Posted by Jiujitsu is a martial art based on grappling and submission holds/joint locks. I’m going to focus on a few joints to show how they function and how they can be manipulated through Jiujitsu. A common move known as a Kimora targets the elbow and shoulder. Since the shoulder joint is a ball in socket it has a wide range of motion which gives us multiple submissions. A submission is being able to manipulate your opponent’s joints to get them to tap out. This position affects the elbow and the shoulder and targets the inferior and anterior capsule of the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint which is between the scapula and humerus. It connects the arm to the trunk. The rotational force on the elbow causes the medial ligaments to be hyper extended. That is because there is a side ways force being applied to the elbow by the other persons forearm acting as a lever to force the arm into this position. This movement mimics an anterior shoulder dislocation. The shoulder becomes abducted at 90 degrees. The forearm is locked down below the wrist, the rotational force to the elbow causes it to extend forward and can result in damage to the medial ligaments and the shoulder is affected at the glenohumeral joint that can result in dislocation. There is another submission that causes the opposite damage, the Americana. The Americana is the reverse of the Kimora but instead of the shoulder going back towards the ground it is forced upward but the damage is the same. Another common submission is the wrist lock. It focuses on the flexion of the wrist to cause ligament damage. The wrist has a web of ligaments but there are two wrist bones that are important in this move, the scaphoid and lunate which are located at the end of the radius and ulna. They are forced down while the wrist is pulled up, stretching the ligaments in the hand. The simple goal of Jiujitsu is to isolate the joint and hyper extend
it until your opponent taps if in a tournament or in a real-life situation you break the joint in order to escape a situation. Many of these also reflect the action of a sprain on the joint as demonstrated with the wrist lock.
This project uses the martial art form of jiujitsu to demonstrate how joints function and how that functionality can be exploited for the purposes of competition or self defense. A submission is the concedence of one’s opponent following an effective hold. Three unique submission holds are demonstrated, each affecting the upper extremity of the opponent. The holds demonstrated are the kimora, americana, and the wristlock.
The kimora and americana both involve manipulating the elbow and shoulder joints to achieve submission. In the kimora hold, the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint is forced to abduct at ninety degrees. This is achieved by holding the opponent’s forearm palm-up, while the elbow is pushed anteriorly. The humerus acts as a lever and forces the shoulder back. The medial ligaments are hyper-extended, forcing the opponent to either “tap-out” or risk damage. The Americana likewise uses the humerus as a lever but in the opposite direction. The forearm is held to the floor palm-down while the shoulder is pushed anteriorly. This, again, hyper-extends the medial ligaments. The wristlock manipulates the scaphoid and lunate bones in the wrist. These bones are held while the wrist is forced to flex downward. This effectively hyper-extends the ligaments of the wrist, causing discomfort and fear of damage.
Each of these holds exploits the anatomical connections between the bones of the upper extremity. By using precise placement and applying pressure, one can efficiently force an opponent into a position of vulnerability. It is important to note that jiujitsu should be learned and practiced under certified supervision.