How do I do an Armbar?

[Lizard]

The arm bar is a very popular move but I can't understand what it is supposed to do, is it supposed to pull their arm out of it's socket? What is the principle behind an armbar and more importantly: how do I do one? I know I should go to a BJJ school or something but there isn't anything like that near where I live.

[Tom Yum]

The goal of the armbar is to use your body (hips) to bend your opponents arm at the elbow against its natural range of movement. On the ground variations, the knees lock to secure the arm in place, with elbow just above groin level and you drive the hips and extend the back through the elbow while pulling with the arms to assist. In a match, its done for submission; in self-defense you snap the arm ASAP. There are several variations that can be pulled off from different angles.

In Jiu Jitsu, Aikido and Hapkido there are stand up variations, where either a simple grab, wrist lock or escape position the arm and opponents body so that you can apply pressure with your free arm backed by your body weight against the opponents elbow joint.

Hapkido has a throw that involves using your shoulder as the leverage point for breaking the arm and then a variation of judo's ippon seo nage as the throw.

[Roland]

Originally posted by Lizard
The arm bar is a very popular move but I can't understand what it is supposed to do, is it supposed to pull their arm out of it's socket? What is the principle behind an armbar and more importantly: how do I do one? I know I should go to a BJJ school or something but there isn't anything like that near where I live.

Do a search under google using "juji-gatame". Or get thee to the nearest Barnes and Noble (or Borders), wander over to the sports section - you should no doubt be able to find a plethora of books on BJJ and Judo, all of which should have this popular move described in varying degrees of detail.

[Grape_Ape]

Lizard, try Judo. You should be able to find a club near you. Most of BJJ is based on Judo with more concentration on the ground. Judo will give you a good base to build on.

[Szczepankiewicz]

An armbar occurs when the elbow joint is hyperextended.

Any way you get to it, the result is the same.

Some methods of locking the arm in this position are more efficient than others. However, each method has both advantages and disadvantages.

[Lizard]

Thanks everyone