Glossary /// Alias
Far-arm armbar defence
Also known as Straight Armlock Escape — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Names the limb by its position under the pin
Descriptive — names the limb by its position under the pin
Far-arm armbar defence names the straight armlock by the limb it takes: the arm furthest from the attacker under a side control pin, rather than the near arm most pin escapes contest.
Etymology. “Far-arm” is positional shorthand from the bottom player’s perspective. The label is useful precisely because the far arm is the one a pinned player tends to reach with — to frame, to push, or to swim for an underhook — which is how the attack gets its material.
Mechanics. Prevention is the whole defence: the far hand stays on the defender’s own chest or hip and never crosses the centreline while pinned. Frames are made short with a bent elbow, because a long reaching frame is the lever the submission needs and supplies the isolation the attacker would otherwise have to create.
Cross-reference. “Cross-body armbar escape” is the alternate name. Full escape coverage on Straight Armlock Escape.