AMERICANA

The americana is a shoulder lock executed via a figure-four grip on the opponent's wrist with the elbow bent at 90 degrees, the wrist driven toward the mat, and the elbow held high — the inverse rotation of the kimura, attacking the same shoulder joint from the opposite direction. The name reflects its early adoption by American grapplers and its appearance in Helio Gracie's curriculum as one of the canonical side-control submissions taught from white belt.

From side control the americana is established when the opponent's near-side arm has been raised above their shoulder line — typically because they have framed against the cross-face or reached for a hand-fight. The attacker traps the wrist against the mat with one hand, threads the other arm under the bent elbow, and grips their own wrist to form the figure-four. The finish involves lifting the elbow toward the opponent's head while keeping the wrist pinned to the mat, creating a rotational force on the shoulder that becomes intolerable in under five seconds when the lock is correctly aligned.

The americana is one of the most punished techniques at white belt because beginners try it without first establishing the wrist-to-mat connection. A wrist that drifts above the shoulder line gives the opponent room to peel the lock; a wrist pressed firmly into the mat with the elbow held against the ribcage produces an irresistible finish. The technique is most often used as a follow-up when the opponent defends a kimura by hiding the wrist near their hip, which exposes the americana angle, and vice versa — together the two locks cover both directions of shoulder rotation and force the defender to commit to one side.

In the modern game the americana remains a fundamental side-control submission, particularly effective against opponents with limited shoulder mobility. Roger Gracie's mount-and-side game and Bernardo Faria's pressure passing series have both used the americana as a primary finish in major IBJJF and ADCC matches.