Alias · Back Position
Body scissors
Also known as Body Triangle — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: informal — used interchangeably in some traditions
Informal — closed-leg control around the torso
Body scissors is a colloquial name for the body triangle and related closed-leg configurations around the opponent’s torso — the legs forming a scissor-like clamp on the body whether or not the geometry is the specific figure-four of the canonical body triangle.
Etymology. The “scissors” metaphor is older than the “triangle” metaphor and appears in catch wrestling and early submission grappling vocabulary as the generic name for any closed-leg control around the torso — including configurations that are not figure-fours and do not match the modern body-triangle geometry. Modern no-gi has largely consolidated around “body triangle” for the figure-four-specific configuration and “body lock” or “body scissors” for looser closed-leg controls. The terminology is not perfectly stable across vocabularies, which is why the colloquial label persists.
Mechanics. Any closed-leg configuration around the torso transfers the attacker’s hip compression into the opponent’s body — the closed loop is what makes the connection load-bearing rather than just touch-contact.
Cross-reference. “Body triangle” is the figure-four-specific canonical label; “body lock” appears for related but mechanically looser configurations. Full mechanical coverage on Body Triangle.