Armlock Encyclopedia: 85 Armlocks for Jujitsu, Judo, Sambo & Mixed Martial Arts

I was in BJJ and was looking for a chunk o diffrent armlocks and I did see some value in this book. It wasn't mind blowing but reminded me of 70's style martial art instruction books. Black and white photos with sometimes cryptic descriptions that need clear instruction because of the nature of grappling transitions. Sneaky armlocks need clear understanding or you just won't get it.

Bottom Line: I like the book and glad I bought it. But the title is misleading.I have 25 years of martial arts experience ranging from judo, bjj, karate, tae kwon do to bjj: different ranks all the way to black. Enough about me.The cover says "85 armlocks for jujitsu, judo...". I was expecting to see 85 armlocks as the cover indicated. Well, the book does not cover 85 armlocks. It covers 4 primary armlocks. Here's an excerpt from page 17:...THE FOUR PRIMAY ARMLOCKSThere are four primary armlocks that are used in every style of submission grappling on this plant. They are:The Cross-body Armlock (Juji Gatame)The Bent Armlock (Ude Garami)The Straight Armlock (Ude Gatame)The Armpit Lock (Waki Gatame)This book will present these four armlocks with a variety of ways to make them work for you....This book is actually about 85 "variety of ways" to make the 4 basic armlocks from standing, sitting, lying down in a competition setting to self-defense setting. I would still have bought the book knowing that, but this is highly misleading. Incidentally, the author does show variations of body parts being used, so there are slight variations of the 4 locks, but no where near 85 as readers are lead to believe. In that respect, it's quite disappointing.Now I am apprehensive about his other titles that I am interested in. There is only 1 way to find out.

Such a good concept but not comepletely fulfilled. This book does cover a lot of the armlocks that exsist. however, It didnt give any real detail as to what happens with this certain armbar, or even a true diagram of what it entails, how to use it properly, or an anatomy chart to show what the damage would be like.

To look up techniques.

Very pleased with book and transaction

Pretty good.

Nice book, new, fast shipment

If the photos were larger, with better contrast, this would a MUCH better book! As it is, each technique is given one photo that may or may not actually show you the fulcrum of understanding what makes it work. Seriously, a magnifying glass is required; the book is approximately 6" x 9" as it is (would be much more helpful as a larger format); each pic is perhaps 2" x 1.75", b&w, with little contrast; they are gray-ish blobs to my older eyes, and of little use, even with a magnifying glass. No diagrams, no step by step instruction or images. This is not to say that the author isn't knowledgeable. But unfortunately, I can't say that this book was useful to me.

To give you a bit of context before reading: I'm an armlock enthusiast who's spent 20 years in the martial arts, 10 of those primarily studying luta livre and BJJ.This is an excellent book, and I agree with the 4* reviewer who said that this should ideally be read by someone who is already training and who has an open mind to adapting things to suit their own game.PROSIt has 85 entries to 4 primary arm locks (cross-body, straight, bent [which includes up and down, aka keylock and kimura] and armpit).Plenty of Gi and NoGi applicationsA whole chapter on 'The Core Skills of Armlocks', which includes an overview of the four primary armlocks and subsections on making armlocks instinctive, common sense about submitting, and controlling the position.Each chapter enables you to broaden your arm lock knowledge with common defences, effective set-ups, lever principles, directions, grips and applications.CONSI might have missed it but I didn't see any omoplatas in the bent lock section, possibly because it wasn't widely used as a high percentage submission when this was published in 2006.It doesn't include wrist locks, but he explains nearer the back that it's because he sees them as one of the most dangerous moves (interestingly listed alongside other dangerous subs, including the heel hook) that most clubs and comps didn't permit in 2006.Obviously some of the escapes, applications etc. have evolved since 2006, but most are perfectly legit.Most entries provide a good level of explanation but a small amount would have benefited from further information, so if you're struggling it might be an idea to ask your coach to decipher the finer details.IN SUMMARYI disagree with the 2* reviewer who said this is just for beginners, as I'd say this would probably bewilder anyone with less than a couple of years' worth of training, but I'd highly recommend it for seasoned grapplers who can already catch arm locks from a variety of entries and are looking for some little timeless details, further entries and principles to apply to their existing arm lock game.

A good book but ...the text relating to a few of the photographs gets right and left mixed up and contradicts what is shown in the pictures. Usually quite obvious, though, so not really a problem.The author is coming from a particular perspective of various mostly traditional grappling forms. These days, many people buying a book like this will be training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and there are quite simple blocks and escapes from some of these locks that anyone who has trained for a few months will know. It seems to me that BJJ has developed some of these the techniques a little further to account for these escapes. In short, this should ideally be read by someone who is training and who has an open mind to adapting things to suit their own context. This book should supplement training rather than being a main source of information.

Steve Scott shows his experience and expertise in this excellent guide to armlocks, he lays out the four basic armlocks and provides numerous ways in which to obtain the lock you want from a variety of different positions, all in all, an essential addition to my martial arts library

Bought this book due too training in BJJ..I thought by buying this i would extend my knowledge on armlocks however..the pictures are in black an white but its not put together well..I wouldnt rush out and buy it

very good