Brazilian Jiu Jitsu terms in plain English

An armbar is a submission that isolates the arm and applies controlled pressure to the elbow joint.

An arm drag is a movement that guides your partner's arm across your center line to create an angle and expose the side or back.

Back control is a dominant position where you control someone from behind, usually with your legs hooked in.

A bridge is a basic movement where you drive your hips upward to create force, escape pressure, or reverse position.

A body lock is a tight connection around your partner's torso used to control posture, movement, pressure, or takedown direction.

Closed guard is a guard position where your legs are wrapped around and connected behind your partner’s back.

Control means limiting your partner’s movement enough to stay safe, improve position, or attack with more confidence.

A collar grip is a gi grip taken on the lapel or collar area of the jacket to control posture, direction, and distance.

A dominant position is a place in BJJ where you have stronger control, safer balance, and better access to attacks than your partner does.

A double leg is a takedown where you attack both of your partner's legs to drive, turn, or lift them into a grounded position.

A front headlock is a control where you face your partner and manage the head, neck line, and often an arm from the front.

Frame recovery means rebuilding useful frames after pressure has collapsed or weakened your structure.

A gi is the traditional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu uniform, with a jacket, pants, and belt that can all be used for grips.

Guard is a family of positions where you use your legs and frames to control, attack, or defend from the bottom.

A grip is a hand connection on your partner or their clothing that helps you control, pull, steer, or slow their movement.

Grip fighting is the battle to get the connections you want while stopping your partner from getting the connections they want.

Guard recovery means rebuilding your guard after it has been weakened, opened, or partially passed by the top player.

A guillotine is a choke applied around the neck, usually when an opponent’s head is lowered or exposed.

Half guard is a position where one of the top player’s legs is trapped between the bottom player’s legs.

Head position means where your head is placed relative to your partner and how that placement affects balance, pressure, posture, and control.

A hip escape is a movement where you shift your hips away to create space and improve your position. It is the formal name for a shrimp movement.

Inside position means winning the space between your partner's arms or legs so your connections are more direct, safer, and easier to build from.

Inversion is a movement where a student rotates underneath or onto the shoulders to recover guard, follow movement, or create new angles.

A kimura is a shoulder lock that uses a figure-four grip to control the arm and rotate the shoulder safely into a submission.

A knee cut is a guard pass where the top player slices the knee across the bottom player's legs to move toward side control or another strong top position.

Mount is a dominant top position where you are on your partner’s torso with your knees close to the mat.

No-gi is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training without the traditional gi, usually in rashguards and shorts.

A neutral position is a moment where neither person clearly holds the stronger advantage yet, even though both are trying to create one.

An overhook is when your arm goes over and around your partner's arm to trap, control, or redirect that side of their body.

A pin is a form of control that keeps your partner from moving freely by anchoring part of their body to the mat or limiting their structure.

To pummel means to swim your arms inside and around your partner's arms to fight for better upper-body position and control.

A shrimp is a hip escape movement used to make space, recover guard, or improve position from underneath.

A single leg is a takedown where you attack and control one of your partner's legs to bring them to the mat or force them off balance.

A snap down is a movement where you pull or guide your partner's upper body downward to break posture and expose front-headlock or takedown opportunities.

Side control is a top control position where you pin across your partner’s upper body from the side.

The seatbelt is a back-control grip where one arm goes over the shoulder and the other arm goes under the armpit to connect around the torso.

A sweep is a reversal from the bottom that puts you on top and changes the direction of control.

A sleeve grip is a gi grip taken on the sleeve area of the jacket to control an arm, slow posting, and guide direction.

A sprawl is a defensive movement where you throw the legs back and drop weight to make a takedown attempt harder to finish.

Torreando is a style of guard pass where the top player moves the legs aside and circles around them to reach stronger control.

Tap is the way you safely signal stop in training by tapping your partner, the mat, or saying tap.

A transition is the movement from one position, control, or attack to another before the situation fully settles.

A triangle is a choke that uses the legs to trap the head and one arm, cutting off blood flow and forcing a tap.

A takedown is a movement or sequence that brings the fight from standing to the ground while aiming to land in a better position.

A whizzer is a strong overhook-based control often used to counter an underhook or takedown attempt by adding downward and rotational pressure.