Glossary /// Alias
Shin-in-the-armpit armbar
Also known as Near-Side Armbar — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Descriptive — names the detail that does the isolating, and the one most often left shallow
Descriptive — names the detail that does the isolating
Shin-in-the-armpit armbar names the near-side armbar by the detail that makes it work, and the one most often left shallow.
Etymology. Descriptive labels of this kind survive because they carry a correction inside the name. Students who learn the technique as a sequence tend to treat the foot as a place the leg ends up; naming the shin puts the attention on the wedge, which is the part that decides whether the arm can be recovered.
Mechanics. The instep goes between the defender’s arm and their ribs, deep enough to hold the shoulder away from the torso. A foot merely resting against the arm leaves the shoulder free, and a free shoulder lets the defender shrug the arm back down during the step over the head. The test is whether they can still pull the elbow to their own ribs — if they can, the shin is not in yet.
Cross-reference. “Near-arm armbar” names the limb instead. Full mechanical coverage on Near-Side Armbar.