What does Elbows Tight even mean?
I survived getting submitted by chanting “elbows tight” mid-roll.
There’s something about being told a concept mid-crushed that has a certain comical, sticking power in my memory. This, for example, is how I first learned about “Elbows Tight.”
Let me set the stage. I was live-rolling a few months ago.
Round 1: My classmate passed my guard, got into a side control, and immediately hip switches. I am burning so much energy trying to wiggle out with no luck. My other classmate yells from the sidelines, “Keep your Elbows Tight!”. But, by the time that message registered with me, one of my arms was pinned down, and my opponent was a move away from submitting me. Bell rang. Phew.
Round 2: I’m back in the same place once again. This time, I glued my elbows to my sides and kept saying, with every attempt my classmate made at a submission, “elbows tight. nope. elbows tight”. I survived another round without getting submitted and got a few laughs. That’s a double win in my book.
Elbows Tight is one of those unavoidable pieces of jiu-jitsu advice. I see it in many beginner instructional or “Top Tips” videos. I think there’s even a whole podcast with the name. However, I never understood the importance of it until last week.
Here’s what I’ve learned
General Concepts
Jiu-Jitsu is a game of control. As the attacker:
You cannot let your opponent control you
You have to have control of your opponent.
Control Traffic Light:
Red - inhabiting the space in your armpits
Yellow - inhabiting the space between knees and hips
Green - anything that’s not yellow or red
The final stage of control is submission. To get a submission, your opponent must:
1st - have control
2nd - isolate a limb (knees, head, arms, etc.)
3rd - Apply pressure at the right angle
The “Elbows Tight” concept exists because, if you do this, you deny your opponent the ability to control the space between your armpits.
“Don’t let them get into your armpits”
Concepts to Apply Today
Keep your limbs close to your core.
This is the distance laterally (left to right) from your centerline (not the up-and-down distance)
Note: I’m not saying you should stick your arms straight up. That’s a great way to get submitted via amrbar.
Keep your arms low to avoid exposing your armpits.
This can be your forearms glued to your hip flexors or your hands clasped together on the lower part of your chest.
Free Resources
To hear more about what control is in Jiu-Jitsu, hear what Chris Paines says about it in this White Belt Toolbox video.
For light reading on keeping your limbs tight, check out this article on limb coiling.
To see how to keep your arms down and still be safe, watch Chris Paines's How to Defend Against Everything video.