10 Submissions You Don’t See Everyday

Unless you are a brown or black belt, or constantly train with a lot of brown or black belts, then chances are you aren’t exposed to that many submissions. Until you reach the higher belts, almost everyone uses the same basic submissions – armbars, triangles, Kimuras & Americanas, some variety or collar chokes, RNCs (rear naked chokes) & guillotines, and the occasional leg lock. There are hundreds of submissions in jiu-jitsu, and each of those has numerous variations, leading to thousands of possibilities. It’s impossible to know them all, let alone use them all. To mix things up, I decided to compile a list of submissions we don’t see everyday. Since there are so many, I whittled the list down to ten uncommon, wicked awesome submissions. If you want some submissions you don’t see everyday, and maybe even add some new tools to your arsenal, you’re in the right place. Without further ado:

10) Anaconda & D’Arce (Brabo) Chokes

Yes, these are two different chokes. They’re essentially inverted arm triangle variations, and very effective when your opponent is in the turtle position. They are similar, but an Anaconda is a reverse D’Arce and vice-versa. (Think triangle, and reverse triangle, where you switch the legs. Not inverted triangle.) Here’s a nice video from Stephan Kesting demonstrating both, and explaining the difference between the two.

9) The Clock Choke

The clock choke is another effective weapon when your partner is turtled up, and they’re not letting you back mount them. It’s almost like a baseball choke from turtle position. Here’s Rafael Mendes teaching it in his beautiful academy.

8) Banana Split & Electric Chair

I could really go for some ice cream right now. These two moves are a bit different from each other, but both attack the groin area – let’s see ol’ Rubber Legs get outta this one with his flexibility. I like the electric chair position because there’s a submission as well as a sweep you can hit. It’s a 2-for-1 special.

7) Peruvian Necktie

This one’s good if you’ve got your opponent in turtle, but he’s grabbing on to one of your legs. It’s similar to the Brabo or Anaconda, but you sit through to guard in this one, and create some serious leverage.

6) Spinning Inverted Amrbar

Spinning. Inverting. Armbar. I know I said submissions you don’t see everyday, but it doesn’t get much cooler than this. Truthfully, the only reason it’s on the list is because Keenan Cornelius used it at the BJJ Expo to submit Lucas Leite in that photo finish. Here’s Keenan himself showing us how to do it.

5) Gogoplata

Make all the go go gadget jokes you want, this technique is no joke. It’s sneaky, and even if you mess it up, the omoplata is waiting for you like a pre-wrapped birthday present. Here’s Nick Diaz demonstrating it on his brother Nate.

And here’s him using it in a a fight against Takanori Gomi.

4) The Twister

This submission is categorized as a spinal lock. That’s about as uncommon as they come. Here’s Ryron and Rener Gracie breaking it down.

And here’s the fight they were breaking down.

3) Barata Plata

The unofficial move of Rafael Freitas. I heard he doesn’t even like to call it that. This is a great omoplata variation attack from mount, taught by Barata himself.

2) The Asylum

True to its name, this submission is nuts. There’s a lot going on in this technique, and I’m not even sure what to compare it to. What it boils down to is a collar choke of some sort, but if you use this, your opponent won’t know what choked him.

1) Unknown

That’s Marcelo Garcia for you. This move is so sick, people don’t even know what to call it. At least, I don’t, and I’ve scoured the internet trying to identify it. Here, Marcelo is rolling with Bellator MMA welterweight champ Ben Askren (who recently left Bellator. Joining UFC soon?). If you don’t know about Ben, he’s a wrestler with moves like you’ve never seen. His wrestling style is rather unorthodox, and interesting to watch. At 6:35 in this video, Marcelo uses a submission which can best be described as “a full nelson using your legs.” I actually used a variation of this after I saw it and it worked. I went for a double under pass and somehow got my legs around my partner’s arms similar to Marcelo, then stacked my partner up onto his shoulders and squeezed my legs together. The person who posted the video calls the move a “Behind-the-back bonanza choke.” While it seems a fitting name, and is rather humorous, I don’t think that’s correct.

(If anyone knows the name of this submission, let us know in the comments!)

So what do you think? Are there submissions out there even more wild or uncommon? What are your top ten? Leave ’em in the comments section below.

Oss! See you on the mat.