Spider Web

Last updated: June 20, 2026

What is the spider web position?

The spider web is a top control position built around the armbar. A textbook armbar often stalls when the defender clasps their hands together, stacks the attacker, or spins free with a hitchhiker escape. The spider web shuts those doors by trapping the arm and a leg at once, so a rushed finish attempt becomes a pin the attacker can sit in for as long as it takes.

It comes from 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, the no-gi system Eddie Bravo founded in 2003 after earning his black belt under Jean-Jacques Machado. Bravo named it the spider web because an opponent caught inside it is stuck like a fly in a web, unable to move while the attacker hunts for a finish. The position reached a wider audience through the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI), where it is one of two starting positions for overtime rounds, the other being back control. What sets it apart from the ordinary armbar is simple. The attacker uses the upper hand to control the arm instead of the lower one, then locks down the near leg and crosses the ankles to seal the position.

How the spider web works

Picture the attacker lying on their back or rolled slightly onto one side. The opponent’s trapped arm is pulled tight across the attacker’s body, and both of the attacker’s legs drape over the opponent, one across the head and one across the chest. From the outside, it looks like a stretched, locked-down version of the armbar most people already recognize.

The control comes from what Bravo calls deep hooks. Rather than holding with the hands, the attacker buries each arm to the elbow: one wraps the attacked arm, the other hooks under the opponent’s near thigh. That grip on the arm and the leg together pins roughly half the body lengthwise. The crossed ankles matter too. Standard armbar coaching tells you to keep the ankles apart, yet here they cross on purpose to form a wedge that blocks the opponent from bridging up or standing.

This is also why the common escapes dry up. A hitchhiker escape needs the elbow to rotate toward the hips, and the deep arm hook has already driven it there, leaving nowhere to spin. With the near leg hooked, the hips cannot move, so the stack loses its power.

Spider web vs. the standard armbar

Most people look this term up after mixing it up with the regular armbar they already know. The two are close relatives, separated by a handful of deliberate tweaks that tilt the exchange in the attacker’s favor.

Aspect	Standard armbar (top)	Spider web
Arm controlling the attacked arm	Lower arm, closer to the legs	Upper arm, closer to the head
Ankles	Kept apart by convention	Crossed on purpose
Leg control	Arm isolated only	Arm and near leg both trapped
Character	A finish to complete fast	A pin that can be held
Main weakness	Grips, stacks, hitchhiker escapes	Few openings once it is locked
Best setting	Any ruleset	No-gi grappling and EBI overtime

Submissions and variations from the spider web

Although the armbar is the headline finish, the spider web opens onto several attacks once the position is locked. Each option below trades on the same control, so the attacker can switch between them as the defender reacts.

Finish or variation	What it is
Armbar	The default finish. The attacker extends the trapped arm against the elbow joint.
Triangle choke	Often rated the tighter option, because it wraps the head and one shoulder and threatens a strangle alongside the joint lock.
Biceps slicer	A compression lock that lays the shin across the arm. It is barred under IBJJF rules until brown belt.
Reverse spider web	A variation used by 10th Planet black belt Nathan Orchard, attacking a kimura grip on the trapped arm instead of hooking the leg.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called the spider web?

Eddie Bravo named it for the image of a fly caught in a web. Once the opponent is held by the arm and leg hooks, they cannot move while the attacker picks a finish.

Is the spider web better in the gi or no-gi?

It works in both. The position is most tied to no-gi grappling, where there are no sleeve or lapel grips to slow the entry or rescue the defender.

Is the spider web position legal?

The position itself is legal across rulesets. Certain finishes from it, such as the biceps slicer, sit behind belt restrictions, since IBJJF rules ban slicers until brown belt.

Is the triangle or the armbar better from here?

Both finish at a high rate. Many grapplers lean toward the triangle because it locks around the head and shoulder and adds a strangle to the arm attack.

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Sources

1. Jiu Jitsu Legacy. “The Best Position in BJJ For Armbars? Try the Spider Web.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://jiujitsulegacy.com/videos/spider-web-armbar/
2. BJJ World. “Submissions Galore From The Spider Web Position.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://bjj-world.com/submissions-galore-from-the-spider-web-position/
3. Submitsu. “Spider Web Guard: Elite Armbar Control Position.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.submitsu.com/universe/positions/spider-web
4. Northwest Fighting Arts. “BJJ Spider Web Key Points and Positional Strategies.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://nwfighting.com/bjj-spider-web-key-points-positional-strategies/
5. Awesome Jiu Jitsu. “Reverse Spider Web Position Study.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://awesomejiujitsu.com/2014/07/09/reverse-spider-web-position-study/
6. Savarese BJJ. “Arm Bar/Triangle Combos From Spiderweb Position.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://njbjj.com/arm-bar-triangle-combos-from-spiderweb-position/
7. Wikipedia. “10th Planet Jiu Jitsu.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Planet_Jiu_Jitsu

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