Doesn’t it get frustrating when you’re so near that submission finish, and the opponent escapes it? As in – all you had to do is finish the choke or extend the arm or the leg, but your opponent somehow managed to wiggle out… Doesn’t get much worse than that, does it?
Often times, when things like these happen, it’s the details that would make the difference in your submission success rate. And that’s why it’s good to hear out some advice from the more senior grapplers; those ones who’ve been where you’re at right now and who had to push through the same struggles as you are pushing through.

Professor Tom, from The Grappling Academy, has great advice on how to improve your Armbar and Leglock submission success rate. It’s the advice he wishes he had received earlier himself – so make sure to use it on your very next training session!

ARMBAR AND LEGLOCK ADVICE THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Think back to all the times you’ve had that Armbar almost fully extended, only to have the other person pull their elbow out towards themselves and go towards you, stacking you in the process. Everyone’s got that done to them, for a number of times, and it’s not really fun when you’re on the receiving end of the escape+stack combo.
Same thing with Leglocks, such as the Kneebar; where the opponent escapes with their knee and thus clears the danger for himself.

So, what Professor Tom advises you to do the next time you get close to finishing an Armbar or a Leglock, is to not just pull the arm/leg down and squeeze it… For, you also need to pull that arm/leg up! Do it almost as if in a rowing motion, pulling it towards you as much as you can.
What this will do is that it will negate the opponent’s chances of pulling their elbow/knee towards themselves; but it will also extend their arm/leg even further, which makes for an even tighter submission.

Professor Tom demonstrates this piece of advice in detail on the video below: