The most readily available move in the sport – front headlock: Jiu Jitsu is a sport that prioritizes getting close to your opponent and getting to grips with him. As such there is a a lot of aggressive forward movement towards an opponent and a lot of level changing down to get under your opponents defensive arms and get a hold of him. This results in MANY opportunities to take a front headlock upon your opponent. In fact I would venture to say that front headlock is probably the single most available move/hold in Jiu Jitsu. It offers immediate control of the head – the most valuable part of the body to control when you want to restrain a powerful foe. It leads immediately into some of the best submissions in the sport – all guillotine variations and many kata gatame variations such as Darce and Anaconda strangles. In addition it leads naturally to the back – king of all attacking positions – along with many fine takedown opportunities. It is equally effective in both standing and ground grappling and it is equally effective as a defensive move and an offensive move. If you get into a serious grappling match with a good opponent for more than two minutes, I GUARANTEE at some point there will be an opportunity for a front headlock – it's almost impossible to engage in grappling without either conceding the opportunity or being presented with the opportunity. As such you have two duties towards the front headlock. First, you should invest the time into developing a strong front headlock of your own. Second, you should have some strong and trusted defenses to the move given the very high likelihood you will have to fight out of it pretty much every time you grapple. craig jones took the time this year to vastly improve his front headlock skills in the blue basement and it showed at the ADCC World Championships where he used it extremely well en route to a silver medal with a seventy five percent submission rate! You must work this position and come to understand it's incredible potential and value.
