Also known as: Juji Gatame · Cross Armlock · Straight Armbar · Armlock · Arm Bar
The first submission most people ever learn and one of the highest-percentage in history: isolate an arm across your center line, swing your hips to a right angle, and hyperextend the elbow over your pelvis.
Submission · Armlock · Gi & No-gi · Difficulty 2/5 · Usually learned at White belt
Starts from Closed Guard as the guard player → ends the match (submission).
The details that make it work
Control the wrist and pull the elbow past your center line before anything else moves.
Cut the angle — your body finishes perpendicular to theirs, one leg biting the back, the other over the face.
Knees pinch together, hips lift, thumb points up: the elbow breaks over your hip bone, not your hands.
Where it goes wrong
Staying square underneath and pulling the arm with arm strength alone.
Crossing your feet behind their back out of habit instead of climbing the legs to the finish position.
How opponents counter it
Stack the hips over the head before the angle is cut
Hitchhiker escape — rotate the thumb and run around the legs
Is the Armbar from Closed Guard legal in competition?
Legal in all major rulesets at all levels (IBJJF, ADCC, sub-only). Rules change — always confirm against the current official rulebook for your event.
History & naming
Judo’s juji gatame, older than BJJ itself — in the sport since before 1920.