Roger Gracie, a black belt in a white gi, kneels in mount on a partner and explains the position to a seminar of students sitting and standing around the mats.

Glossary

BJJ terms in plain English.

A

ADCC: The Abu Dhabi Combat Club championship, the most prestigious no-gi event, with its own rules.
Advantage: An IBJJF tiebreak awarded for nearly completing a scoring move or submission.
Americana: A figure-four shoulder lock with the arm bent upwards, usually from side control or mount.
Arm drag: Pulling the opponent's arm across their body to get to their side or back.
Arm triangle: A choke that traps the opponent's head and one of their arms together.
Armbar: Hyperextending the elbow with your hips as the fulcrum.
Ashi garami: Japanese for "leg entanglement", meaning any position where your legs control one of the opponent's legs.

B

Back control: Behind the opponent with hooks or a body triangle, worth four points.
Base: Balance and connection to the mat that make you hard to sweep or roll.
Berimbolo: Inverting under the opponent from De La Riva to spin to their back.
Body lock: Your hands locked around the opponent's waist, used to pass guard or take them down.
Body triangle: Locking your legs in a figure four around the opponent's torso from the back.
Bow and arrow choke: A gi choke from the back using a deep collar grip and a trouser or leg grip to stretch them out.
Bridge: Driving your hips up off the mat to lift the opponent, as in the upa mount escape.
Butterfly guard: A seated guard with both feet hooked inside the opponent's thighs to lift and sweep them.

C

Closed guard: A guard with your legs locked around the opponent's waist.
Combat base: A top posture in guard with one knee up and the other on the mat.
Cross collar choke: A gi choke with both hands deep in opposite sides of the opponent's collar.
Crossface: Driving your shoulder or forearm across the opponent's jaw to turn their head and flatten them.
Crucifix: A control where both of the opponent's arms are tied up, one by your legs, leaving the neck open.

D

D'Arce: An arm-in choke from the front headlock, threaded under the opponent's arm and across the neck.
De La Riva: An open guard that hooks the opponent's lead leg from the outside.
Deep half: A half guard where you are underneath the opponent, hugging their leg with your head near their hip.
Double leg: A takedown where you change levels, step in and drive through both legs.
Drilling: Repeating a technique with a cooperative partner to build the movement pattern.

E

Ezekiel: A choke using your own sleeve fed behind the opponent's neck.

F

Fifty-fifty: A symmetrical leg entanglement where both players control the other's leg the same way.
Flow rolling: Light, continuous sparring where both partners let positions change freely.
Frame: Using a forearm, shin or knee as a strut to hold the opponent's weight away without muscle.
Front headlock: Controlling the opponent's head and one arm from in front, usually after a snap-down.

G

Gi: The jacket, trousers and belt worn in jiu-jitsu, with fabric you can grip. Sometimes called a 'kimono'.
Granby roll: A roll across your shoulders, not your neck, to recover guard or escape the back.
Grip fighting: The fight to win your grips and break theirs.
Guard: Any bottom position where your legs are between you and the opponent.
Guard pull: Sitting or jumping to guard instead of taking the opponent down.
Guillotine: A choke from the front with your forearm across the throat.

H

Half guard: A guard where you trap one of the opponent's legs between yours.
Heel hook: A leg lock that rotates the heel to twist the knee.
Hooks: Your feet placed inside the opponent's thighs to control or lift them, from the front or the back.

I

IBJJF: The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, whose rules most gi competitions use.
Inside position: Having your limbs inside the opponent's, which usually wins the exchange.
Inversion: Rolling onto your shoulders so your legs face the opponent again.

K

K-guard: An open guard that underhooks one of the opponent's legs, used to enter leg locks and back takes.
Kimura: A figure-four shoulder lock that rotates the opponent's arm behind their back.
Knee cut: A pass that slides your knee across the opponent's thigh to the mat while controlling their upper body.
Knee line: The line of the opponent's knee, which you clear to escape a leg lock or to pass their guard.
Knee on belly: A pin with your knee across the opponent's stomach, worth two points.
Knee shield: Half guard with your top knee across the opponent's chest or hip to hold them away.
Kneebar: A leg lock that hyperextends the knee, like an armbar on the leg.
Kuzushi: Japanese for breaking the opponent's balance before a throw or sweep.

L

Lasso guard: A gi guard with your leg wrapped over the opponent's arm while you hold that sleeve.
Leg drag: Pinning one of the opponent's legs across your hip so their hips face away from you.
Lockdown: Half guard with your legs locked around the opponent's trapped leg to stretch it out.

M

Mount: Sitting on the opponent's torso with your knees on the mat, worth four points.

N

No-gi: Jiu-jitsu in shorts and a rash guard, with no gi grips.
North-south: A pin with your chest on the opponent's chest and your head towards their hips.

O

Omoplata: A shoulder lock applied with your legs, usually from guard.
Open mat: An unstructured session for rolling and drilling without instruction.
Oss: An all-purpose gym word meaning hello, thank you, understood or respect.
Overhook: Your arm wrapped over the opponent's arm to trap it, called a whizzer when it fights their underhook.

P

Pass: Getting past the opponent's legs to a pin such as side control or mount, worth three points under IBJJF rules.
Positional sparring: Live rounds from a set position that reset when someone reaches their goal.
Posture: Keeping your head up, back straight and hips forward so you cannot be pulled down in guard.

R

Rear naked choke: The blood choke from the back, with one arm under the chin and the other locked behind the head.
Roll: A round of live sparring.

S

Saddle: A leg entanglement with your legs triangled around one of the opponent's legs, used for the inside heel hook.
Scarf hold: A judo pin sitting beside the opponent's chest, hugging their head and holding one arm.
Seatbelt: A back control grip with one arm over the shoulder and one under the armpit, hands clasped at the chest.
Shrimp: Pushing off your feet to move your hips away from the opponent, also called the hip escape.
Side control: Pinning the opponent chest to chest from the side.
Single leg: A takedown that captures one leg, finished by running the pipe, tripping or lifting.
Single leg X: An entanglement around one leg, with one foot on the hip and the other behind the knee.
Snap down: Pulling the opponent's head down sharply to reach the front headlock or a go-behind.
Spider guard: A gi guard holding both sleeves with your feet pressed into the opponent's biceps.
Sprawl: Throwing the hips back and down to stop a takedown.
Straight ankle lock: A leg lock that bends the ankle by pinning the foot under your armpit and arching back.
Stripes: Tape bars on a coloured belt marking progress toward the next rank, up to four per belt.
Submission: A choke or joint lock that makes the opponent tap and ends the match.
Sweep: Reversing from guard to end up on top, worth two points under IBJJF rules.

T

Tap: Tapping the opponent or the mat, or saying "tap", to submit and end the exchange.
Technical stand-up: Getting up safely with one hand posted and the other framing, keeping your head away from the opponent.
Toreando: A standing pass that pushes the opponent's legs aside as you step round to side control.
Triangle: A choke using your legs around the opponent's neck and one arm.
Turtle: Curled up on hands and knees, which prevents points but exposes your back.
Two-on-one: Controlling one of the opponent's arms with both of yours.

U

Underhook: Your arm threaded under the opponent's armpit to control their torso.

W

Wrestle up: Coming up from guard to attack a takedown instead of sweeping.

X

X-guard: A guard under a standing opponent with your legs crossed around one of their legs.