Technique Videos

The Americana (or key-lock) has been a much maligned technique in modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). The conventional wisdom is they don’t work because your opponent can simply straighten their arm to escape the lock.

While this is kind of true with conventional Americana's, the specific version highlighted in this article and demonstrated in the embedded video is not susceptible to that problem.

The Americana/Paper Cutter Combo attacks the Americana with one arm and secures at the hand instead of the wrist (see video). This small detail gives the attacker much more leverage over the arm and eliminates the arm extension as an escape.

Using a one arm attack on the arm frees the other arm up to also attack the neck with a Paper Cutter Choke. The combination of these two attacks are very effective and will yield great results if executed properly.