The 5 Best North-South Attacks in BJJ (And Tips!)

The North-South position is one of BJJ’s most dominant ones. Once you attain it, you have a lot of upper-body control over the opponent. This allows you to do one of two things: (1) transition into another dominant position, such as Back Mount and Side Control, and (2) finish the fight.

This article is going to focus on the 2nd part, finishing the fight. BJJ teaches us many submissions, some are better and some worse. What we’ll focus on in this complete guide are the best submissions that you want to add to your toolbox.

The broader your toolbox is, the more likely you are to succeed in your attacks. For instance, if one grappler knows 5 submissions and another 15, the latter is more likely to finish any fight, as he has more options.

We want to strive to be like the second grappler that knows more techniques. Of course, we also want to master the ones we learn, which can take time.

Anyways, in this article, we’ll review the best submissions from the North-South position, so you can become like the second grappler.

Before we dive into the submissions, if you’re not as familiar with the North-South position, follow this link to learn to attain and retain it properly.

#5 – Americana

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Americana	7/10	9/10	8/10

The first submission we’ll review is the Americana. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a shoulder manipulation submission, designed to hyperextend the opponent’s arm. You first isolate and then hyperextend it, as you’ll see in the upcoming breakdown.

Here’s how to perform the Americana from the North-South position:

1. Start in North-South
2. Push the opponent’s arm back
3. Scoop his left arm off the ground
4. Step to the left with your left leg
5. Follow up with your right leg
6. Hook your right foot across his right foot
7. Lean back
8. Isolate the opponent’s arm with your hands
9. Hyperextend his arm
10. Get the tap

The Americana is definitely a submission you want to learn as early on in your BJJ journey, preferably when you’re a white belt. You can perform it basically from all positions, including Spider Guard, De La Riva Guard, and even from the Mount.

This variation, which is from the North-South, is fairly simple to learn and execute. That’s why I recommend learning it as the first one you learn, especially if you haven’t learned any North-South attacks yet.

Understanding the Americana will take more than just one section. If you desire to learn more about the Americana, it’ll be best if you follow the link to read a complete guide I wrote about it.

You can also watch the video below to see real instances where fighters in MMA used the Americana to finish the fight. It’s extremely satisfying to watch!

#4 – Ezekiel Choke

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Ezekiel Choke	7/10	8/10	7/10

Learning to choke the opponent is a critical part of BJJ, along with manipulating a body part to cause a tap out. The Ezekiel Choke is a submission that can cause immense neck pressure to force the opponent to tap out.

If you want to understand just how painful it is, ask a training partner you trust to try it on you. You’ll then see just how painful it really is when someone applies it to you. You might appreciate it more after you feel it for yourself.

Regardless if you follow my advice or not, here’s how to perform the Ezekiel Choke from the North-South position:

1. Start in North-South
2. Wrap your left hand around the opponent’s head
3. Wrap it starting from the chin and toward the far side
4. Push his face to the left
5. Push his face back
6. Step back
7. Squeeze your arms
8. Get the tap

I encourage you to experiment with it if you want to perfect it. You’ll naturally encounter issues when you first go about executing it, which is completely fine, and even inevitable. Once you fix these small issues, your Ezekiel Choke execution level is going to skyrocket!

So do try performing it yourself once you finish reading this article.

The Ezekiel Choke is an exceptionally effective move. If you want to master it, follow the previous link to learn how to do just that.

#3 – Armbar

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Armbar	9/10	7/10	8/10

One of the primary upper-body submissions you want to learn—is the Armbar. You can’t call yourself a BJJ trainee if you don’t know a few main submissions, such as Guillotine, Triangle, Rear Naked Choke, and the Armbar.

These are classic submissions and attacks you must learn in the first few weeks of your training. And you’ll see that in most qualified BJJ gyms, that’ll be the case.

So what’s so special about the Armbar? First, you can perform it from many positions, such as Side Control and Knee on Belly. Secondly, it’s highly effective. Once you isolate the opponent’s arm and lean back with it, he has a small chance of survival.

So without further Chit-Chat, let’s see how you can perform the Armbar from the North-South position:

1. Start in North-South
2. Overhook his right arm
3. Push the opponent’s left armpit backward
4. Push your head against his left thigh
5. Walk up
6. Isolate his left arm with your legs
7. Fall back with the arm
8. Hyperextend it by pushing it down with your hands
9. Arch your lower back
10. Make sure his thumb is facing up
11. Get the tap

For a more reliable finish, you also want to arch your back and ensure the opponent’s thumb is facing the ceiling. If you do that, you’ll see how much easier it is to finish the Armbar and get the victory!

If you want to learn more about the Armbar submission, follow this link.

#2 – Kimura

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Kimura	8/10	9/10	9/10

The Kimura is a classic submission you want to learn. It manipulates the opponent’s shoulder and arm and causes great physical pain. Eventually, the opponent will be forced to tap out or you’ll break his shoulder, which will cause even more pain in the long term.

You have to watch out when you perform the Kimura, as it can dislocate the opponent’s shoulder and cause permanent damage, which is the last thing that BJJ training should get.

Of course, if you’re in a dangerous situation and go for the Kimura, you might not listen to your opponent, especially if he’s dangerous to the public.

Here’s what to do if you dislocate someone’s shoulder:

While waiting for medical attention: (SOURCE)

1. Don’t move the joint. Splint or sling the shoulder joint in the position it’s in. Don’t try to move the shoulder or force it back into place.
2. Ice the injured joint. Apply ice to the shoulder to help reduce pain and swelling.

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Here’s how to perform the Kimura from the North-South position:

1. Start in North-South
2. Hook the opponent’s right arm
3. Slide his arm to the side
4. Grab his right wrist with your left hand
5. Slide your right arm under his
6. Grab your left wrist (Kimura Grip)
7. Pop it upward
8. Rotate the opponent to the left
9. Base your right foot on the mat
10. Hyperextend his shoulder to his back
11. Get the tap

The Kimura is definitely one of my absolute favorites submissions. If you want to perform the Kimura from many positions and in different variations, follow this link.

#1 – Back Take

Submission	Effectiveness	Simplicity	Overall Grade
Back Take	7/10	6/10	7/10

Taking the back is a great option if you want to attack the opponent and go for a submission. That’s why I’ve decided to include it in this article, even though it’s not a submission alone.

The point is, it can lead to many options, such as going for the Rear Naked Choke, perhaps the most popular choke in the world.

Anyways, here’s how to take the back from the North-South position:

1. Start in North-South
2. Start from the double under position
3. Sprawl
4. Lock your hands
5. Walk up
6. Get on your right knee
7. Step up with the opponent
8. Fall on your back, bringing the opponent as well
9. Lock your legs
10. You’re in Back Mount

Once you have taken the back, you have endless options to go for. I wrote an article on the best back attacks you want to familiarize yourself with and get comfortable with; I don’t want to get too off-topic here, so you can follow the link to read about these attacks.

If you want to learn more about the best submissions from the Back, follow the next links to read about (A) The Rear Naked Choke or (B) The Short Choke.

Final Words

This has been this article. My aim with this article was to (1) teach you to attack from the North-South position, and (2) excite you to start training.

I’m confident I managed to do the first one, as it was up to me. However, I cannot control your feelings, so I can only hope that you got excited to start training. And remember, the more you know, the more capable you’ll be; knowledge is, indeed, power.

Get on the mat and start training!

Here are other articles you’d enjoy reading:

9 Knee on Belly Submissions – Attacking Manual (BJJ)

BJJ 101: North-South Position – Basics & Attacks & Tips

Attacking the Turtle Position in BJJ – 7 Submissions

10 Best BJJ Guards You Want to Learn (With Great Tips)

North-South Choke 101: BJJ Breakdown