Knee Bar Fundamentals with Gabriel Arges

Gabriel Arges is a multiple time world champion black belt fighting for the Gracie Barra team under the direction of Romulo Barral and Felipe Pena.  He is one of the most decorated competitors of the new generation, bringing an exciting style to all of his matches and earning himself a place as one of the top ranked gi and no gi competitors in the world currently.

Below is an example of a leg submission that everyone should add to their repertoire because of it's ability to be utilized in both gi and no gi scenarios, as well as being perfectly IBJJF legal, the knee bar. 

For more on the IBJJF legal knee bar, check out this article featuring the one and only Dean Lister from BJJ Fanatics here!

There are a number of key details that we will break down after the video.  Take a look and we'll flesh out the details afterwards.

 Using Collars and Grips Properly

One of the key concepts that shows itself at a number of points throughout this technique is utilizing a strong, forward pressure into the opponent's collar.  In the first instance, the pressure on the near side collar supports the knee shield and also allows you to reestablish the knee shield if the opponent begins to move past it or smash it down with body pressure.  By pressing into their collar, their weight is minimized, even momentarily, allowing you to establish the shield again.

In the second instance, once the far leg is hooked and you begin moving your hips under the opponent, the forward pressure on the other side of the collar keeps their weight going away from them, making their leg heavy.  It also prevents them from capitalizing on you being flat and attempting to cross face you.

The second example of using the grip also allows for you to make the necessary hip escape which allows you to unhook their thigh with your bottom leg and bring your foot to their knee.  Once that knee is there, the collar grip is no longer necessary and that hand can begin making it's transition to taking over control of the leg.

Using Elbow Leverage

After establishing the necessary foot on the knee, it's crucial that the hand that was formerly driving their head and weight away takes over control of the leg, which frees the far arm to become a jack, using the elbow to prop your torso up allowing your hips to become light and be able to launch over their thigh.  If you fail to utilize the elbow, you will make it much harder to get over the thigh and your opponent will more than likely be able to stop your progress because you'll be slower and using too much energy.

Look for Gabriel Arges and his first amazing instructional from BJJ Fanatics very soon!  In the interim, check out Jake MacKenzie's "High Precision Half Guard and Reverse Half Guard" instructional available here in On Demand format from BJJ Fanatics!