Wrist locks in BJJ rolling

I never understood why wrist locks are viewed as rude. I don't think they work against good opponents anyway. People in my academy try them but they only work against white belts or accidentally due to position once in a blue moon

That’s because the people at your academy aren’t very good at them.
 
That might be true but I almost never see them in regional competition either in any division

In all fairness, very few people at any level are good at them. Calasans is the only top guy that I can think of.
 
So many upper belts I know dislike verbal tapping. I don't get it. On heel hooks and wrist locks I almost always verbal tap even if I don't think I need to. But I've had other upper belts be like "Nah man. Fuck that. I'm not verbal tapping unless it's really bad." Dude who cares if other people hear that you've tapped. Verbal tap also doesn't mean you have to scream like a wuss. You can just calmly say "tap."

I am considered an upper belt (Brown) and when I tap it is almost always verbal. It is clear and loud and I don't care who else hears it. There are no gym wins and I want to be doing this in my 50's (not but a few years away). I want my partner to let me go, NOW. Not in another second.
 
Man, this place is a shit show sometimes.

I play in a band and will not practice/train BJJ in the days leading up to a show because a really good wristlock will completely fuck me up. I can still play with a fucked elbow and shoulder, but playing guitar is all in the wrist. If you don't play guitar, or don't care about playing guitar, stfu and move on. THIS GUY'S livelihood is playing/teaching guitar...how could you possibly judge him for wanting to be able to continue to put food on his table?

For some, BJJ IS LIFE, for others, BJJ is jsut a part of life.

Quit being assholes.
 
In all fairness, very few people at any level are good at them. Calasans is the only top guy that I can think of.

I think wrist attacks are a relatively unexplored territory much like leg attacks were a few years ago. I don't think refinement would drive nearly as large a change in the metagame simply because upper body control is already orthodox, but I firmly believe there is fertile ground. I have a background in Aikido (yeah, yeah...) and the rotating wrist lock families are almost totally ignored in BJJ. I'm hardly a world-beater, but I have a few positions (spiderweb, omoplata, etc) where I've developed "unique to me" wrist attacks that catch people I have otherwise no business tapping. Done properly, a wrist attack can be applied with full control, with plenty of time to tap, and without sacrificing position. I'm not going to say that they're necessarily higher-percentage than the more standard BJJ approaches to those positions, but they do have a nice quality that the defense to the wrist almost always opens up a larger joint, and you can usually attack the wrist and elbow/shoulder simultaneously to each attack's mutual benefit.
 
Last edited:
THIS GUY'S livelihood is playing/teaching guitar...how could you possibly judge him for wanting to be able to continue to put food on his table?
LOL, get a real job.
 
Man, this place is a shit show sometimes.

I play in a band and will not practice/train BJJ in the days leading up to a show because a really good wristlock will completely fuck me up. I can still play with a fucked elbow and shoulder, but playing guitar is all in the wrist. If you don't play guitar, or don't care about playing guitar, stfu and move on. THIS GUY'S livelihood is playing/teaching guitar...how could you possibly judge him for wanting to be able to continue to put food on his table?

For some, BJJ IS LIFE, for others, BJJ is jsut a part of life.

Quit being assholes.

I think he got flack for a few reasons, namely that he seemed to imply wrist locks were illegal or dirty moves, which they aren't. He could easily have asked his instructor about the legality of them, or done a quick google search. I got on my high horse about the "my defense is good" thing, but that's a pet peeve of mine. I feel a little bad about that.

I think it's reasonable for OP to ask his partners not to wrist lock him; but he should be aware that they are doing him a solid.

I'm sympathetic to the idea that he needs his hands to earn a living, but then again, if you have a job where your livelihood will be materially impacted by an injury, should you really be doing BJJ? It's downright irresponsible if you've got mouths to feed, and yet, I know people who do it, and frequently they don't train in the most cautious manner.

Years ago, I trained with a professional viola player (she was in a major symphony orchestra) who hurt her hands boxing. She couldn't work (for a while). I felt bad, but at the same time, what was she thinking?
 
I think wrist attacks are a relatively unexplored territory much like leg attacks were a few years ago. I don't think refinement would drive nearly as large a change in the metagame simply because upper body control is already orthodox, but I firmly believe there is fertile ground. I have a background in Aikido (yeah, yeah...) and the rotating wrist lock families are almost totally ignored in BJJ. I'm hardly a world-beater, but I have a few positions (spiderweb, omoplata, etc) where I've developed "unique to me" wrist attacks that catch people I have otherwise no business tapping. Done properly, a wrist attack can be applied with full control, with plenty of time to tap, and without sacrificing position. I'm not going to say that they're necessarily higher-percentage than the more standard BJJ approaches to those positions, but they do have a nice quality that the defense to the wrist almost always opens up a larger joint, and you can usually attack the wrist and elbow/shoulder simultaneously to each attack's mutual benefit.
A dual Judo/Aikido Shodan does these weird cranking my palm out in some of his sleeve/wrist grips. He caught me Seoi Nage in Randori and forced me to circle to his forward side. Now that I've worked with him drilling it could be devastating if you didn't get time to understand what was happening.

I'd be stoked to spend some time picking his brain and drilling some of those setups, because with movement there's a shitload of positioning opening detail the rest of us would benefit from.
 
I think he got flack for a few reasons, namely that he seemed to imply wrist locks were illegal or dirty moves, which they aren't. He could easily have asked his instructor about the legality of them, or done a quick google search. I got on my high horse about the "my defense is good" thing, but that's a pet peeve of mine. I feel a little bad about that.

I think it's reasonable for OP to ask his partners not to wrist lock him; but he should be aware that they are doing him a solid.

I'm sympathetic to the idea that he needs his hands to earn a living, but then again, if you have a job where your livelihood will be materially impacted by an injury, should you really be doing BJJ? It's downright irresponsible if you've got mouths to feed, and yet, I know people who do it, and frequently they don't train in the most cautious manner.

Years ago, I trained with a professional viola player (she was in a major symphony orchestra) who hurt her hands boxing. She couldn't work (for a while). I felt bad, but at the same time, what was she thinking?

You're not entirely wrong, but there's some risk to everything....I'm also in IT and need my hands/wrists. I still teach Judo, I still train BJJ - I understand there is a risk and I try to work within a reasonable amount. I love wristlocks, but just like ankle stuff, should be done in a relatively controlled manner when you're training. If I'm competing then I'm open to getting demolished, but if I'm just training casually ( not like in a competition class) then my teammates also share some responsibility for not being assholes to ensure they get the "gym tap".
 
In all fairness, very few people at any level are good at them. Calasans is the only top guy that I can think of.

Quexinho just won this weekend with a wristlock from Omoplata. I use wristlocks a lot from side control or guard, but usually with the intention of getting them to move or expose their arm.

I should clarify that during training though, I never crank them and always give people a chance to tap.
 
I Fucking LOVE Wrist locks! There's one I do where I have them in Kesa and they try to pull their far side arm out and I trap the hand under my pit. They look at me like "Oh Fuck!". I look into their eyes with a evil grin as I slowly press forward for the "TAAAAAP!"

I'm a Dirty Dirty Boy!
 
iv never really trained them outside of using it to break an armbar defense. i think they are to dangerous to do in competitions even in the gym you can hurt someone bad especially during a heated scramble
 
iv never really trained them outside of using it to break an armbar defense. i think they are to dangerous to do in competitions even in the gym you can hurt someone bad especially during a heated scramble

This is true, but also true of any submission applied in a heated scramble (yes, wrist locks are a bit like heel hooks in that the injury threshold is lower). However, it's perfectly possible to use them slowly from basically any non-guard top control position.. Attacking them relentlessly will at the very worst make your opponent super paranoid about their hand position and will give you reactions you wouldn't otherwise get, much like leg attacks.
 
I've come close to landing kote gaeshi in tournaments a few times but have yet to fully seal the deal :(

kotegaeshi is rad. one of the few techniques I retained from my aikido before I realized I needed something with more sparring
 
Thanks, I wasn't aware that wrist locks were allowed in class or in competition at all. I'll begin training them. Also, the reason I have good defense is because I'm smaller than the majority of the people who roll so I've had to develop a decent bottom game. I have good fundamental sweeps but you make it sound like shelling up is a bad thing or easy to do when someone much bigger/stronger/better than you is on top. A strong frame is a fundamental part of BJJ and grappling in general. If you can't break someones shell then you need to work on your attacks and top game.

A great way to break someone's frame is to wrist lock.
 
Any go to examples you like?

The most common one I run into is whenever someone is posting their hand on you "flat" with their palm. Like a "STOP" gesture if you can picture it. This is wristlock heaven and works from anywhere - when you are on top and trying to pass, or already in side body especially. Grab their elbow and break your hips into their wrist. Don't go crazy because you can seriously hurt them.

In other positions it is hard to finish the wrist lock, but really helps getting them to let go of their grip and back up and makes them much more tentative in trying to grab you. Like when you are in full guard or half guard bottom and they reach out, if their hand is not flexed and their palm is perpendicular to their forearm, grab them from the elbow and drive in.

If their reaction is delayed you can finish the wrist lock. Most likely they will overreact and pull back, and you can use the space to do whatever you want to do.
 
Back
Top