Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art that has hundreds of techniques for executing on your opponent to help you submit them and take the lead. Moreover, it is continuously increasing in the number of its techniques to provide its learners with an extensive range of strategies to learn from, and this is also making the Jiu Jitsu competition challenging. Now you have a lot of options to attack your opponent from one position in BJJ. If you are mastering a position, then you should also know what attacks you can execute against your opponent and also the defensive strategies to protect yourself against your opponent’s attacks when you are in that particular position. The same is the case with the arm saddle. You should learn what type of attacks you can do under the saddle position. Let’s explore the attacks you can do when you are in the BJJ arm saddle position.
Table of content
1. What is a BJJ Arm Saddle Technique?
The arm saddle is a technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you trap your opponent’s arm between your legs. This is the same as the leg saddle, but instead of the lower part as in the leg saddle, this technique is executed on the upper body of your opponent. The arm saddle technique provides numerous opportunities for submissions, unlike the leg saddle, which is mainly focused on the attack opportunities and not the submissions. So both are very similar, but the purpose and the control are different.
The arm saddle BJJ is more popular in No Gi as compared to the Gi Jiu Jitsu. The reason is that there is no need for grips in this technique. Instead, you only need proper control of your opponent’s arm. Once you have the control, you can utilize this control to create different submission opportunities.
While making the attack, your basic goal in your mind is to trap your opponent’s arm and utilize their arm for various attacks, leading to submissions. The other goal you have in this technique is to restrict the movement of other parts of your opponent’s body.
So, overall, the BJJ arm saddle is a very effective and efficient technique to trap your opponent and make their arm vulnerable to a lot of attacks, which can lead to their submission.
2. What Are The Benefits of a BJJ Arm Saddle?
The following are the benefits of an arm saddle in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

2.1 Tight Control Over the Opponent’s Arm
The first and most important benefit of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu arm saddle is that you get proper control over your opponent’s arm. This control over their arm means that you have the opportunity to submit them to various attacks and submissions, leading you to victory. One of the most common extensions to the arm saddle BJJ, and also the most effective and efficient, is the armbar.
In this technique, you are hyperextending your opponent’s arm beyond the normal range of motion. You already have trapped their arm in the saddle technique. Now you just need to get yourself perpendicular to your opponent, lie on your back while keeping your opponent’s arm in control, and then extend their arm beyond the normal range of extension. You can also rotate their arm and apply pressure to get the submission easier. This will cause them quick pain, and you will get the submission.
2.2 Highly Compromised Position For Your Opponent
The main goal of every Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grappler while playing in a professional match is to get their opponent in their trap or in a position that is very difficult for their opponent to escape. They want to get their opponent in a highly compromised position in which they cannot attack and also cannot defend themselves. This is because once you have your opponent in such a position, you can easily take them to the submission. So, what is the way to get your opponent in such a highly compromised position? That way or technique is the arm saddle in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
It is the technique that gives you the opportunity to trap your opponent’s arm and makes them vulnerable for you to make various attacks. On the other hand, it also provides you with the opportunity to restrict the movement of your opponent’s body to a great extent. So you are not only making them unable to execute the movements against you, but also they will not be able to defend themselves effectively.
So the arm saddle BJJ is a great way to put your opponent into a highly compromised position. Putting your opponent into such a position will get you into an advantageous and dominant position. You can execute a number of attacks after that helping you win the match.
2.3 Opportunity for Variety of Submissions
Another benefit of the arm saddle technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that you have the opportunity to execute a lot of submissions against your opponent. This is a very important benefit because you are always trying to find a single opportunity like that. Once one of you has the submission ability, they will have a great chance to win the match. They only need to execute that submission technique correctly.
Once you have your opponent in the arm saddle BJJ position or technique, you can submit them in various ways. One of the ways is the armbar, as discussed previously. You just need to hyperextend the already trapped arm of your opponent. Other ways include the kimura and triangle choke. So if you only master these three submissions and the arm saddle position, then it becomes very easy for you to win the match by forcing your opponent to tap out.
2.4 Great Transition Point
Transitions are a very important part of your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grappling session or match because they help you to move from a less dominant or submissive position to a more dominant position. You cannot keep yourself in a submissive position for too long. The more you stay there, the easier it is for your opponent to finally force you to tap out. So it is always suggested that you should not stay longer in a submissive position. Instead, try to move out from that less dominant position and try your best to switch to the more dominant position. This will help you to lead the match. That is why transitions are a very important aspect of your BJJ gameplay. You do transactions, and one complete, successful transition means that you have switched your position from the submissive to the dominant one.
But how do you get yourself to a dominant position by doing the transitions? This is when the arm saddle technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu comes into action. You just need to master the arm saddle, and whenever you think that you are in a dominant position, you should execute the arm saddle against your opponent. The result will be on your side, and you will be able to transition your position from bad to a good one.
-
With the help of an arm saddle, you can transition yourself from the bad position to many dominant positions, such as the mount or at the back of your opponent.
3. Opportunities For Attacks From BJJ Arm Saddle Position/ Technique
Why should you learn a technique or position if you cannot make various attacks against your opponent? The arm saddle position or technique also allows you to make a number of attacks on your opponent. Some of the attacks that you can make against your opponent once you have got them in the arm saddle are the following:
3.1 The Armbar
The first attack option, once you have your opponent’s arm trapped between your legs due to the execution of the BJJ arm saddle technique, is the armbar. An armbar is the hyperextension of your opponent’s arm beyond the normal range of movement or extension. When you think of the attack options from the arm saddle, the first option that comes to your mind is the armbar because it is more closely related to the saddle as compared to the other attack options. You have your opponent’s arm trapped between your legs, and then you can easily hyperextend their arm, leading to their submission. So the first and most important attack option from the BJJ arm saddle technique is the BJJ armbar.
3.2 The Kimura
The second attack option from the arm saddle position in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu martial art is the kimura lock. Kimura is a technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you control your opponent’s arm. After controlling their arm, you apply pressure on their shoulder joint. It is considered one of the most effective techniques for submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. You can execute or transition to kimura from the BJJ arm saddle position. You can estimate the effectiveness of its technique by knowing the fact that Helio Gracie, who was the co-founder of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was defeated by a grappler named Masahiko Kimura with the technique Kimura.
The defeat of Helio became so popular, and with the defeat, the technique of kimura also became popular. People started calling the submission technique after the grappler Kimura. He submitted the Helio with the kimura technique. So now you can imagine the technique is so effective that even the greats of the game and the cofounder Helio were helpless in front of the technique, and you can execute this kimura easily from the arm saddle BJJ position.
3.3 The Mount
The mount is a dominant position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you have the opportunity to submit your opponent through various attacks. You can transition to the mount position from the arm saddle BJJ position. In the mount, as the name indicates, you mount on your opponent. It means that your opponent is lying on the mat with their back on the ground, and you are on top of them, sitting on their torso. Your face is in front of their face. So in this position, you are absolutely dominant and you can easily transition you and your opponent’s position to the mount through the BJJ arm saddle position.
The mount has various forms, and another form in which you can transition yourself and your opponent is the back mount position. In the back mount, your opponent is lying on the mat with their back facing you and their front facing the mat. You are on the back of your opponent, grabbing them with your arms across their front. This is also a very effective and very dominant position in which you can transition yourself and your opponent from the BJJ arm saddle position.
3.4 The Side Control
The side control is another dominant position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you are lying perpendicular to your opponent. Your opponent is on the bottom, and you are on their top. As the name indicates, you are on the side of your opponent and over the torso of them, controlling their body. The legs, however, of your opponent are free and are not controlled by you. So you can say that the position of side control is not as effective as the other positions because of your opponent’s legs being free. But still, this is a very effective technique, and it can get you to a dominant position through the BJJ arm saddle position.
4. Last Words
The BJJ arm saddle position or technique is not a very common technique. But it is very easy and very effective technique. The technique is not only effective, but you can transition to various other positions, attacks, and submissions. So it is a very versatile technique. You can enter into the arm saddle position from various positions in the BJJ, and once you have gotten your opponent in the technique, you can transition yourself to various other positions. So it is a very effective and very easy to execute technique. You should learn this and implement it in your game.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
5.1 What Are The Opportunities For Attacks From BJJ Arm Saddle Position/ Technique?
Some of the attacks that you can make against your opponent once you have got them in the arm saddle are the following:
The Armbar
The Kimura
The Mount
The Side Control
5.2 What Are The Benefits of a BJJ Arm Saddle?
The following are the benefits of an arm saddle in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:
Tight control over the opponent’s arm.
Highly compromised position for your opponent.
Opportunity for a variety of submissions.
Great transition point.
5.3 What is the BJJ Arm Saddle Position/Technique?
The arm saddle is a technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in which you trap your opponent’s arm between your legs. This is the same as the leg saddle, but instead of the lower part as in the leg saddle, this technique is executed on the upper body of your opponent.
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.