The Role the Legs Play in Armbars

When it comes to armlocks/armbars, many people put a ton of emphasis on the control and securing of the arm and this is definitely not an area that should be overlooked. After all, if the arm is not properly secured then the ability to put pressure on the elbow will be limited. However, if all you do is grab, yank and pull the arm the odds of finishing the person is going to really be limited if not non-existent. This is why th legs have to play a significant role in securing the armbar.

Now, there are a number of roles that the legs play such as keeping the person's head down so he can posture (when the armbar is from the guard); applying pressure to keep the person on his back when the armbar is from the side control or mount; squeezing the knees together so as to keep the elbow from being pulled out, etc.

Far too often, seminars and dvds on the subject of armbars have a tendency to center on entries into an armbar. This is not bad information or unnecessary information, but it is only a small part of the whole picture and one of the major facets of the whole picture is the role the legs play.