Riz's Martial Arts Training

The Arm Drag is a ridiculously simple move, so simple that I don't even like thinking of it as a technique in itself! To perform it, you just need to grab, pull and guide your opponent's leading/attacking arm (yes, with more finesse than I've described it). It works on the age-old martial arts concept of using your opponent's size, weight and momentum against them. That is, when your opponent's momentum is advancing forward (or alternatively, his posture is such that his size and weight are pushing his body forward), you grab and guide him in the direction he was already moving (often pulling him off-balance). Depending on the scenario, the move can be performed with explosive force or with gentle, well-timed grace. Here's Marcello Garcia showing you how it works:

Long & Short

Personally, I like the break the arm drag down into two categories: The Long Drag, and the Short Drag. A long drag involves you gripping your opponent's wrist/forearm and guiding him a longer distance (think: Aikido) – this movement becomes especially useful in conjunction with wrist locks, sweeps and heavy striking techniques (more so from when you are standing). The Short Drag involves you gripping your opponent behind the elbow, usually resulting in less overall movement – the resulting scenario is usually ideal for shoulder barges, major hip throws and taking your opponent's back (though an elbow to the back of the head never goes amiss either!).

If timed correctly, a Long Drag can be used to lead into a Short Drag. Both are suitable for gi/no-gi applications.

Application

Arm drags are especially useful against aggressive or dirty fighters who opt to shove, tackle or grind their arms into you (usually their forearm across your face). In fact, the reason I first used an arm drag in BJJ is that someone in my guard was grinding his forearm over the bridge of my nose while punching at my ribs; I pushed his elbow across, (short) dragged his arm and took his back – love connection made.

Furthermore, arm drags are especially well-suited for smaller fighters (finally, gravity is on our side!) as their opponents often need to lean further forward (or in my case, almost crouch!) in order to efficiently attack. There's a psychological aspect that helps here too – I find that most fighters (even guys who'd otherwise opt for a more defensive/reactive style of playing) when facing a smaller opponent immediately want to dominate by rushing forward or dropping their weight on them.

As I've mentioned, the arm drag is ridiculously simple – so simple, that people get it wrong all the time! It literally is guiding your opponent in the direction he's already poised to go.

• Don't make the mistake of tugging and pulling in a direction your opponent clearly isn't moving – to move him will take a lot of strength and it will tire you out in the process.
• Remember to move your body appropriately (it's all in the hips) when attempting a long drag otherwise you may find that you've just given your opponent a better position – I think of it like this: I'm dragging my opponent a longer distance, so instead of counting on him to make the journey all by himself (your opponents aren't the most trustworthy people after all), I'll help him along – either by scooting to the side or step around myself (tai sabaki).

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Also known as ude garami in Judo; Sometimes called a Key lock, Figure-Four Armlock or Chicken Wing (which incidentally was the nickname of a good friend of mine when we were in school…nothing to do with martial arts, everything to do with the way he used to run).

The Americana is a basic submission where the arm is bent at around 90 degrees and twisted towards the head cranking the shoulder as well as applying a large amount of pressure to the elbow. 

This high percentage submission is most commonly performed from Side Control (usually, 'Four Point' Side Control) or from Mount; some practitioners are also very successful at applying the technique from the Top Half Guard position. It is also commonly used by many traditional Stand-Up systems as a basic lock/takedown against an incoming punch or downward 'stab' (a la Psycho).

The link below (they wouldn’t allow me to embed the video – sorry!) takes you to Gene Simco (whose name appears to be synonymous with controversy in the BJJ universe) explaining how to apply the Americana from the Closed Guard (with and without a Gogoplata variation – but if you already have a Gogoplata locked into place, why wrestle for an Americana as well? That's just greedy Mr Simco!):

Gene Simco Gogoplata/Americana from Guard Double Attack

The Americana was the first submission I worked on in a BJJ class. I had never been a fan of its Stand Up application as was taught to me in Karate and to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the submission's application on the ground either! I just feel that that to really effectively use the submission, you need to be able to pin down your opponent's arm – given that many of my training partners are able to more or less bench press me with a single arm (no joke!), the technique for me just feels unstable/risky, more so from the Mounted position.

Even when on the receiving end, I find that the Americana is relatively easy to defend or counter against. I tend to notice that when it does work, it is more a case of brute force than technical expertise (I mean in general, not just with me) – it's bizarro twin, the Kimura, is a lot more threatening.

So why have I posted this article? Well, just because I can't work the technique as well as I'd like doesn’t mean it’s a 'bad' technique – it's one of the simplest and most commonly used submissions from Beginner to Black Belt level (or so I've been led to understand!). Furthermore, its application from Guard (which has a lower success rate) works well if you use it as a Sweep (its works wonderfully if you combine it with a Butterfly Hook).

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