Breaking the Grip

BJJ grip-breaking techniques with Rigan Machado. As one of the world’s most decorated submission-grappling experts, Professor Rigan Machado is amply qualified to write an instructional bible on BJJ — the best-selling book The Encyclopedia of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Here, we take a look at one of the important lessons within — how to break an opponent’s grip and snare a submission-hold.

Masters Magazine

Submitting an opponent via a straight arm-lock or arm-bar is probably one of the most rewarding sensations any Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor may have in his career. While it sounds very simple, it is a difficult task to achieve because an unco-operative opponent will do anything possible to stop it. For example, an opponent may grip his own hands together, or grab his sleeve, to create a hold that prevents his arm from being straightened, and thus the elbow being hyperextended or ‘popped’.

The skill of gripping is important for successfully preventing an arm-lock, and there are many different grips that can be utilised. That means, of course, that the skill of breaking the grip is going to be of utmost importance in successfully arm-barring an opponent. In this excerpt from The Encyclopedia of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (the revised edition soon to be available in one single volume), legendary BJJ champion Rigan Machado demonstrates various ways to break the grip by using your hands, forearms and legs to create leverage. Most competitors try to use excessive force when trying to do this, but the key is in the timing and applying the force at the correct angle.

When the opponent is holding the grip tightly, he is expecting you to immediately try to break it, so you must be smart and deceive him by playing with other possible attacks and attempts of changing the position. His focus will be on those attempts, and that will divert his full attention away from maintaining his grip. Then, go for it, and breaking the grip will be easier.

Here, Professor Machado instructs us in the application of a diverse repertoire of grip-breaking techniques to be used in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sparring and competition.