock is to get behind your opponent, dig your feet in and aggressively initiate your move. Getting into the ideal position to do an armlock leads us to the next phase of the core skills, and that is the set-up.

The set-up is the actual breakdown, roll, turnover, entry or application of a particular armlock. No opponent will lay there and let you stretch his arm, so it’s your job to put him in a position so that you can stretch or bend his arm! This book’s main function is to illustrate as many effective and realistic set-ups for armlocks as possible. The sequence of events that culminate in making an opponent tap out is for a grappler to establish a strong initial position (a ride or guard position, or a follow-through from a throw or takedown), followed by further control of the opponent’s body by digging the feet in, controlling a wrist or arm and basically using the body’s handles to establish more control, followed by the actual set-up, breakdown or roll into an armlock.

In addition to the concepts of position and set-up, the idea of making a technique work for you is vital to being successful in any form of grappling, whether it be judo, mixed martial arts, jujitsu, sambo or any form of wrestling. Really, a skillful application of any move or technique is taking a core skill and making it fit you like a glove. Doing it so well, that your ratio of success is excellent, even if your opponents know you’re going to do it! Years ago, the great football coach Vince Lombardi said; “Do simple things with consistent excellence rather than complicated things done poorly.” Really, it doesn’t matter how many armlocks you know, what matters is that you can do what you know when you need to do it.

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