Submissions come in many forms, but there’s only one King
The Five Core Attacks in
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and which one you should be focusing on.
BJJ is often described as the art of human chess – a tactical battle where technique, timing, pressure, leverage, strength, and intelligence decide the outcome. But, behind the sweeps, guard passes, scrambles, and positional exchanges, BJJ fundamentally revolves around a few core submissions. Understanding these can sharpen your game and make you a more effective grappler in a shorter time.
Let’s have a look:
#1. Chokes – Cutting off the Air
Chokes focus on attacking the trachea or windpipe, aiming to stop oxygen from reaching the brain. They create a crushing pressure that forces your opponent to either tap or face unconsciousness. Think of holding your breath underwater for this one. It would take a decent amount of time for an adult to go unconscious due to restricted airflow. A caveat for BJJ is that due to a likely elevated heart rate and harder breathing, the time will be a bit quicker, but still. In reality, the tap likely will come from a tight, nasty squeezing pressure and the pain it causes, rather than the threat of going unconscious.
Notable Examples of Chokes in BJJ
- Ezekial chokes
- Guillotines (not all variations, however)
- Gogoplata
- Short chokes
#2. Strangles – Cutting of Blood
Unlike chokes, strangles specifically target the carotid arteries on either side of the neck, restricting blood flow to and from the brain. This, as opposed to chokes and air restriction, results in incredibly quick unconsciousness. And unlike chokes, strangles are surprisingly gentle in application. Although scarier sounding, strangles are generally considered less dangerous than chokes due to the potential of damage to the windpipe in chokes, however, that said, if misapplied or held too long, strangles can cause significant injury or death.
One issue you’ll come across in BJJ is the incorrect labelling of chokes and strangles – it’s somewhat annoying, but Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and naming things is a little iffy at the best of times so hey.
Notable Examples of
Strangles (despite their names…)
- Rear-Naked Choke
- Triangle Choke
- Arm Triangle
- Bow and Arrow
- Cross Collar Choke
- D’Arce and Anaconda
#3. Joint Locks – Manipulating the Skeleton
Joint locks work by hyperextending or isolating a joint beyond its natural range of motion. Think about the way a hinge works – it closes and opens, but only one way. What if you opened that hinge beyond where it wants to, trying to fold it back on itself? It breaks most likely. This is akin to an armbar and the elbow joint.
Joint locks aren’t about pain, well not just anyway, they’re about control. A well-applied joint lock leaves your opponent with no way to turn, move, wriggle, or any safe direction, forcing a tap or damage to the targeted joint.
Joint locks typically come in two flavours – straight and rotational. This is something worth a deep dive, so I’ll write something specific for this later on.
Notable Examples of Joint Locks
- Armbar
- Kimura
- Knee bar
- Heel Hook
- Ankle lock
- Wrist lock
#4. Compression and Crushes – The Pain…
Not every submission is elegant or technical. Some rely on attacking soft tissue or small muscle groups with the goal of creating intense, localised pain. These submissions feel like a sharp, unbearable pressure that makes tapping the most sensible option. They’re a good reminder that although BJJ is the gentle art, it is still a very brutal martial art.
Notable Examples of Compressions and Crushes
- Calf Slicers
- Bicep Slicer
#5. Cranks – Twisting the Spine
Cranks are nasty. Very nasty. They’re painful manipulations of the spine, often targeting the cervical (neck), or lumbar (lower back) regions. They’re not always welcome in gyms and in competitions, and in the training room, they definitely need to be trained with caution. They’re extremely uncomfortable and often very dangerous, so yeah, be careful.
Notable Examples of Crushes
- Twister
- Can Opener
- Neck Cranks
Key Takeaways
Chokes – Attacks on the trachea or windpipe to stop oxygen to the brain
Strangles – Attacks on the carotid arteries to stop blood to and from the brain
Joint locks – Hyperextension of the joints
Compression / Crushes – Targeted pain on soft tissue or smaller muscles
Cranks – Painful manipulation of the spine, usually the cervical or lumbar vertebrae
Which Should you be Focussing on?
Nothing beats a strangle.
Hands down the strangle is the king of the submission game and there needs to be a special priority placed onto strangles in your BJJ.
As you rise through the ranks and competition gets tougher, there is going to be tremendous resistance to all submission holds. In competitions, there are countless examples of people unwilling to tap despite their opponent applying a stellar joint lock.
They will simply take excessive damage and continue.
Herein lies the reason the strangle sits atop the hierarchy as king: decisions.
You can decide to tough out a choke (for a good while anyway) and certainly tough out a joint lock, but, there is no toughing out a strangle. If they fail to address it, fail to tap, they will simply pass out, and often quickly.
The outcome of the fight therefore is not determined by their mental or physical toughness. In a combat situation, always favour the stranglehold!
Closing Thoughts
Knowing the types of attacks available to you in BJJ helps not only simplify the complex nature of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but also how to define your training, how to apply them, and how to focus on each type.