The Americana: Break Shoulders and Force Back Takes
What is an americana in Jiu Jitsu? An americana (also known as a keylock or figure-four armlock) is a joint-lock submission that targets an opponent's shoulder and elbow. By securing a figure-four grip on their arm while it is bent at a 90-degree angle, you pin their wrist to the mat and elevate their elbow toward the ceiling. This immense torque forces the shoulder joint out of its natural range of motion and will cause severe damage if the opponent does not tap.
As we discussed in our Kimura guide, the Americana is the Kimura's twin brother. They use the exact same grip, but they attack the shoulder from different angles.
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The Setup: Maximum Pressure From Mount
While the Americana can certainly be hit from top side control, it is hands down most effective when you are in the mount position.
From mount, your entire body is working to immobilize them. Your legs are trapping their hips, and your heavy chest pressure is pinning their shoulders flat to the mat. From there, you are using two of your arms to isolate just one of their arms. It is a completely asymmetrical attack that overwhelming favors the top person.
The Breaking Mechanics (Pin the Wrist First)
A massive mistake beginners make is trying to crank the submission before they have actually secured the limb. They grab the arm and immediately try to lift the elbow while the wrist is still floating in the air.
You cannot torque a shoulder if the arm can still move. The absolute first step is forcing their wrist down and pinning it firmly to the mat. Once the wrist is pinned, the trap is set.
Keep the wrist glued to the floor, slide your free arm underneath their bicep to grab your own wrist (securing the figure-four), and then slowly raise their elbow up toward the sky. The wrist stays down, the elbow goes up. The shoulder will pop if they do not tap.
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Using the Americana as a Trap (The Gift Wrap)
Here is a reality check: against a high-level grappler, finishing a pure Americana is incredibly difficult. They know it is coming, and they have the strength and technique to defend it.
But in Jiu Jitsu, every defense opens up a new attack. When you are on mount and you aggressively attack the Americana, their most common defense is to bring their opposite, free arm across their body to grab their own hands and stop the torque.
When they reach across their body, they are making a fatal mistake: they are exposing their back. You can immediately use their defensive arm to transition into a "gift wrap" tie-up. From the gift wrap, you can easily pull them to the side, take their back, and finish with a Rear Naked Choke, or spin off for an Armbar From Mount.
Whenever somebody defends the Americana, it is a win if you use that reaction to transition to the back. Look at the Americana as a dual-threat weapon: it either breaks the shoulder, or it forces them to give you their back.
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