BORETS
In this guide
BJJ submissions are holds that make an opponent concede, usually by tapping. Most familiar examples are chokes or joint locks, but knowing their names is less useful than knowing the positions that make them possible. This guide maps the main submission families, explains the important IBJJF restrictions and shows how to build a small, connected starting set.
Learn the positions, then the names
The back, guard, mount, side control, front headlock and leg entanglements each offer different attacks. Rear naked chokes belong naturally to back control; armbars can appear from guard or mount; leg locks need control of a leg. The same submission can have several entries.
Chokes and joint locks cover much of a beginner's map. Compression submissions, such as biceps and calf slicers, are another category with stricter competition restrictions. First identify what the attacker must control and which movement would allow the defender to escape. You do not need every finishing detail at once.
From the back and the front headlock
Back control gives access to the neck while making it difficult for the defender to face the attacker. The rear naked choke uses the arms; gi collar chokes use the jacket. Before the finish comes the hand fight: an uncontrolled defensive hand can keep the choking grip from forming.
The front headlock appears when an opponent's head is low, including during a defended takedown. The guillotine attacks the neck from the front. D'arce and anaconda chokes involve the head and an arm, with different threading and finishing positions. A front headlock can also lead to a go-behind. Learn the particular variation your coach demonstrates before applying pressure.
From guard
Closed guard offers the cross-collar choke, triangle, armbar, kimura and omoplata. The triangle involves the head and one arm; the armbar isolates an elbow; the kimura and omoplata attack the shoulder using different tools. Their connection is positional: control an arm, manage posture and create an angle.
There is no universal requirement to put the opponent's head below their hips. Some attacks need posture broken down; others exploit a reaction as the opponent sits upright or stands. Learn what each attack requires, and keep a route back to guard when it disappears.
From mount and side control
On top, gravity does half the work and the attacks are about isolating an arm. From mount: the armbar when they push your chest, the americana when their arm lies flat on the mat in an L shape, the ezekiel using your own sleeve as a bar across the throat, and the cross collar choke as they turn. From side control: the americana and kimura on the far arm, and the arm triangle when their arm gets trapped beside their own head. Hold the position, let them make the mistake, then take the arm they hand you.
Leg locks and wrist locks
The straight ankle lock attacks the foot and ankle. The kneebar targets the knee through extension; the toe hold uses a figure-four grip on the foot; heel hooks use control of the heel and leg to create rotational pressure. Wrist locks require control above the wrist as well as the hand.
Do not treat a straight ankle lock or kneebar as harmless because it is described as a straight lock. Any submission can injure, and pain is not a dependable countdown. Learn to recognise control, tap early and release immediately before adding resistance.
IBJJF restrictions that matter
For adult competitors, familiar arm locks and chokes such as the armbar, Americana, kimura, omoplata, rear naked choke and triangle are generally available from white belt. Straight ankle locks are also allowed, but the leg position and direction of movement still matter.
Wrist locks are prohibited for white belts and competitors aged sixteen or seventeen; they are permitted from blue belt in Adult and Masters categories. Kneebars, toe holds and biceps/calf slicers are permitted at brown and black belt in Adult and Masters, in gi and no-gi. That does not make every finishing direction legal.
Heel hooks and knee reaping have a narrower exception: Adult brown and black belt no-gi divisions. It does not include Masters or gi competition. Younger categories have separate restrictions. Read the current IBJJF illegal-techniques chart for your exact age, belt and format.
Build a connected starting set
Choose attacks that connect to the positions in your beginner programme. A rear naked choke from the back, an armbar from guard and an Americana from mount give you three different control problems. A gi class may add a collar choke; another programme may introduce the triangle or kimura early. There is no reason to wait an arbitrary number of years for a particular move.
For each submission, understand the starting position, required control, likely defence and your next position if it fails. Ask your coach which leg attacks belong in your current training rules. A smaller set practised with clear reactions is more useful than a long list of names.
Tapping and controlled practice
Agree on permitted techniques and intensity before a round. Tap clearly and use your voice if a physical tap is difficult. The attacker releases immediately and also stops if the partner cannot communicate normally. In drills, establish the position first and add pressure gradually; do not speed up to beat a tap.
If one attack keeps failing, describe the exact point where control disappears. That is a useful coaching question, whether you ask in your local class or work with the BORETS team.
Register for the BORETS LAB launch to join our team wherever you train. Membership will let you choose Ievgen Skyrda, Oleksandr Oliinyk, Kostiantyn Zhyvanov, Yaroslav Blazhko for children's development, or Mykola Chaban for freestyle wrestling. Send a specific question and receive a private written answer in your account; when useful, the team can record a video addressing it.