BJJ Submissions: The Complete List — Chokes, Joint Locks, and Leg Attacks Explained

×

Brazilian jiu-jitsu contains more than 100 named submission holds organized into four mechanical categories: blood chokes, air chokes, joint locks, and leg locks. In UFC competition spanning 1993–2025 across 8,457 fights, five submissions account for 82.9% of all submission finishes: rear naked choke (39.8%), guillotine (17.8%), armbar (11.5%), arm triangle (7.8%), and triangle choke (6.0%). The remaining 17.1% spans kimuras, heel hooks, ankle locks, kneebars, omoplatas, D'Arce chokes, and dozens of specialized variants cataloged here. Understanding the full submission library requires understanding each technique's mechanical category, its primary position, and its competition viability.

TL;DR

• Four categories cover all submissions: blood chokes (carotid compression), air chokes (tracheal compression), joint locks (elbow, shoulder, wrist), and leg locks (knee, ankle).
• Five submissions account for 83% of UFC submission finishes. Every serious BJJ practitioner must train all five.
• Heel hooks are the most dangerous leg lock by injury rate — IBJJF restricts them to brown and black belt gi competition.
• Competition data from UFC and ADCC shows the rear naked choke is the single most effective finish across all rulesets.
• Top 10 most effective submissions ranked by competition success rate →

Brazilian jiu-jitsu's submission library descends from Kodokan judo, which Jigoro Kano formalized in Tokyo in 1882. Kano classified ground techniques into two categories: shime-waza (strangulation techniques) and kansetsu-waza (joint locking techniques). The Kodokan codified hadaka-jime (rear naked choke), okuri-eri-jime (sliding lapel strangle), juji-gatame (cross armbar), and ude-garami (Kimura lock), establishing standardized names, mechanical descriptions, and the safety protocol of tapping to signal submission. Leg locks — categorized under ashi-waza — existed in early judo but were progressively restricted; the IJF banned all knee locks in competition starting in 2010.

The transmission path to Brazil began with Mitsuyo Maeda, a Kodokan-trained judo champion and catch wrestler who emigrated to Brazil in 1914 and settled in Belém do Pará. Maeda taught Carlos Gracie starting around 1917. Carlos passed the training to his brother Hélio, who adapted techniques to compensate for his smaller frame. Hélio placed greater emphasis on leverage and timing from the guard — a position where submission attacks could be launched without the explosive strength requirements of standing throws. This adaptation expanded the guard submission catalog substantially beyond anything in the Kodokan's original curriculum by the 1950s.

The Gracie family refined the system through challenge matches (vale tudo) held in Rio de Janeiro. When Rorion Gracie brought BJJ to the United States and co-founded the UFC in 1993, Royce Gracie's victories via rear naked choke and armbar over larger fighters confirmed the submission library to a global audience. The following thirty years of MMA competition produced further evolution: John Danaher's leg lock system — documented in his "Enter the System" instructional series published from 2017 onward — systematized heel hooks and kneebars to a competitive standard previously seen only in catch wrestling and sambo. Gordon Ryan, Garry Tonon, and Craig Jones demonstrated leg attacks at the highest ADCC levels, establishing heel hooks as a tier-one competition weapon.

The historical relationship between judo and BJJ explains why both arts share the same core submission vocabulary — armbar, Kimura, rear naked choke — while diverging in emphasis: judo rewards throws and pins, BJJ rewards positional transitions followed by submissions from the ground.

All BJJ submissions operate through one of four physical mechanisms:

1. Blood chokes (vascular occlusion) These compress one or both carotid arteries, reducing blood flow to the brain below the threshold for consciousness. The rear naked choke is the defining example: the choking arm crosses the front of the throat in a figure-four configuration, compressing both carotid arteries simultaneously. Unconsciousness follows in 5–10 seconds when fully applied. Blood chokes are the most effective category in competition because they bypass pain tolerance — the brain shuts down regardless of the opponent's willingness to resist. See Fight Encyclopedia's rear choke family for all back-control choke variants.

2. Air chokes (tracheal compression) These crush the trachea or restrict airflow. The guillotine choke in its standard form is partly an air choke, partly a blood choke depending on arm placement; the ezekiel choke applied from inside the guard is a direct tracheal compressor. Air chokes are slower than blood chokes to produce unconsciousness — minutes rather than seconds — but effective as tap-inducing pain holds and useful when back control cannot be established.

3. Joint locks (structural overload at the elbow, shoulder, or wrist) These apply force to a joint in a direction it cannot travel, creating pain and, if not tapped to, structural damage. The armbar hyperextends the elbow; the Kimura internally rotates the shoulder beyond its range; the Americana externally rotates the same joint. Joint locks require accurate positioning because they depend on isolating a specific anatomical axis. The Kimura and Americana belong to Fight Encyclopedia's shoulder lock family, which also includes the omoplata and monoplata.

4. Leg locks (knee and ankle joint overload) Heel hooks, kneebars, ankle locks, and toe holds attack the knee, ankle, and foot. The inside heel hook externally rotates the knee, placing primary stress on the ACL and MCL. The outside heel hook attacks the same structures from the opposite direction. The heel hook lock family and ankle lock family document all entry and finishing variants in Fight Encyclopedia's taxonomy. Leg locks carry higher injury risk than arm locks because knee ligaments can fail before the pain signal provides adequate warning — which is why IBJJF restricts heel hooks to advanced divisions.

Blood Chokes (Back Control)

For deeper coverage of this category — competition stats, mechanical breakdown, and per-grip variations — see our complete guide on chokes from the back.

Blood and Air Chokes (Front / Guard Positions)

Arm and Shoulder Locks

Leg Locks

UFC Finishes by Submission (1993–2025, 8,457 fights)

Source: UFCStats.com, cumulative UFC data 1993–2025

ADCC World Championships (2022–2024)

Source: ADCC official competition records

The contrast between UFC and ADCC data illustrates how rulesets shape submission frequency. In UFC, heel hooks are relatively uncommon because fighters prioritize upright scrambles and explosive single-leg defenses over systematic leg entanglement. In ADCC — where the rule structure explicitly rewards submission attempts and heel hook entries are legal at all levels — heel hooks match the armbar in finish frequency. This confirms that the rear naked choke and armbar are universally effective across rulesets, while heel hooks require a specifically trained leg-lock-permissive game to deploy at competition level.

For a ranked analysis of which submissions close fights most efficiently across multiple promotions, see the top 10 most effective submissions by success rate. For how the full submission arsenal integrates into a complete MMA game — including setups from strikes, takedowns, and positional transitions — see the MMA foundational techniques arsenal.

BJJ's submission catalog overlaps substantially with submissions from wrestling's complete technique library — particularly the catch wrestling tradition, which used heel hooks, Kimuras, and front headlock chokes before BJJ was formalized. Sambo contributed the heel hook and the leg entanglement system; judo supplied the armbar, Kimura, and strangling catalog that forms BJJ's core. The shared vocabulary means that submission grappling — practiced as BJJ, wrestling, sambo, or MMA — draws on the same mechanical library across systems.

BJJ's specific contribution was systematic positional development: organizing every submission by its prerequisite position, mapping transitions between positions and submission attacks, and establishing drilling methodology for the full catalog. This is what separates BJJ from arts that contain submissions incidentally — BJJ treats the submission catalog as a complete taxonomy to be mastered position by position. Browse the full BJJ martial art page for context on how the submission game fits within BJJ's positional hierarchy.

1. Applying a blood choke to the wrong anatomical target. The rear naked choke placed across the back of the neck is a neck crank, not a carotid choke. The arm must cross the front of the throat. Counter: if you feel pressure at the posterior neck rather than anterior throat, the choke is misapplied and can be survived with chin-tuck defense while working a back escape.

2. Attacking the armbar before controlling the hips. The most common armbar failure is pulling down on the wrist before fully establishing hip angle and leg position. Without the near leg pressing on the chest and the far leg across the face, the opponent can posture up and stack. Counter: stack into the attacker's face, drive their hips upward to break the angle.

3. Confusing inside and outside heel hook mechanics. Inside and outside heel hooks are anatomically distinct attacks targeting different aspects of the knee joint. Applying an inside-heel-hook grip in an outside-heel-hook position produces reduced torque and creates scramble opportunities. Train each entry separately with attention to which way the heel is cupped.

4. Setting up the triangle choke without establishing angle. Triangles fail when the hips are not perpendicular to the opponent's torso before closing the legs. The trapped arm must cross the centerline. Counter: posture up, grip the closing leg, and stack before the perpendicular angle is set.

5. Continuing pressure after a tap. Submissions — especially heel hooks and shoulder locks — can tear ligaments faster than the athlete can vocalize a tap. In training, both partners bear responsibility for ending the hold the instant a tap is signaled, verbal or physical.

6. Defending the submission rather than the position. When back-mounted with a rear naked choke in progress, defending only the hands with a two-on-one wrist grip while ignoring the hooks preserves the dominant position indefinitely. Correct defense: clear one hook first, turn toward the attacker, recover guard — address the position, not merely the current submission attempt.

7. Over-relying on strength in Kimura entries. The Kimura is a leverage-based shoulder lock; muscling the arm upward with raw strength against a fully resisting opponent telegraphs the attack and depletes the attacker's endurance. Proper Kimura mechanics use body weight, hip elevation, and shoulder-to-mat pressure rather than bicep force.

8. Neglecting the guard choke entry before the triangle. Many triangle failures stem from skipping the guard control step: the opponent's posture must be broken first. Without broken posture, an experienced passer will simply stand and shake off the triangle before it closes.

How many submissions are in BJJ? Fight Encyclopedia's taxonomy documents more than 100 named submission holds across four mechanical categories. In competition, five techniques account for 82.9% of all UFC submission finishes: rear naked choke, guillotine, armbar, arm triangle, and triangle choke.

What is the most effective submission in BJJ? By competition data, the rear naked choke. Across 8,457 UFC fights (1993–2025), it accounts for 635 submission finishes — 39.8% of all submissions, more than double the next closest technique. In ADCC no-gi grappling (2022–2024), it accounts for 31.4% of finishes. No other single submission approaches this dominance across multiple rulesets. (Source: UFCStats.com; ADCC official records)

Are heel hooks allowed in BJJ competitions? Rules vary by organization and rank. IBJJF gi competition restricts heel hooks to brown and black belt divisions; they are prohibited at white through purple belt in gi, and in many open divisions at intermediate no-gi levels. ADCC and EBI permit heel hooks at all competition levels. The restriction reflects the higher injury risk: knee ligaments can fail before the defender registers adequate pain warning.

What is the difference between a Kimura and an Americana? Both attack the shoulder joint with a wrist-figure-four grip (ude-garami family) but in opposite rotational directions. The Kimura internally rotates the shoulder — the attacker lifts the opponent's wrist behind their back. The Americana externally rotates the shoulder — the attacker pushes the wrist toward the mat beside the opponent's ear. Kimuras are typically applied from guard or side control when the arm is beside the hip; Americanas from mount or side control when the arm is above shoulder level.

What is the hardest submission to escape once fully locked? By competition data, the rear naked choke has the highest completion rate once the figure-four is fully set — the structural compression is nearly impossible to break without addressing the back control position itself. Among leg locks, the inside heel hook has a very high completion rate at advanced levels because knee ligament damage begins at a small angle of rotation, providing little warning time before injury.

Can you submit an opponent from closed guard? Yes — closed guard is the most submission-rich position in BJJ. Available attacks include: triangle choke, armbar, Kimura, omoplata, guillotine, cross collar choke (gi), loop choke (gi), wristlock, and omoplata-to-triangle transitions. Hélio Gracie's emphasis on guard fighting was specifically designed to enable submission attacks from a position where a smaller person could operate against a larger opponent without requiring explosive strength.

Which submissions are illegal in IBJJF gi competition? Prohibited at all belt levels: heel hooks, knee reaping, spinal locks without an accompanying choke, and neck cranks. Prohibited below brown belt: straight ankle locks applied with the knee past the hip's sagittal plane (reaping position), and all knee-twisting leg locks. Wristlocks are prohibited below adult blue belt in some divisions. Consult current IBJJF ruleset for specifics, as rule updates occur regularly.

How long does it take to use BJJ submissions in live competition? Defensive awareness — recognizing when a submission is being applied and executing a trained response — typically develops within 12–24 months of consistent training. Offensive submission finishes in live rolling against trained opponents typically emerge between 6 and 18 months. High-percentage submission offense against skilled competitors (the standard at purple belt and above) generally requires 3–5 years of regular mat time. Leg lock proficiency typically requires additional specialized training beyond a general BJJ curriculum.

1. UFCStats.com — Fight-by-fight statistics including submission type, finish method, and cumulative data 1993–2025. Available at: http://ufcstats.com/statistics/events/completed

2. ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship official competition records — Submission type and frequency data, 2022 and 2024 editions. Available at: https://adcombat.com/adcc-history/

3. Gracie, Renzo and Gracie, Royler. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique. Invisible Cities Press, 2001. ISBN 978-1-931229-08-5.

4. Kano, Jigoro. Kodokan Judo. Kodansha International, 1986. ISBN 978-0-87011-766-1. (Chapters 6–8: shime-waza and kansetsu-waza classification and technique descriptions.)

5. International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). General System of Graduation and Graduation Requirements. Current ruleset, prohibited techniques, and divisional restrictions. Available at: https://ibjjf.com/rules

6. Danaher, John. Enter the System: Back Attacks. BJJ Fanatics, 2018. (Systematic back control methodology and rear naked choke finishing mechanics.)

7. International Judo Federation (IJF) Judobase. Competition statistics, technique classification, and historical contest data. Available at: https://judobase.ijf.org