Alias · Kimura system
Splitsville
Also known as Electric Chair — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: colloquial — named for the split stretch mechanics
Colloquial — split-leg geometry of the electric chair finish
Splitsville is the colloquial coach-specific name for the electric chair — a sit-up guard submission in which the attacker’s legs split the opponent’s legs to load the hip and shoulder structures while controlling the trapped arm.
Etymology. The “splitsville” name riffs on the split-leg geometry of the finishing position — the attacker’s legs separate the opponent’s legs while the trapped arm and the attacker’s chest connection complete the lock. The label is coach-specific shorthand that surfaces in informal coaching contexts and instructional material from the 2010s onward. “Electric chair” — the standard name — references the sit-up posture the attacker takes at the finish, resembling the seated execution device. Both labels coexist in current no-gi vocabulary; “splitsville” is the more colloquial form.
Mechanics. The lock isolates the shoulder and hip simultaneously — the trapped arm cannot retract because the attacker’s chest connection and the split-leg configuration close the structural escape paths. Force loads the joint against its natural range of rotation while the leg control prevents the opponent from rotating their hips to relieve the pressure.
Cross-reference. “Electric chair” is the standard no-gi label. Full mechanical coverage on Electric Chair.