Glossary

Short definitions in our own words. Longer written instruction lives on the topic pages, as credited links.

Jiu-jitsu demonstration in Torun, Poland. U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Peter Martinez. Public domain. Source

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Ashi garami: Japanese for "leg entanglement" - any position where your legs control one of the opponent's legs for a leg lock.
Americana: A figure-four shoulder lock with the arm bent upwards, usually from side control or mount.
Armbar: Hyperextending the elbow with your hips as the fulcrum.
ADCC: The Abu Dhabi Combat Club submission wrestling championship, the most prestigious no-gi event, with its own rule set.

Bridge: Driving the hips upwards off the mat to lift the opponent. "Upa" is the Portuguese name for the bridge-and-roll mount escape.
Base: Your balance and connection to the mat. Having base means you cannot be swept or rolled easily.
Body triangle: Locking your legs in a figure-four around the opponent's torso from the back, instead of hooks.
Back control: Behind the opponent with hooks or a body triangle. Worth four points and the best place to finish a fight.
Berimbolo: Inverting under the opponent from De La Riva to spin to their back. The signature technique of modern gi jiu-jitsu.

Crossface: Driving your shoulder or forearm across the opponent's jaw so their head turns away and their spine follows.
Closed guard: Your legs locked around the opponent's waist. The first guard everyone learns.

De La Riva: An open guard hooking the opponent's lead leg from the outside, named after Ricardo De La Riva.
D'Arce: An arm-in choke from the front headlock, threading your arm under the opponent's arm and across the neck.
Drilling: Repeating a technique with a cooperative partner to build the movement pattern.

Frame: Using a bone structure (forearm, shin, knee) as a strut between you and the opponent so their weight is held away without muscular effort.
Flow rolling: Light, continuous sparring at low intensity where both partners let positions change freely.

Gi: The jacket, trousers and belt worn in traditional jiu-jitsu. "Gi" grappling allows grips on the fabric; "no-gi" does not.
Guard: Any bottom position where your legs are between you and the opponent, stopping them from pinning you and giving you attacks. Closed, half, butterfly, De La Riva and many others.
Guillotine: A choke from the front with your forearm across the throat.

Hooks: Feet placed inside the opponent's thighs to control or lift them - in butterfly guard from the front, in back control from behind.
Half guard: You have one of the opponent's legs trapped between yours. A position both players pass through constantly.
Heel hook: A leg lock that rotates the heel to twist the knee. Very effective and very dangerous, legal only in no-gi and at advanced belts in most rule sets.

Inside position: Having your limbs inside the opponent's - the principle that decides most exchanges.
IBJJF: The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, whose points rules are the default for gi competition.

Knee on belly: A pin with your knee across the opponent's stomach. Worth two points and very uncomfortable.
Kimura: A figure-four shoulder lock named after Masahiko Kimura, who used it to defeat Hélio Gracie in 1951.
Kuzushi: The Japanese term for breaking the opponent's balance before a throw or sweep.

Mount: Sitting astride the opponent's torso with your knees on the mat. Worth four points and the most dominant pin.

No-gi: Jiu-jitsu practised in shorts and a rash guard, without fabric grips. Faster, more wrestling-influenced and the home of most leg lock development.

Oss: An all-purpose word of respect and acknowledgement used in BJJ gyms - hello, thank you, understood, let's go. Origins are debated; usage is universal.
Overhook: Your arm over the opponent's arm, trapping it. Called a whizzer when used standing or in the dogfight to stop their underhook.
Omoplata: A shoulder lock applied with the legs from guard. "Omoplata" is Portuguese for the shoulder blade.
Open mat: An unstructured training session for rolling and drilling without instruction.

Pass: Getting past the opponent's legs to a pin such as side control or mount. Scores three points in IBJJF rules.
Posture: Head up, back straight, hips forward - the alignment that stops you being pulled into submissions from guard.
Positional sparring: Live rounds that start from a set position with a reset when the goal is achieved. The fastest way to fix a weak position.

Roll: Live sparring. "Rolling" is the BJJ word for sparring rounds, usually five to six minutes at a time.
Rear naked choke: The blood choke from the back. "Mata leão" - lion killer - in Portuguese.

Sweep: Reversing from the bottom of guard to the top. Scores two points in IBJJF rules when you end on top and stay there.
Submission: A choke or joint lock that forces the opponent to tap. The only way to win a match outright.
Shrimp: The hip escape - pushing off your feet to move your hips away from the opponent. The most important movement in the sport.
Seatbelt: The back control grip with one arm over the shoulder and one under the armpit, hands clasped at the chest.
Side control: Pinning the opponent chest to chest from the side. "Hundred kilos" is its Brazilian nickname because that is what it feels like.
Saddle: The leg entanglement with your legs triangled around the opponent's leg and their knee pointing up. Home of the inside heel hook.
Sprawl: Throwing the hips back and down to stop a takedown.
Stripes: The white tape bars on a belt marking progress toward the next rank. Coloured belts carry up to four; FiveStripe is named for the one you earn off the mat.

Tap: Signalling submission by tapping the opponent or the mat (or saying "tap"). Ends the exchange immediately; tapping early is how you keep training for years.
Turtle: Curled up on hands and knees. A defensive position that prevents points but exposes the back.
Triangle: A choke using your legs around the opponent's neck and one arm.

Underhook: Your arm threaded under the opponent's armpit, controlling their torso. Winning the underhook usually wins half guard and the clinch.