Arm drags from the guard went supersonic when a little-known brown belt named Marcelo Garcia choked out four-time world champion Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro at ADCC 2003 in São Paulo, Brazil.

It was over so quick!  Here’s the whole match…

Marcelo winning this match (and then the whole division) was such an upset that thousands of grapplers, myself included, immediately started working on arm drags, and the sport has never been the same since.

Arm drags are now used in every competition, from local events in high school gyms to the very highest levels of competition.

Dragging someone has the potential to end a match almost instantly and sets up lots of other sweeps, attacks and submissions.

If they haven’t already, someone will definitely try it on you eventually.  Therefore, you need to have an answer for it ready in advance!

Here are three of my favorite ways to counter the arm drag attack…

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Armdrag Demo
00:10 Counter 1: The Judo Chop
00:35 Counter 2: Redrag to Back
01:08 Counter 3: Post, Pike, Pass, Followup

Let’s quickly review the core moves and ideas covered in this video…

The Basic Armdrag from Butterfly Guard

Just to review, here’s the basic armdrag into the rear naked choke.  Essentially you control your opponent’s wrist with one hand and his triceps area with the other. Then you pull him past you while scooting to his back.

If things work out then you’ll end up with one of your hooks in and be halfway to the back.

Once on his back you’ve got a great opportunity to tap him out, most typically with the rear naked choke.

Click here for a detailed breakdown of the most efficient arm drag.

Arm Drag Counter 1: The Cross-Chest Judo Chop

This is the simplest armdrag counter by far.  As he pulls your arm across his body and starts moving to your back keep square to him and shoot your free hand between your body and his.

Be careful with your training partner!! Don’t hit him too hard; you just want to block his forward progress with your forearm, NOT chop him in the throat with your hand or land a big knockout elbow to his temple.

After your forearm makes contact with his chest use that as a counterpoint to withdraw your other arm and reset.  Don’t leave your arm out where he can establish a 2-on-1 control on it and attack you with something new!

Arm Drag Counter 2: Redrag to the Back

If your opponent attacks with an equation arm drag (i.e. he has elbow control and you have elbow control) then it opens up the opportunity for a really unique counter; the redrag.

As soon as as you feel the arm drag being applied to your right arm step forward forward with your opposite (left) foot.  This gives you the base you need to avoid falling flat on your face.

Now grab his elbow, spin 180 degrees, land behind him, and take his back.

If you get good enough at this you can actually bait the arm drag and use this counter to take his back.

Arm Drag Counter 3: Post, Pike, Pass, and Followup

The moment you feel yourself being pulled forward post both your hands on the far side of his body, extend your legs and pike your hips up, then hop your legs over to achieve side control.

This is not a tricky movement, but you have to get the timing right.  If you drill it enough then eventually it’ll allow you to teleport right past his guard and into a dominant position.

At the 1:08 mark of the video at the top of this page I had some fun and finished off the guard pass with a rolling Kimura backtake. It looks fancy but it’s easier to do than you think; click here to have that backtake broken down for you into simple, easy-to-follow steps.

How to Improve Your Arm Drag Game

The arm drag is a very deep position.

It has been used to perfection by Rob Biernacki who used it to take gold in the 83 kg Advanced Masters division of the ADCC Open while competing with a fractured right hand and facing people 15 years younger than him.  Then, just a few months later, won another gold medal at No Gi Worlds.

Part of his success is that he has a complete gripfighting system to dominate this position, and has paired it with the 2-on-1 grip.

You can use these two grips and the attacks that they enable to absolutely drive your opponents crazy, make it impossible for them to pass your guard, and choke them out a LOT more often!

This entire system can be yours if you check out The Arm Drag and 2 on 1 Formula, available here on Grapplearts.

Click Here to Choke Out Higher Belts with the Armdrag!

 

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