Crazy BJJ Submissions! Who doesn’t love them? From flying submissions like armbars and triangles to intricate stuff like inside heel hooks from the Tuck position. There’s nothing that you can’t do in BJJ if you set your mind to it and learn how to do it. The thing with crazy BJJ submissions is what you consider to be crazy. This, as you’ll see, tends to change as you progress through your Jiu-Jitsu journey. The one unifying characteristic of unorthodox submissions is the fact that they’re unexpected and pretty hard to escape once they’re on. Today’s selection of techniques is going to be somewhat surprising, and crazy enough to fall under this category of submissions.
The moves people tend to think of as crazy BJJ submissions are definitely not set in stone. While a beginner might be more impressed with a flying submission, a purple belt is more likely to consider rolling kneebars as crazy BJJ submission attempts. Black belts, or more senior grapplers, on the other hand, are more likely to fancy sneaky submissions as crazy ones. To that extent, sneaky submissions involving unusual body parts for a direct or indirect finish are most definitely favorites of more experienced and/or older/injured grapplers. Today,s unexpected boy part is the foot, and we’ll be looking at how to hit submissions by introducing your feet into the mix.
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Crazy BJJ Submissions
So what’s the point of going for any of the moves we consider crazy BJJ submissions? Apart from beginners, who might find the attractive aspect of these kinds of moves, more experience grapplers like them because of efficiency. Namely, all these submissions work just as well, if not better, than regular ones. All that it takes is to find a way to incorporate them into your usual game plan, and you’ll have a great secret weapon!
The first main benefit of going for things on the crazier side of BJJ is that they might work. While crazy BJJ submissions rarely fall in the high-percentage category, they still tend to work very often. The reason for this is the element of surprise. Who would expect you to use a foot to choke them while you’re working on another submission? This brings us to yet another great benefit – easy setups. Sneaky moves usually work as blitz moves, which means they’re integrated into the setups of techniques you’re already using. So no need to learn brand new complicated mechanics.
Furthermore, there’s one more advantage that sneaky and crazy moves offer. They can act as “openers” against really defensive or tough opponents. With people that expect regular attacks, a crazy move might get them panicking, and therefore making mistakes. It is not unusual for crazy BJJ submissions to open up other submissions, transitions, or positional attacks.
Using The Feet To Your Advantage
The feet are not a common body part when we think of submissions. Well, at least when we think of executing them on other body parts. While leg submissions like triangle chokes or Omoplatas are pretty much the norm, we rarely use the feet to elicit a tap. This is exactly what makes them perfect for surprising, crazy BJJ submissions. Who would expect you to use your foot to choke them?
The feet are actually very versatile tools that are severely underrated in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It doesn’t take much foot flexibility to choke someone, provided you’re in the correct position. Simply put, as long as you have mobile hips, you’ll be efficient at finishing people with the help of your feet. To that extent, most submissions that involve the feet, directly or indirectly are chokes. How many foot-based chokes can you name off the top of your head right now? How about situations where using a foot proves pivotal in finishing a move?
It is about time you refresh and expand your knowledge on the subject of sneaky submissions with the feet. To make things easier to organize, we have two distinct categories – direct submissions and indirect ones.
Direct Foot Attacks
First up, the foot finish that most of the grappling world is aware of, yet only a handful use. The culprit behind this one is Keenan Cornelius, a tireless innovator and fan of the sneaky stuff. His foot choke from the bottom has only one drawback – t requires a Gi to work. For the first of our crazy BJJ submissions today, you’ll start from z-guard. The goal is to place two grips on each collar of the opponent’s Gi. From there, all it takes is to place the side of your knee shield foot directly on the opponent’s throat. Pull with the arms as you push with the edge of the foot on the throat for a brutal air choke.
Next up, an Eddie Bravo masterpiece. While we all know and can’t do the Gogoplata from the guard, there’s always a better way to hunt for it. This is, arguably, the most famous foot choke in BJJ. This time, however, you’ll go for the Gogoplata from the mount. All it takes is to have one arm trapped, like for an Omoplata. From there, you can transfer the foot over the opponent’s face quite easily. The crucial finishing detail is to hug the head with both arms and fall to the side of your choking leg. No escape from there and finishing is a breeze.
Finally, there’s the armbar choke. This one works like a charm from open guard and is a great way to at least get an armbar. With two sleeve grips, simply place a leg across the opponent’s chest, hooking the foot at their neck. From there, pull the opposite side arm in for an armbar. As you cross your legs, you’ll end up choking your opponent first, and have the armbar as a backup!
Need A Helping Foot?
Finally a couple of options to finish regular submissions crazily. One great option is to use your foto to finish a collar choke from the back. Let’s say you have a collar choke in, but you lack the leverage to finish. Whenever you’re lying on the strong side of the back mount, you’ll have an issue with re-adjusting your grip because the opponent is on your arm. So, instead of bailing, use your foot to help you finish instead. First, release the lapel on the top side and grab it with your arm, the lower – the better. Next, use your top foot to place downward pressure on that same lapel. The direction of pressure should be towards your belt and backward. This takes all slack away from and amplifies the collar choke you’re trying to get.
And, at the very end, there’s the “douchebag”. Another one of Eddie Bravo’s crazy inventions, this one definitely merits being in the crazy BJJ submissions category. IT starts from the spider web position when you’re battling to get an armbar. Opponents tend t be really stubborn from here, especially if they have a Gi on. So, in order to break their resistance, you’re going to use an unusual move. All it takes is to lift the leg you have over their head and place the outer edge of the foot on their throat. Now just push and you’ll get the armbar straight away. Or, if the opponent is unusually stubborn, they’ll tap to the same choke that Keenan likes.
