Guide To Bar Submissions In BJJ: Dogbar, Kneebar, And Armbar

The bar submissions are very famous in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. There are many types of bar submissions, but all of these are very effective. They provide the grappler a very good opportunity to submit their opponent. The opponent finds it very difficult to escape the bars once they get caught in the loop. This is the reason they are very common in BJJ, and everyone tries to learn them. Being a beginner, you must be confused about the bars and their types. The article is a complete guide to all types of bars and their methods on how you can use them.

There are many submission methods in BJJ, among which bar submissions are very famous among BJJ athletes and beginners. The term bar refers to any type of submission in which the grappler hyperextends any joint of the opponent. Hyperextension here means to extend the joint beyond the normal range of motion. This can cause severe pain and injury to the opponent, depending on the hyperextension caused by the grappler.

The bars are not the only submission methods the grapplers use in their games. There are various other methods. But the submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are generally divided into three types.

• Joint locks

• Compressions

• Chokes

All submission methods fall into one of these categories. The bars fall into the joint locks. In joint locks, the grappler interferes with the joint of their opponent. They can press it against them or they can hyper-extend them, forcing them to submit. Compressions, as the name indicates, crush or compress any part of their opponent’s body, such as muscles or bone tissues.

Chokes are the last submission technique and include the application of pressure on the opponent’s body in such a way that it restricts the normal flow of air or blood, which will cause the opponent to submit and tap out, which would otherwise lead them to a serious injury.

The following are the most common types of bar submissions in BJJ:

Armbar is nothing less than the best submission in BJJ and the favorite of all Jiu Jitsu grapplers. This type of bar is commonly seen in BJJ fights.

The BJJ Armbar is focused on the elbow joint of the opponent’s arm. The grappler extends the arm to the point that the opponent taps out. It becomes very necessary for the opponent to tap out because they are at a very high risk of getting a severe injury.

To execute the armbar on your opponent, you have to make sure you are following the steps given below:

• If you are parallel to your opponent, get in a position perpendicular to them. This particular position will help you to execute the armbar easily. When you are in a parallel position to your opponent, you cannot hold their arm and execute the arm bar effectively.

• In the next step, you should try to hold their arms in such a way that their arms are pointing upward. Their wrists should be directed towards the sky. Hold the arm firmly. You should be close to their body. Get your legs close to their chest.

• After this, move your legs slowly while holding your arms. Place your legs over their upper body,i.e., chest. Your legs must not be straight over their body, but must be in a bent position. Remember that your opponent must be lying on their back on the mat for you to be able to execute the armbar submission on them. First, ensure that they lie on their back.

• Once your legs are over their body, their arm, which was in the control of your hands, should be between your legs now. The control must be shifted from your arms to your legs. You must do this slowly because your opponent can escape from that position. So you have to be very careful.

• Once you have placed their arm between your legs, the next step is to squeeze them harder. ASqueeze as much as you can. This will prevent them from making any move, as this will cause them severe pain.

• After squeezing, you are now in a sitting position very close to your opponent’s chest. Your legs and your arms are both controlling one arm. Now you should lie on your back. But make sure that you are not letting go of their arm with your hands and legs. Lie while keeping hold of their arm.

• Lying means that you are extending your arm while controlling your body so that your opponent can do nothing about it other than tap out. Keep extending their arm until it becomes a hyperextension, which means that their arm goes beyond the normal range of motion.

• Once their arm is hyperextended, they will feel a lot of pain. This pain, if they feel it for a significant time period, can make them submit or tap out. So this is how you can execute the armbar against your opponent in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

The second type of bar submission in Jiu Jitsu is the kneebar. The kneebar is the same technique as the armbar, but instead of the elbow, it focuses on the knee of your opponent. The knee is hyperextended to the extent that it forces the opponent to tap out.

The BJJ kneebar follows the same steps as were given for the BJJ armbar and are given below:

• Unlike the armbar, in the kneebar, you don't need to be perpendicular to your opponent’s body to execute the submission. The only thing you need to make sure of is that you get yourself in a position so that you can trap their leg between your legs.

• So, after getting yourself in a suitable position, hold their legs or foot with your arms.

• Next, after holding their leg with your arms, it will be easy for you to trap their leg with your legs. So move your legs and hold your opponent's leg between your legs. Make sure you are holding the leg with your hands also.

• Once you have trapped their leg between your legs, the next step is to squeeze their leg with as much force as you can apply. Continue doing this for some time.

• Next, you can do multiple things before completing the bar submission to make it even more effective. You can rotate their leg while squeezing it between your legs. The other thing you can do is you can keep their foot in your armpit to make the squeeze and rotation even more effective.

• After this, you should lie down on your back while holding your leg with your hands. This will help you extend their leg away from them. You can continue extending their leg until it hyperextends, meaning that it goes beyond the normal range of motion.

• Continue doing hyperextension for some time because this will cause them a lot of pain. They also have a fear of getting injured due to these hyperextensions. So this will force them to tap out. This is how you can do the kneebar.

The third bar submission technique is known as the dogbar in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It is also performed the same as the knee bar, but it is a little different. That is why it is known as the variation of the kneebar in BJJ.

• The dogbar in the BJJ is executed the same as the kneebar. It has all those steps that you have to follow in the kneebar. But it is different in only one thing, and that is the direction or angle of hyperextension.

• Another thing is that it is not only applied to the leg. The dogbar is versatile, which means that it can be applied both to the arms and legs of your opponent, i.e, the elbow and knee. In both cases, it is known as dogbar.

• It is basically initiated from various positions, such as over and underpass, in case applied to the leg of the opponent in which you are in overpass and your opponent is in underpass condition. In case of being applied to the arms or elbow, it is applied from the kimura grip mostly.

• This bar submission is not very common in BJJ, but it is very effective and can lead to an efficient submission if done properly.

• In dogbar, the angle at which the leg of the opponent is hyperextended is very different from the angle in the kneebar. The angle is very awkward and causes more pain than in the knee bar.

• Reverse armbar is a variation of armbar, just like the doggbar, which is a variation of the kneebar in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The reverse armbar is also known as the cutting armbar or razor lock. The main difference between the reverse armbar and the armbar is the direction of hyperextension.
• In a reverse armbar, you hyperextend the elbow joint of your opponent in the downward direction. In contrast, in a usual armbar, you extend the joint in the upward direction beyond the normal range of your opponent’s arm. Both armbars have the same techniques and steps of execution. Both involve hyperextending the elbow joint of your opponent and using your legs to trap the arm of your opponent.

• The toe hold is not commonly considered a type of bar submission, but according to some people, it is also a bar submission. Seeing its technique, it can be or cannot be a bar submission depending on its execution steps. In the toe hold submission, you grab your opponent’s foot with both your hands strongly. Now it is up to you whether you want to hyperextend the knee joint or not. 
• If you do, then the toe hold can be called a bar submission. If you don't hyperextend the knee joint of your opponent, then it should not be listed in the category of bar submission. So in the next step, you apply pressure on the foot and ankle of your opponent. In the last step, you twist and rotate their foot. This causes a lot of pain to your opponent, and they will quickly tap out. In case you are not hyperextending the knee joint of your opponent, then it will be listed in the category of leg lock submission.

The heel hook has the same consideration as discussed in the toe hold submission. It can also be or cannot be called a bar submission. In a heel hook, you try to twist the ankle and knee of your opponent. In this way, you are causing injury to the opponent’s ligaments. This does not seem dangerous, but it is very risky and can cause severe injury if you are doing it improperly to your opponent, and they don't tap out.

The bar submissions are a common technique BJJ athletes execute in their professional grappling matches. This makes learning them very crucial for you if you are just beginning in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although a lot of types are in bar submissions, the most common or most iconic is the armbar. This is because it is very easy and simple to execute. Another thing you need to do to learn to defend against these techniques of submission. If you are learning any offensive technique, make sure you know how you can defend against the same technique if your opponent applies the same technique on you. So start with the armbar and then proceed to other bar submissions.

There are many submission methods in BJJ, among which bar submissions are very famous among BJJ athletes and beginners. The term bar refers to any type of submission in which the grappler hyperextends any joint of the opponent. Hyperextension here means to extend the joint beyond the normal range of motion. This can cause severe pain and injury to the opponent, depending on the hyperextension caused by the grappler.

The main difference between the reverse armbar and the armbar is the direction of hyperextension. In a reverse armbar, you hyperextend the elbow joint of your opponent in the downward direction. In contrast, in a usual armbar, you extend the joint in the upward direction beyond the normal range of your opponent’s arm. 

The submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are generally divided into three types: joint locks, compressions, and chokes. In joint locks, the grappler interferes with the joint of their opponent. They can press it against them or they can hyper-extend them, forcing them to submit. Compressions, as the name indicates, crush or compress any part of their opponent’s body, such as muscles or bone tissues. Chokes are the last submission technique and include the application of pressure on the opponent’s body in such a way that it restricts the normal flow of air or blood, which will cause the opponent to submit and tap out, which would otherwise lead them to a serious injury.

The following are some types of bar submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

• BJJ Armbar: The Iconic BJJ Submission

• BJJ Kneebar

• BJJ Dogbar

• Reverse Armbar

• Toe Hold

• Heel Hook