{"id":19955,"date":"2023-08-13T17:02:48","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T22:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/?p=19955"},"modified":"2023-08-13T17:36:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T22:36:23","slug":"americana-lock-bjj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/americana-lock-bjj\/","title":{"rendered":"Americana Lock BJJ (Complete Submission Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Americana lock is a fundamental submission hold in BJJ and other grappling martial arts with different names but the same mechanics. It’s a move every practitioner with even a few weeks of practice has at least seen, if not tried himself. So what characterizes the Americana?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Americana keylock is a submission that applies pressure to the shoulder and elbow of an opponent by putting his arm at a 90-degree angle by controlling the wrist. The move is characterized by a figure-four grip by the attacker, who isolates an arm and forces it into hyper-external rotation. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared to its close cousin, the Kimura, the Americana is less common at higher levels of competition. Still, nevertheless, it is a move everyone must know how to execute and defend against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>What Is The Americana Lock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Americana is a shoulder lock used as a submission in Brazilian jiu-jitsu<\/a>. The move is known by other names in other grappling martial arts, like ude-garami in Judo and figure four armlock in catch wrestling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Americana is a submission in which you control one of the opponent’s arms with both of yours, bending it in an “L” shape by controlling the wrist (palm pointing towards the ceiling) with a figure four grip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then you create rotational pressure, which causes severe pain in the shoulder and elbow. This technique perfectly represents the principles of leverage and fulcrum points used in jiu-jitsu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Americana is a foundational move in BJJ, and one of the first submissions taught to white belts everywhere because of the simple mechanics and potency of the technique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not entirely clear where the name comes from, but the keylock is inevitably a move used in grappling styles for ages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technique crossed over to BJJ<\/a> from judokas and catch wrestlers in the early 20th century, many of whom came from America, and has been a part of the jiu-jitsu curriculum since the 1950s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference between the Americana and the other very similar keylock, the Kimura, is the position of the forearm and fist: if the hand is pointing upwards in the direction of the head, then it\u2019s an Americana; if the hand points downwards to the legs, it\u2019s a Kimura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Execute The Americana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While there are ways to apply an Americana lock from many different positions, usually, you need to be in a dominant position and have good control over the opponent’s body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why mount and side control are the two most common positions from which the Americana is possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The execution from the two is quite similar, you need to isolate and control one arm with both of yours, but from the mount, you have the advantage of pressuring with your body weight to isolate the arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is how it\u2019s done step by step:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Americana From Mount<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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