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June 14, 2026
#BJJ#TrianglesKimuras#ArmBarBreaks#ArmBars

BJJ Diary 1: The Devil is in the Details - Triangles, Kimuras, Arm Bars & Arm Bar Breaks

The little details that change everything — triangle, kimura, and armbar fixes from a private session with Italo.

It's been almost two years since I've trained BJJ, and even now I'm realizing how many small details exist in moves I thought I knew — details I'm still not executing correctly. I had a private session with Italo Moura (multiple-time BJJ World Champion), and it was truly eye-opening. Here's what we covered:

Triangles

  1. Mistake: I crunched and tried to close the triangle too early. The opponent was stacking me, and crunching only made it easier for them.
  2. Solution: Lie flat on my back and keep my hips heavy, then swim my shoulders back to extend the opponent and prevent the stack. Crunching into a ball is good — but only once you've locked the opponent in.
  3. TLDR: If they stack → swim your shoulders and keep your hips and back heavy to the mat to kill the stack. Once locked in → crunch down like a ball.

Kimuras

  1. We worked the Kimura from half guard, which was really powerful. In half guard, if your right leg is the hooking leg, you attack the hand on the right (the opponent's left hand). With a left knee shield, you can bump them and then ease into the Kimura. The key is to keep your tricep at 90 degrees, then raise up without breaking that 90-degree angle, and bring the Kimura toward their back.

Arm Bar Breaks (defeating the grip)

  1. Bring one of their arms closer to the other to weaken the grip, then attack the wrist and finish the armbar.
  2. If the opponent is strong and resists, weaken the wrist with your right leg, then reinforce with your left leg.
  3. Peeling fingers is always an option too.

Arm Bars

  1. From the back take (1): 2-on-1 → back take → if the opponent stacks → berimbolo into the armbar.
  2. From the back take (2): 2-on-1 → back take → instead of taking the back, grab their right arm with your left shoulder, keep your hips connected to their shoulder, and spin for the armbar.
  3. From closed guard (traditional): Bring the opponent's arm onto or across my centerline (right palm on their right tricep to pin the arm in place). Keep my back flat on the ground — don't tilt to one side. Bring my foot into the hip on the same side as the isolated arm, create an angle, and use my right foot to break their posture. Make sure the thumb is up and the arm is perpendicular to me.

Extra

I also found a good video covering five ways to hit an armbar from mount: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6p3870dJcZw. The key detail there is pressing your weight onto the opponent's shoulder line to stop them from bridging or escaping, which lets you flow smoothly into the armbar transition.