BJJ glossary: every term explained

ReferenceUpdated 30 Sep 2026

By Scott Flear, founder of JitsAI.

This glossary covers 99 BJJ terms in plain English: positions like guard and mount, submissions like the armbar and kimura, guards like De La Riva and spider, and gym culture like oss and rolling. Jump to a letter below, or use your browser's find function for a specific word.

A

Americana: A shoulder lock applied with a figure-four grip on the arm, bent at 90 degrees, cranking the shoulder into external rotation. Usually attacked from mount or side control.
Anaconda choke: A no-gi front headlock choke: you wrap one arm around the neck and the far arm, lock a figure-four, then roll to finish. Common when someone sprawls or shoots a bad takedown.
Ankle lock (straight ankle lock): A leg lock that hyperextends the ankle by trapping the foot under your arm and arching your hips into the achilles. The most commonly legal leg lock at lower belts.
Armbar (juji gatame): A joint lock that hyperextends the elbow, usually applied with your legs across the opponent's chest and hips pinning their arm, thumb pointing up. One of the first submissions most white belts learn.

B

Back control (back mount): Controlling an opponent from behind with your chest on their back and hooks or a body triangle in, both arms free to attack the neck. Considered the most dominant position in the sport.
Back take: Moving from any position to back control, usually by getting an arm under one of the opponent's arms and rotating around to their back.
Basque grip: A deep two-on-one grip on a sleeve, both of your hands controlling one of the opponent's wrists, used to set up sweeps and back takes from open guard.
Bear hug: A wrestling-style clinch wrapping both arms around the opponent's torso, often used to set up a takedown or to control the clinch before pulling guard.
Belt (rank): The rank system marking a practitioner's progress, from white through blue, purple, brown to black in the adult IBJJF system, with stripes marking progress within a belt. See our full BJJ belts in order guide.
Berimbolo: A De La Riva guard sequence where you invert underneath the opponent to take their back, popularised in modern no-gi and gi competition.
Bow and arrow choke: A collar choke from back control: one hand deep in the collar, the other grabbing the far leg, pulling the body into a bow shape to finish.
Bridge (upa): Arching your hips off the mat, usually to create space to escape mount or a pin, or to power a sweep.
Butterfly guard: A seated open guard with both feet hooked inside the opponent's thighs, used to elevate and sweep them, common in both gi and no-gi.

C

Closed guard: Guard with your legs locked around the opponent's waist while on your back, controlling distance and setting up sweeps and submissions. The first guard most beginners learn.
Collar choke: Any choke that finishes by gripping the opponent's own gi collar and using it to cut off blood flow, only possible in the gi.
Competitor (comp): A practitioner who regularly enters tournaments, as opposed to training purely for fitness, self-defense or fun. Our data shows most white belts want to compete before they actually do: see BJJ belts in order.
Crucifix: A control position pinning both of an opponent's arms while attacking the neck from behind, named for the shape it makes with their body.

D

D'Arce choke: A no-gi front headlock choke similar to the anaconda, threading one arm under the neck and the other under the far arm before squeezing.
De La Riva guard: An open guard hooking one leg around the outside of the opponent's leg from a seated position, named after Brazilian pioneer Ricardo De La Riva. A base for many modern sweeps and back takes.
Deep half guard: A half guard variation where you go underneath the opponent's hips rather than beside them, used to off-balance and sweep from underneath.
Double leg takedown: A wrestling takedown shooting in to grab both of the opponent's legs and driving through to put them on the mat.
Draw (advantage points): Under IBJJF rules, near-misses on points or submissions that break a tie when the score is level at the end of a match.
Drilling: Repeating a technique with a cooperative partner, without resistance, to build muscle memory before testing it live.

E

Escape: Getting out of a bad position, such as mount or side control, back to a neutral or advantageous one. See our guide to side control and mount escapes.
Ezekiel choke: A choke using the sleeve of your own gi (or a rash guard grip in no-gi) wrapped across the opponent's throat, often applied from mount or as a counter to a guard pass.

F

Faixa preta (black belt): Portuguese for "black belt." Many BJJ terms have Portuguese roots because the sport developed in Brazil; see our what is BJJ guide for the full history.
Fifty-fifty (50/50) guard: A leg-entangled guard where both players have one leg hooked around the other's leg, symmetrical and often used to hunt for a leg lock.
Flow rolling: Light, cooperative sparring at low intensity, moving between positions without full resistance, used to explore technique and stay loose.
Footlock: A broad term for leg locks attacking the foot or ankle, including the straight ankle lock. Many gyms restrict footlocks for lower belts.
Frame: Using a limb, usually a forearm, as a rigid bar to create and hold space between you and an opponent, the basis of most escapes.

G

Gi: The traditional jacket, trousers and belt worn in gi BJJ, allowing grips on the cloth. See our no-gi jiu-jitsu guide for how the gi and no-gi games differ.
Gogoplata: A choke applied by hooking a shin across the opponent's throat from a rubber guard position, pressing down with the leg and pulling the head into the shin.
Grip fighting: The battle to establish or deny grips before either player can attack, especially important in the gi, where sleeve and collar grips control almost everything.
Guard: Any position where you control an opponent using your legs while on your back, ranging from closed guard to open variations like butterfly, De La Riva and spider guard.
Guard passing: Getting past an opponent's legs to a pinning position such as side control or mount, worth 3 points under IBJJF rules.
Guard pull: Sitting or dropping straight to guard at the start of a match rather than wrestling for a takedown, common in gi competition.
Guillotine choke: A front headlock choke wrapping an arm under the opponent's chin and squeezing the throat against your forearm, often caught off a sloppy takedown attempt.

H

Half guard: A guard where you control one of the opponent's legs between your own, rather than both legs as in closed or open guard.
Hand fighting: The no-gi equivalent of grip fighting: controlling wrists and collar-tie positions to set up takedowns, passes and submissions without cloth to grab.
Heel hook: A leg lock that twists the heel, straining the knee ligaments, considered one of the most dangerous submissions and banned or restricted at many belts and events.
Hip bump sweep: A sweep from closed guard where you sit up, post a hand, and drive your hip into the opponent's leg to knock them over, often chained into an armbar.
Hip escape (shrimping): A sideways hip movement used to create space and reset guard, one of the most repeated movements in BJJ.

I

IBJJF: The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, the largest governing body for gi and no-gi competition, setting the belt, weight and rules standards most academies follow.
Inside trip (kouchi gari): A judo-derived takedown hooking a foot inside the opponent's leg and tripping them backwards, commonly used in BJJ without full judo throws.

K

Kesa gatame (scarf hold): A pinning position from the side, sitting perpendicular to the opponent with an arm trapped, borrowed from judo.
Kimura: A shoulder lock with a figure-four grip that rotates the arm the opposite way to an Americana, named after Masahiko Kimura, who used it to defeat Helio Gracie in 1951. See our full kimura guide.
Kimura trap (Kimura guard): A guard variation built around the kimura grip, using the arm control to sweep and off-balance rather than only to submit.
Knee cut pass: A guard pass driving one knee across and under the opponent's leg to pin it flat while moving to side control.
Knee on belly: A transitional pinning position with one knee on the opponent's stomach and the other leg posted out, worth 2 points under IBJJF rules and often used to bait a reaction before passing.
Knee shield: A half guard variant bracing a shin and knee across the opponent's chest or hip to control distance and prevent them flattening you out.

L

Lapel: The gi collar or jacket panel used for grips and, in modern gi competition, wrapped around limbs for control and submissions (lapel guards).
Lasso guard: A gi guard wrapping one leg around the opponent's arm and sleeve to control their posture and set up sweeps, common from spider guard positions.
Leg drag: A guard pass pulling the opponent's leg across your own body to clear it out of the way before passing to side control or back.
Leg lock: Any submission attacking the leg, including footlocks, kneebars and heel hooks. Rules on which leg locks are legal vary sharply by belt and organisation.
Loop choke: A gi choke looping the lapel over the back of the opponent's neck and under their arm, often set up from turtle or when they try to duck a collar grip.

M

Mount: Sitting on top of the opponent's torso, both knees on the mat, one of the most dominant pinning positions and worth 4 points under IBJJF rules.
Mundials (World Championship): The IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, held annually and considered the sport's most prestigious gi tournament.

N

No-gi: BJJ trained and competed in a rash guard and shorts instead of the gi, where grabbing clothing is a foul. See our full no-gi jiu-jitsu guide.
North-south: A pinning position lying across the opponent's upper body facing their feet, used to control and attack chokes like the north-south choke.

O

Omoplata: A shoulder lock applied with the legs, trapping an arm between your thighs and rotating the shoulder, usually set up from closed or spider guard.
Open guard: Any guard where the legs aren't locked around the opponent, including butterfly, De La Riva, spider and X-guard, generally more mobile than closed guard.
Open mat: An unstructured training session with no set class, usually just sparring or drilling with whoever shows up, common on weekends.
Oss: A greeting and acknowledgement used across BJJ gyms, borrowed from Japanese martial arts culture, often said on bowing onto the mat, tapping, or agreeing with a coach.

P

Passing: See guard passing.
Peruvian necktie: A choke applied from the turtle position, triangling the legs around the opponent's head and one arm while rolling to finish.
Points system: The IBJJF scoring used when a match doesn't end in submission: takedown, sweep and knee on belly score 2, guard pass 3, and mount or back control 4. See what is BJJ for the full table.
Positional sparring: Sparring that starts from a fixed position, such as side control or closed guard, rather than a neutral stance, used to drill escapes or passes under real resistance.
Pressure passing: A guard-passing style using body weight and heavy positioning rather than speed, common among bigger or more experienced grapplers.
Professor: The head instructor at a BJJ academy, usually the highest-ranked black belt present, responsible for promotions.
Pull guard: See guard pull.

R

Reap (knee reap): Wrapping a leg around the opponent's knee from the outside while attacking a heel or ankle, illegal at many belts because it can injure the knee ligaments.
Rear naked choke (mata leao): A blood choke from back control, wrapping one arm around the neck and locking it with the other hand behind the head, one of the most common finishes in the sport.
Rolling: BJJ slang for live sparring, at any intensity from flow rolling to full resistance.
Round (open class): A competition division with no weight limit, open to medallists or all black belts depending on the event; see the IBJJF and ADCC rules cited on our weight classes page.
Rubber guard: A flexible, no-gi-friendly guard using leg control high on the opponent's body, popularised by Eddie Bravo's 10th Planet system, often leading to the gogoplata.

S

Scissor sweep: A closed guard sweep using a scissoring leg motion to off-balance the opponent sideways, one of the first sweeps most white belts learn.
Seatbelt grip: The standard two-hand grip used to control back control, one arm over the shoulder and one under the armpit, locked together across the chest.
Self-defense (BJJ): The original application of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, controlling and escaping an attacker on the ground without striking, distinct from sport rules used in competition. See what is BJJ.
Shrimping: See hip escape.
Side control: A pinning position lying perpendicular across the opponent's torso, one of the first positions taught and among the most commonly drilled escapes. See our escapes guide.
Single leg takedown: A wrestling takedown grabbing one of the opponent's legs and driving through to finish on top.
Smash pass: A heavy, pressure-based guard pass that flattens the opponent's hips to the mat before moving through to side control.
Spider guard: A gi open guard controlling both of the opponent's sleeves with your hands while pushing on their biceps or hips with your feet.
Spider web guard: An armbar-hunting guard variation isolating one arm with the legs while off-balancing the opponent, often reached from spider or De La Riva guard.
Sport BJJ: BJJ trained and competed under tournament rules such as the IBJJF or ADCC rulesets, as distinct from self-defense-focused training.
Sprawl: Dropping the hips to the mat and kicking the legs back to defend a takedown attempt, a core wrestling defensive skill used in BJJ and MMA.
Stripe: A mark of progress within a belt, up to four per belt from white to brown, awarded by your professor. See our belts guide for how many stripes each belt carries.
Submission: Winning a match by making the opponent tap to a choke or joint lock, or by them verbally submitting, rather than by points.
Sweep: Reversing position from underneath, usually from guard, to end up on top, worth 2 points under IBJJF rules.

T

Tap (tapping out): Signalling submission, usually by tapping the mat, your opponent or yourself, or saying it aloud, which stops the round immediately. Tapping early and often is normal and expected, especially for beginners.
Tatami: The competition mat area, from the Japanese word for the traditional floor mats, used especially in IBJJF event terminology.
Technical stand-up: A method of standing up from the ground while keeping a hand or knee posted for balance and protecting against a takedown, taught as a self-defense fundamental.
Toreando pass (bullfighter pass): A fast standing guard pass sweeping the opponent's legs to one side while stepping around them, named for its resemblance to a bullfighter's cape movement.
Triangle choke: A choke locking the legs in a figure-four around the opponent's neck and one arm, using their own shoulder to cut off blood flow. Usually set up from closed or spider guard.
Turtle: A defensive position on hands and knees protecting the neck and limbs, often used when a guard pass has failed, vulnerable to back takes and chokes like the peruvian necktie.
Twister: A spinal lock applied from a leg-entangled turtle position, twisting the opponent's back and neck, popularised by 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu.

U

Underhook: An arm placed under the opponent's armpit to control their upper body, a fundamental grip in both wrestling takedowns and ground control.

W

Wristlock: A submission that hyperextends or twists the wrist joint, less common than arm or leg locks but legal in most rulesets.

X

X-guard: An open guard controlling one of the opponent's legs between your own from underneath while the other leg blocks their base, used to sweep standing opponents.

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Questions about BJJ terminology

What does "oss" mean in BJJ?

A greeting and acknowledgement said on stepping onto the mat, when tapping, or agreeing with a coach. It comes from Japanese martial arts culture rather than BJJ specifically, and different gyms use it more or less than others.

What are the basic BJJ terms a beginner should know first?

Guard, mount, side control and back control (the main positions), tap (how you stop a round safely), and rolling (BJJ slang for sparring). Our BJJ for beginners guide covers the first 12 weeks in plain terms.

Why does BJJ use so many Japanese and Portuguese words?

BJJ grew out of Japanese jiu-jitsu and judo, then developed in Brazil through the 20th century, so its vocabulary mixes Japanese terms (oss, gi, tatami), Portuguese ones (faixa preta) and English coinages from modern competition (berimbolo, 50/50 guard).

Is a "submission" the same as "tapping out"?

Related but not identical. A submission is the technique, a choke or joint lock, that forces a decision; tapping out is how the person on the receiving end signals they've had enough, which stops the round.