The armbar from guard is one of those bread-and-butter techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A signature move, if you will.
Unfortunately it can also be difficult for some people execute the mechanics of the armbar from the guard correctly. It’s easy to get confused with all that gripping, shifting, adjusting and swivelling, and then completely botch the whole technique.
But I’ve found a way to make the armbar from the bottom a whole lot easier to teach.
This method relies on isolating and working on the most difficult part of the move first: namely the 90 degree swivel that’s required before you step over the head for the armbar. When the student learns the technique this way they don’t get as confused by all the other steps. This approach is a little bit like the method I use to introduce the X Guard, namely teaching, isolating and drilling the most complicated part of the technique first, which then makes the rest of the technique seem downright easy.
I’ve made a video talking about this method which I’ve posted below. In that video I work with a 10 year old boy from my kid’s class, but don’t discount the technique or the teaching method because of the age of the practitioner – the very same teaching technique works for adults as well!
(One of my teachers and greatest inspirations – Dan Inosanto – often talks about how he tests new material, sequences and progressions on his kid’s class. He figures that if kids can learn it then it’ll work well for adults as well, and I completely agree!)
Anyway, check out this little video about the easiest method I’ve found to teach the armbar from closed guard: