The Jiujitsu Glossary is a comprehensive resource for understanding the terminology and jargon used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
A shoulder lock submission that involves bending the arm behind the back in a "figure-four" position.
A submission technique that hyperextends the elbow joint using the hips for leverage.
A choke that uses the opponent's arm against their neck along with your arms.
A relative of the arm triangle (See Arm Triangle) and darce (see Darce), the anaconda features a lock of the arms around the opponent’s neck, with one of their arms trapped inside.
A technique used both on the feet and on the mat where the attacking practitioner uses a 2-on-1 grip to drag their opponent across their body to either hit a takedown on the feet, or take the back on the ground.
A submission focused on the ankle joint. While the ankle can break, common application of this submission predominantly targets the Achilles tendon.
Japanese for leg entanglement (see Leg Entanglement), Ashi Garami is interchangeable with the English term single leg x
A dominant control position behind your opponent with hooks inserted.
An inverted rolling sweep from guard position, commonly used to take the back.
A fundamental movement where you lift your hips off the ground using your feet and upper back for leverage.
An open guard position where both feet are inserted as hooks on the opponent's inner thighs.
The foundation of balance and stability in any position.
A collar choke from the back resembling the drawing of a bow.
A fundamental position in jiu jitsu and possibly the most dominant. Here the attacking practitioner is positioned behind their opponent with both feet placed inside their opponent’s hips along with some form of upper body control.
Usually engaged from the back the attacking practitioner will opt to lock their legs around their opponent’s torso with a triangle configuration
A guard position where the legs are wrapped and locked around the opponent's waist.
A family of chokes that utilize the opponent's gi collar as the choking mechanism.
A fundamental grip on the opponent's collar using a four-finger inside grip.
A control position where you trap both of your opponent's arms using your legs.
A dynamic guard pass where the practitioner on top seeks to surprise their opponent by planting their hands on the mat and jumping over their opponent’s legs for the pass.
A grip on the opponent’s chin, usually from a front headlock, where the palm of the hand encapsulates the tip of the chin, like the chinstrap of a helmet.
A guard configuration featuring a grip high on the opponent’s collar and the other low on their sleeve.
Portugues word for fight and a signal used by the referee to start a match.
A dominant upper body control limiting shoulder and head movement in an opponent underneath side control.
A grip taken on the material of the gi, where the fingertips of all four fingers drag the material into the palm.
The act of dropping by other gyms to train and learn new techniques.
An open guard position where one leg hooks the opponent's lead leg while controlling their ankle and collar/sleeve.
A takedown that involves attacking both of the opponent's legs simultaneously.
An arm triangle variation where you thread your arm through the opponent's armpit.
A half guard variation where you position yourself underneath your opponent.
A hybrid of the X and de la riva guards (see X-Guard, De La Riva Guard) where the de la riva hook is combined with the X-guard hook on the far leg.
A position where both practitioners are side by side on their knees, where one will have an overhook (see Overhook) or whizzer (see Whizzer) on their opponent.
A form of pressure passing where the person on top underhooks both of their opponent’s legs, from inside their guard, to either pass to the side or initiate the stack pass (see Stack Pass).
Having two gyms that you train at, but one is your primary gym. (Should be communicated with your coach)
A choking technique using both sleeves of the gi, can be performed from various positions.
The act of removing oneself from an inferior position or submission attempt.
A sweep using your foot as an elevator to lift and off-balance your opponent.
A submission from half guard attacking the leg.
Portuguese word for "belt," used to denote rank in BJJ.
A dominant position where you are seated on top of your opponent's torso with both legs controlling their sides.
Using skeletal structure to create space or resistance against pressure.
A sweeping technique from closed guard using the lapel.
A guard position where both practitioners establish the same leg triangle control (see Triangle, Sankaku) over the other practitioner’s legs.
A takedown where the attacking practitioner drops to their knees, with their opponent stretched across their shoulders, to flip them from one side to the other on the mat.
The attacker seeks to jump high and achieve an armbar submission (see armbar) from a standing position against an opponent who is either standing or seated.
Here the attacker seeks to achieve a triangle submission (see Triangle) by jumping from a standing position against either a standing or seated opponen
One of the fundamental guard positions in jiu jitsu. Here the person on bottom has their legs wrapped around their opponent’s hips/waist, locking their feet in place by crossing both ankles behind the opponent’s back.
The traditional training uniform consisting of a heavy cotton jacket, pants, and belt.
A submission using your shin to compress the opponent's throat, usually from guard or mount.
A fundamental position where you control an opponent using your legs while on your back.
A front headlock choke that can be applied standing or on the ground.
A palm-to-palm grip used in various control positions and submissions.
A key advancement in position. The guard pass is any movement where the practitioner on top successfully navigates either over, around or through their opponent’s legs (i.e. their guard) beyond their hips and stabilizes control of their opponent in either the side control, or mount position.
Jiu Jitsu practitioners who prefer to play an aggressive game on top, forcing their opponent to play guard where they then seek to pass and score.
See Pull Guard
A variation of the rubber guard (see Rubber Guard), where the lapel is used to lock the guard player’s leg in place making postural control easier to achieve.
A position where you control one of your opponent's legs between both of yours.
A fundamental movement also known as "shrimping" where you move your hips away while on your back.
A sweeping technique using your foot as a hook to off-balance your opponent.
A sweeping motion using your hips to off-balance your opponent from guard.
A movement to change the direction of your hips to create angles.
A judo throw where the attacking practitioner steps their outside leg across the opponent’s body and uses their hip, with a slight backward kicking motion, to throw the opponent to the mat.
A devastating leg lock targeting the knee joint after stabilizing the joints up and down stream of the knee i.e. the hip and heel.
Generally used to describe the hooking control of a dorsiflexed foot.
A guard position where you're upside down, typically used for advanced sweeps and submissions.
A rolling entry to leg attacks, named after Masakazu Imanari.
Controlling the space between you and your opponent from the inside position.
A variation of the heel hook (see Heel Hook) where the attacker’s torso is faced towards the opponent with their heel between the attacker and defender.
A martial art focusing on ground fighting and grappling techniques.
A front headlock submission combining a choke and neck crank.
A forward rolling breakfall used to safely absorb impact.
The Japanese name for armbar (see Armbar) originally a Judo technique known as Ude Hishigi Juji Gatame.
A shoulder lock using a figure-four grip to rotate the shoulder, named after Masahiko Kimura.
A control position where you place your knee on the opponent's abdomen while staying perpendicular.
A half guard variation where the knee is used to create space and prevent the pass.
A side control variation where you face your opponent's head with a scarf hold.
A guard pass where you slice your knee through the middle.
The Japanese word for arm triangle
Kazushi is a Japanese term for the push-pull action/reaction involved in off-balancing your opponent to take them down to the mat or sweep them.
A precursor to leg entanglements made famous by Australian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Lachlan Giles. The K-guard can be engaged against either a standing or kneeling opponent.
See Gi
A technique engaged from the reverse de la riva (see Reverse De La Riva) where a guard player will invert and spin in between their opponent’s legs with the goal of ending up behind them
Similar to the armbar, this submission focuses on breaking the leg by hyperextending the knee joint.
An open guard position where you wrap your arm around your opponent's arm using your gi sleeve.
A gi choke executed by wrapping the collar around the opponent's neck in a loop fashion.
A half guard variation where both legs are entangled to control the opponent's leg.
A footwork pattern used in guard passing.
An umbrella term for guard positions based on the use of your opponent’s lapel
A hybrid of the lasso guard (see Lasso Guard) and lapel guard (see Lapel Guard), here instead of weaving the leg through the arm of the opponent, the guard player will instead use the lapel in a similar fashion.
Both a style of passing and a position (however, an unscored position. Points only awarded for the completion of the pass).
A position where you gain control over your opponent’s legs and hips predominantly with your own legs. Generally, this position is the precursor to leg locks.
Full contact grappling rounds, where both practitioners are seeking to gain the most points or submit their partner.
A style of pass for open guards where the top player explosively collapses to one side to remove their trapped leg and consolidate the pass.
Portugues word for fight and a signal used by the referee to warn the competitor or competitors that they are stalling and need to pick up the action.
A dominant position where you sit on top of your opponent's torso.
Portuguese term for "lion killer," referring to the rear naked choke.
A grip where the thumb is included with the fingers, like a monkey's grip.
A variation of the omoplata (see Omoplata) where the attacking practitioner is seated facing their opponent, while their opponent’s back is on the mat.
A control position where you lay chest-to-chest with your opponent facing opposite directions.
Training without the traditional gi uniform, typically wearing shorts and a rash guard.
Slang term for knee on belly position.
A chest compression choke from the north-south position.
A submission that applies pressure to the cervical spine. You won’t make many friends with this move at thanksgiving, no matter who your uncle is.
Jiu Jitsu practiced without the gi and instead in shorts and often a rash guard.
A choke submission from the north-south position.
A shoulder lock executed by wrapping your leg over the opponent's arm and back.
Any guard position where the legs are not closed around the opponent.
A guard passing technique using over and under hooks on the legs.
An inner leg reaping throw adapted from Judo.
Any maneuver that involves forcing your opponent to focus on maintaining their base and balance, so that you can attack them elsewhere (see Kazushi).
A Judo throw where the attacking practitioner steps their outside leg across the opponent’s body and uses their hip, with a slight backward kicking motion, to throw the opponent to the mat.
An inner leg reaping throw adapted from Judo.
A variation of the heel hook (see Heel Hook) where the attacker’s torso is facing away from the opponent and the attacked leg is passed and controlled on the outside.
A constituent of upper body control, where a practitioner secures an opponent’s arm tightly under their armpit.
The act of moving past your opponent's legs to achieve a more dominant position.
A basic sweeping technique from closed guard using momentum and hip movement.
A style of guard passing that emphasizes constant pressure and control.
The act of intentionally taking the guard position from standing.
A collar choke from side control using a blade-like motion.
Brazilian Portugues word for stop or stopped. This is the signal a referee will use in a jiu jitsu match to indicate they want the action to stop.
Brazilian Portugues word for the jiu jitsu practitioner who prefers to play on top and pass guard rather than play from their back (See Guard Passer).
A grip taken on the material of the gi, where a handful – usually at the end of the sleeve – is bunched up and held in the palm like the grip of a handgun.
Brazilian Portuegues word loosely translated as “Fight Hard”.
Controlled sparring where live rounds are restricted to specific positions only. Usually, once the position has been lost or advanced, either by a sweep, guard pass, backtake, etc, the action is stopped and the position is once again reset.
A position similar to half guard but with minimal leg control.
A blood choke applied from behind the opponent using the arms.
The practice of free sparring or grappling with a training partner.
An advanced guard system that utilizes extreme flexibility to control the opponent.
A variation of De La Riva guard with the opposite leg positioning.
A triangle choke applied while facing the opposite direction.
A variation of the X-guard with the top and bottom legs reversed. Usually used to set up elevation sweeps that directly facilitate heel hook submissions.
Acronym for rear naked choke (see Rear Naked Choke) used by MMA fans at Buffalo Wild WIngs.
Also known as the clock. Fun Fact: Only 1 in 47 people will figure out how to work this thing
A dominant position perpendicular to your opponent with chest-to-chest control.
An open guard position using gi grips on both sleeves with feet on the biceps.
A technique used to reverse position from bottom to top.
A fundamental sweep from closed guard using a scissoring motion with the legs.
A guard pass where you fold your opponent's legs over their head.
A guard position similar to X-guard but controlling only one leg.
A sacrifice throw technique adapted from Judo.
An open guard position where you sit upright facing your opponent.
A grip on the opponent’s collar using the same side arm.
The Japanese word for triangle. Sankaku can identify the triangle submission but can also refer to any scenario where a practitioner will adopt the triangle configuration with their legs to secure or lock onto their opponent.
See Kesa Gatame.
Here, one of your arms passes over your opponent’s shoulder, while your other arm passes under their armpit on the opposite side to connect your hands at your opponent’s chest, like the seat belt in a car.
Brazilian Portugues for Nogi (see Nogi).
A judo throw where the attacking practitioner – after gaining control of the opponent’s arm – will spin in a 180° motion, facing away from their opponent, using their hips to elevate and throw them over their shoulder.
A variation of sparring, usually in preparation for competition, where one person stays in for a full round, facing off against a line of fresh partners, one after the other.
See Hip Escape.
A takedown where one leg of the opponent is lifted off the mat and controlled by the attacking practitioner’s arms and legs.
A variation of the X-Guard (see X-Guard) where both of the guard player’s legs are used to control a single leg of a standing opponent (see Ashi Garami).
Full contact grappling rounds from start to finish where both practitioners are seeking to gain the most points or submit their partner.
Controlled sparring where live rounds are restricted to specific positions only. Usually, once the position has been lost or advanced, either by a sweep, guard pass, backtake, etc, the action is stopped and the position is once again reset. We use a lot of positional sparring, starting as early as in the Beginner Course.
A defensive maneuver against takedowns where the defending practitioner shoots their legs and hips backwards away from their opponent’s reach during a takedown attempt.
Any technique used to bring the opponent from standing to the ground.
A safe method of standing up while maintaining defensive position.
A blood choke using the legs to trap the opponent's head and arm.
A defensive position where you're on hands and knees protecting your core.
A guard pass resembling a bullfighter's movement, controlling the legs to the side.
A sweep that attacks your opponent's base by eliminating three points of contact.
The Japanese word for the traditional straw mats commonly seen in the Japanese culture. It is also the word used for the training mats in judo and jiu jitsu academies.
A fast pass to the side initiated by gripping the opponent’s pants with the same side hand and pushing it across the body while sidestepping in the other direction.
A submission focusing on breaking the ankle joint, tendons and finer bones of the foot.
A fundamental pass against open guards. Here, the top player is standing against a downed opponent and uses their hands to control their opponent’s legs while sidestepping around the guard for the pass.
Here, the attacking practitioner works to crank on the cervical spine with their hands while their legs lock the opponent’s far side hip in place applying leverage at the far end for torque.
A grip on the opponent’s arm where two arms are used, usually in a staggered high/low configuration.
A bridging escape movement, typically used to escape mount position.
A fundamental grip achieved by putting your arm under your opponent's arm.
A shoulder pressure choke used to counter a guillotine attempt.
A guard position where you're on your back with your hips elevated vertically.
Portugues for “Go!”
An advanced guard system using the lapel wrapped around the opponent's leg.
A sweep from deep half guard resembling a waiter holding a tray.
An overhook control used to counter underhooks and maintain position.
A submission focused on breaking the wrist joint.
An open guard position where you control your opponent's base from underneath with hooks.
A side circle throw technique adapted from Judo.
A variation of half guard where the top knee is positioned in a "Z" shape.
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