Did You Know You Can Hit A Wrist Lock From Anywhere?

Wrist Lock on Cats Paw Grip By Travis Stevens

Wrist locks are everywhere in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. They may get a bad rap, but they are an incredibly effective way of submitting your opponent. Wrist locks are so effective because the wrist is a very weak joint. Often times, your opponent will not even see a wrist lock coming. When done right they can be very sneaky, and frustrating to deal with, because once you see it happening it is usually too late.

Today Travis Stevens is going to show us a very cool wrist lock. Travis is a judoka and Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner from the United States who competed in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. He competes in the men's half middleweight (-81 kg) division. On August 9, 2016, Stevens became the third American male judoka to win a silver medal in the Olympics.

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Travis is a master when it comes to hitting wrist locks. Watch the video below of Travis Stevens demonstrating his wrist lock on cats paw grip and then we will break down the technique below. Check it out now!

Travis Stevens starts this technique from your typical bottom closed guard position. In this scenario your opponent has good posture, and is controlling one arm with a grip on the gi sleeve. A lot of times when this happens, your training partner will also be looking to open up your gi and start working towards a technical stand up. He may also be pressing in on your hip, looking to get his knee into the center line. What you want to focus on first is the gi sleeve grip. You are a looking for a four finger grip on the outside of the gi in order for this wrist lock to work. This can only be done in a case where your training partner has a tight wrist lock grip. If you can easily break the grip then this wrist lock will not work. If you are against an opponent who is really good at controlling your arm with that grip you want to roll your arm to make the wrist face you. You should be looking to get your opponent’s knuckles looking right at you. Now turn your elbow in and roll your hip away. This will cause your training partner’s fingers to get trapped in your gi. From here, chop down on your opponent’s wrist. You should have wrist to wrist connectivity. Notice that your training partner’s wrist will bend when you do this, which is the movement you are looking for. Once you are here you can do a natural arm crossing motion to secure the wrist lock against your body.

This is a really cool wrist lock and is also very effective. If you find yourself caught in bottom half guard often, this could be a great technique for you to hit a quick submission. So be sure to give this one a try the next time you are on the mats!

Did you know that Judo Olympic Silver Medalist, and John Danaher Black Belt thinks that the easiest Submission in BJJ Is Right Under Your Nose and You’re Missing It - The Wrist Lock.

Travis Stevens is widely regarded as one of the best grapplers on the planet, and uses wrist locks as a great equalizer in his training and competition. He uses wrist locks to create openings, as well as submit his opponents - even BJJ black belts - in positions that they would never expect

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