Glossary /// Alias
Spin-through armbar
Also known as Spinning Armbar — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Names the travel — the attacker rotates through to perpendicular rather than stepping over from square
Descriptive — names the travel that buys the angle
Spin-through armbar names the spinning armbar by its defining movement: the attacker rotates the whole way through to perpendicular rather than stepping over from square.
Etymology. The label is useful because it is the only one that picks the technique out unaided. “Far-arm armbar” is ambiguous, since the straight armlock also takes the far arm from a pin and presses the elbow down against the attacker’s chest instead of levering it over a hip. “Reverse armbar” is used for several different attacks depending on who is teaching. Naming the travel avoids both collisions.
Mechanics. The spin is journey rather than leverage — it moves the attacker to where the fulcrum can be placed and produces no joint load by itself. Tension on the wrapped arm is maintained throughout, because slack for even a moment lets the defender link their hands, and joined hands cannot be extended over a hip. The head trap does the isolating; losing it turns the attack into a scramble.
Cross-reference. The near-arm attacks from the same pins are told apart by what sits under the elbow. Full mechanical coverage on Spinning Armbar.