When working arm bars from underneath a strongly resisting opponent – get your hips pointing in the same direction your opponent is facing: The juji gatame arm bar from guard is among the most popular and effective moves in the sport. Using it well is very instructive for many other skills as well. An important general principle in combat sports is to avoid head to head confrontations that pit your strength directly against that of an opponent – this approach will never allow you to defeat stronger opponents. The idea is to seek to align your forces with his as much as possible so that you DEFLECT and REDIRECT force rather than CONFRONT IT HEAD ON. In the case of the classic arm bar from guard, a good way to ensure you do this is to go beyond a ninety degree pivot when in the arm bar position. Get your hips pointing forward in the same direction your opponent is facing (or at least as close as you can). In this way your legs and hips will push in the same direction as your opponent's defensive downward/forward stacking force. This addition of your force to his will enable you to easily off balance him from bottom. An opponent out of balance is easily attacked and finished or toppled over into a more compromised position from where you can renew the attack. Whenever you find your arm bar attack from guard stopped by your opponent's defensive reaction – TAKE THE EXTRA TIME TO LINE UP YOUR HIPS WITH HIS DIRECTION AND APPLY THE FORCE OF YOUR LEGS IN CONCERT WITH HIS. Your success rate will greatly increase and his defensive reaction will aid you rather than stop you.
