Armlock Encyclopedia by Steve Scott

The Armlock Encyclopedia isn’t quite as encyclopedic as I would like but it certainly deserves room on my bookshelf. Steve Scott mentions in the Introduction he was inspired by “Judo” Gene LeBell’s The Handbook of Judo, and his inspiration has obviously carried off the mat and onto the page. The Armlock Encyclopedia bears lot of resemblance to LeBell’s Encyclopedia of Finishing Holds, especially in the presentation and organization of the techniques. LeBell’s encyclopedia has a much larger number and variety of techniques, but Scott’s demonstrations show more (sometimes a lot more) in terms of starting position, set-up and intermediate steps. In that way it becomes kind of a companion to LeBell’s text, one providing more techniques and the other providing more detail.

The Armlock Encyclopedia is 263 pages, including the index, of text description and black-and-white photos. Scott demonstrates roughly 85 armlocks, plus some fundamental and defense information. The presentation lacks a little in places. The demonstrations are staged across a number of different training sessions with varying quality. The photos aren’t terrible, but it doesn’t compare to the large-format, multi-angle, glossy, color photography that has become popular with lots of modern instructional.

Scott has a wide range of experience, including Judo, Sambo Shingitai Juijitsu, and submission grappling. In respect to those wide ranging experiences, he mostly names techniques in plain English descriptions, as opposed to Japanese or Russian terms.

The text begins with a chapter on the core skills of armlocks. He covers a variety of positions with tips specific to those positions, plus a few general rules for specific types of armlocks. Scott divides his armlocks into four types: the cross-body armlock (jujigatame; armbar), the bent armlock (udegarami; Kimura; keylock), the straight armlock (udegatame, inverted armbar) and the armpit armlock (wakigatame).

Each of the sections is full of different variations, including attacks from common positions, attacks against the turtle and armlocks to follow-up throws. Most of the sections are very similar, though there are a few differences worth pointing out. The cross-body armlock section contains a series of “levers” or what are commonly known as grip breaks for completing the armbar. It’s a good addition to the chapter and it contains plenty of useful tricks. The bent armlocks open with variations on bent armlock grips and a little defensive tip. I was a little disappointed in this section, because there is not a single compression armlock in the chapter. The straight armlock chapter has a lot of variety, because it’s basically cataloguing every straight armlock that isn’t a jujigatame armbar. The armpit armlock chapter contains a lot of escapes into the armlock – motions like the wrestling switch and sit-out lend themselves naturally to this style of hold.

The final chapter is a glossary of grappling terms. There’s nothing earth-shaking in it, but it’s a nice way to wrap up a book.

The Armlock Encyclopedia is not perfect. The presentation leaves something to be desired. The organization is good, but can be a little disjointed. A lot of readers are conditioned to categorize their techniques by the positions from which they or launched or their sequence in a chain of submissions. Still, those issues do little to diminish the quality of the information presented. It certainly has a place on any grappler’s book self.

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