The Wristlock On the Rise?
Vagner Rocha pulled off a nasty wrist lock in his match with Marcin Held at Kasai 3 last weekend. This was very cool to witness, we don’t often see the wristlock show up in high level competition. The wrist lock may be an even darker horse than leg locks once were, often times criticized as a “dirty” submission. But although they may be shrouded in infamy, wrist locks are a part of the game. The wrists are an attackable extension of the body, and should not be ignored. Gaining some more notoriety for being used by a high-level athlete on a big stage in combat, maybe the wrist lock will make a comeback into the BJJ mainstream!
Marcin Held is a high level BJJ player that simply got caught with a great technique. Whether he didn’t see it coming or didn’t respect the possibility of being submitted with a wristlock, the fact remains that the submission was executed well, and secured an easy win for Vagner.
It was little tough to see the lock in action during the bout, it seemed almost invisible, and if you weren’t paying close attention you may not even had known what happened. It seemed like a normal hand fighting exchange between the athletes on the feet until the tap.
In this video Kent Peters breaks down the events leading up to the wristlock and demonstrates a couple key details.
Kent describes the positioning of the hands as “playing mercy”, which involks a bit of childhood nostalgia. There wasn’t a lot to the submission. Vagner simply saw an opportunity and took it.
It’s a pleasure to see these kinds of submission surface in a high-level event. Protect those wrists, the wristlock may make an appearance soon at your own academy!
For more effective wrist locks, check out Travis Stevens' Wrist Locks from Everywhere instructional in convenient On Demand or DVD format! You can get it here at BJJ Fanatics!
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