Armbar From Closed Guard In No Gi & MMA

In today's post, I am going to show you how to do an armbar from closed guard in no gi and MMA.

Previously, I have shown how to do the armbar submission in the gi.

The armbar from closed guard is a fundamental submission that every martial artist should master.

In no gi and MMA, the lack of fabric makes it more challenging to execute upper body submissions, including the armbar, from the guard.

For a more comprehensive visual guide on how to execute the armbar from closed guard in no gi and MMA, be sure to check out the video below.

It will provide you with a step-by-step demonstration of the technique, as well as some important details to keep in mind.

Before I explain in detail how to do the armbar from closed guard in no gi and MMA, I need to show the difference from the gi variation.

One of the most common ways to execute the armbar in no gi is actually very similar to the gi variation.

The first step is the same: isolate your opponent's elbow on your belly and make sure their posture is broken.

However, the grip is slightly different, as you can see in the image below.

The difference between gi and no gi armbar set ups.

As you can see, in the gi variation (top image), I used my left hand to grip the gi fabric on my opponent's shoulder.

In no gi, I grabbed the back of his head.

The rest of the steps is pretty much the same from there.

In no gi and MMA, you do not have access to grip any fabric.

This means that you will find grappling is much more slippery and loose in no gi and MMA.

So, I recommend a better alternative armbar setup if you want to execute the submission in no gi and MMA.

If you want to execute a solid armbar from closed guard in no gi and MMA, I recommend breaking it down into two phases.

The first phase involves sweeping your opponent to get on top.

The second phase involves attacking the armbar when you have established good control over your opponent.

Let's dive in and explore these two phases in detail.

The first step to do an armbar from closed guard in no gi and MMA.

The first thing you want to do is executing a pendulum sweep from your closed guard.

To set up the sweep, you must isolate one of your opponent's arms.

In this example, I use my right hand to make a cross grip on my opponent's wrist and my left hand to grip his triceps.

In MMA, punches will be thrown, so it's important to be aware of that before securing these grips.

Check out the image above for a clearer view of the proper grip placement.

Break your opponent's posture.

Next, what you wanna do is breaking your opponent's posture.

You do this by pulling him towards you using your legs and at the same time, you shift his arm across your body.

This will cause his body and head to go down towards the ground so you can get a better control over him.

See the image above for reference.

Here is how you secure the gift wrap grip.

What you need to do next is securing the gift wrap grip.

Pass your opponent's wrist to your other hand and maintain a tight grip.

This will keep their posture broken and make it harder for them to escape your closed guard.

Check out the image above to see how I execute the gift wrap grip.

Getting a deep underhook on your opponent's leg.

After securing the gift wrap grip, you now have a free hand.

You will use this free hand to get a deep underhook on your opponent's leg.

Open your closed guard and anchor your foot on your opponent's hip, allowing you to go perpendicular under their body.

As you go perpendicular, insert your free hand between your opponent's legs and get a deep underhook on the near side leg.

Your opponent will most likely have a wide-open space between their legs to maintain a stable base in the closed guard.

Refer to the image above to see the proper technique.

The pendulum sweep.

The gift wrap grip removes your opponent's base on one side of their body.

Getting a deep underhook and going perpendicular under your opponent's body gives you the proper angle to start the pendulum sweep.

To execute the pendulum sweep, swing your leg to create momentum for the sweep.

After executing the sweep, you will land in the top mount position and be ready for the second phase of the armbar from closed guard in no gi and MMA.

Refer to the image above to see how the pendulum sweep is performed.

Getting the S-Mount.

Now that you are in the top mount position, the next step is to transition to the S-Mount.

To do this, you want to maintain the gift wrap grip and slide your knee along the space created between your opponent's armpit and hip, moving closer to their head.

Next, underhook your opponent's other arm and pull it towards your chest to create more space.

This will allow you to bring your heel towards your opponent's head on the opposite side, forming an S-shape with your legs.

It's important to secure the S-Mount position firmly to control your opponent.

To increase the pressure on your opponent, you can also pull their head towards you.

Refer to the image above for a visual guide.

Straighten your opponent's arm.

A strong S-Mount should give you the stability you need to start attacking your opponent's arm.

The arm that you are going to attack is going to be the same arm that you use for the gift wrap grip.

In a no gi grappling situation, you can start peeling your opponent's arm to straighten it towards your chest.

In MMA, you can start throwing punches from the top to get your opponent to react by extending his arm.

Whatever the case, what you want to have eventually is a strong grip on his wrist.

The image above shows you how I do it.

Place your secondary hand on the mat.

Next, you want to place your secondary hand on the mat so that you add more stability to execute the armbar.

The secondary hand is the one that is on the opposite side of the opponent's arm that you are attacking.

In this example, my secondary hand is my right hand because I am using my left hand to maintain a grip on my opponent's wrist.

Please refer to the image above for a better understanding.

Drive your shin on your opponent's face.

After gaining more stability using your secondary hand, you want to slide your shin towards your opponent's face and drive it hard.

The shin drive on the face ensures that your opponent can only look in the direction away from you, making it harder for him to bump against you and escape the armbar.

Finishing the armbar.

By now, you have completed 99% of the armbar setup.

There are two methods to finish the armbar from here.

The method that I recommend is to stay on top and then thrust your hip forward to hyperextend your opponent's arm and break it.

See the image above for reference.

Another method, which I do not recommend, is to fall back and then finish the armbar from the ground.

I do not recommend the second method because, as I said earlier, things are more slippery in no-gi and MMA.

By falling on your back, you risk your opponent slipping out of the armbar.

In conclusion, executing an armbar from closed guard in no gi and MMA is more tricky because in these situations, you do not have a lot of access to strong grips.

The best method that I can recommend is to first sweep your opponent from the closed guard and then finish the armbar from the top.

By following the steps outlined above and staying aware of your opponent's movements, you can successfully execute an armbar and gain the upper hand in your no gi grappling or MMA match.

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