Best BJJ Submissions for White Belts: 5 High-Percentage Finishes to Drill

TL;DR. As a white belt, you don't need a catalog of fifty submissions — you need a small stack you can hit against resisting partners. The five below (rear naked choke, straight armbar from mount, cross-collar choke from closed guard, triangle choke, and kimura) show up at every level from beginner rolls to black-belt finals for a reason: the mechanics are simple, the setups are common, and they scale with you as you improve. Pick two or three, drill the details, and revise them between sessions so they're actually there when you need them.

Key takeaways

The best white-belt submissions are the ones you can finish from dominant position, not flashy attacks from bad spots.
Chokes travel with you across your career: the rear naked choke and cross-collar choke work at every belt, every ruleset, every body type.
Prioritize position first — a mediocre submission from mount is safer than a flashy submission from a scrambled position.
Two or three well-drilled finishes beat ten half-learned ones. Depth beats breadth for beginners.
Every submission below has a clear tap indicator and a clear stop-before-injury line — respect both, in training and in competition.
The fastest way to remember a technique is to capture it right after class or after watching an instructional, then revise it before your next session.
These moves are foundations, not shortcuts. Real feedback comes from mat time with a qualified coach.

What makes a submission "white-belt friendly"?

Not every submission belongs in your first year. A good early-career finish has four qualities:

It comes from a dominant position (mount, back, side control, closed guard), so the risk–reward is stacked in your favor.
The mechanics are simple enough to execute under fatigue — no elaborate grip switches or four-step chains.
It scales. The same move you learn now still shows up in black-belt matches; you don't have to abandon it later.
The tap is obvious. You know when you have it, and your partner knows when to tap.

The five submissions below all pass that test. Drill them, then use them in positional sparring before you go looking for exotic attacks.

1. Rear Naked Choke (RNC)

The rear naked choke is arguably the highest-percentage submission in grappling, and the reason is simple: if you have back control with hooks in, your opponent can barely see you, can't post effectively, and is running out of time. The choke closes the carotid arteries; done properly, the tap comes quickly and recovery is fast.

Why white belts should drill it first

Back control is the highest-value position in BJJ, so any submission you own from there compounds.
The choke is legal in every ruleset (gi, no-gi, IBJJF, ADCC, MMA).
The mechanics — trap the far side, thread the arm across the neck, connect your grip, squeeze with your chest, not your bicep — are learnable in a single class.

Drilling focus

Fight for the second hook and hand-fight to expose the neck before you attack.
Keep your head glued to their head so they can't turn in.
Squeeze by expanding the shoulders and chest, not by curling the arms.

Remember. A rear naked choke that isn't finishing is almost always a hand-fighting problem, not a squeeze problem. Win the hands, then finish.

2. Straight Armbar From Mount

The mount armbar is the classic "control-first" submission. You already have the dominant position; the armbar just converts that control into a finish when your opponent gives you the arm (usually by pressing on your chest).

Why it's a keeper

It teaches you to spot and punish a common beginner mistake: extending an arm to push off from mount.
The transition — S-mount → step over the head → sit back with the arm trapped — is the same skeleton you'll use for armbars from guard, from the back, and from technical stand-up later.
Even if you don't finish, you often end in a strong position (still on top or in guard with the arm isolated).

Drilling focus

Base high on the chest before you attack — don't reach for the arm from low mount.
Pinch your knees together to trap the shoulder.
Fall slowly and control the wrist; extend the hips against the elbow last.

3. Cross-Collar Choke From Closed Guard

If you're training gi, this is the guard attack you should master first. The cross-collar choke uses your opponent's own lapels against them and doesn't require athleticism or flexibility — just correct grips and hip angle.

Why it earns a spot

It's a legitimate finish that also opens up sweeps and armbars when your partner defends by posturing or posting.
It's forgiving: even a "failed" cross-collar frequently forces the reaction that leads to a triangle or an armbar from guard.
It works your whole career. High-level gi competitors still tap opponents with it.

Drilling focus

First grip deep — thumb inside the collar, four fingers out, aim for behind the neck.
Second grip mirrors the first, palm-down or palm-up depending on your school's preference.
Pull elbows toward the floor and expand the chest; don't just yank on the collars.

For no-gi white belts, substitute the guillotine from closed guard as your beginner "guard finish" — the underlying principle (attack the neck when they posture) is the same.

4. Triangle Choke From Closed Guard

The triangle looks flashy, but the mechanics are white-belt friendly once you understand the setup: your opponent gives you one arm in, one arm out, and you trap the head and the near arm inside your legs.

Why include it

It punishes bad posture inside closed guard, which is a very common beginner mistake.
It teaches you to use your legs as the primary weapon — a concept you'll need for the rest of your BJJ life.
It chains cleanly with the armbar and the omoplata; you rarely "waste" a triangle attempt.

Drilling focus

Break their posture first, control one wrist, and pull it across your body.
Shoot the leg over the shoulder in one motion; don't try to "climb" up gradually.
Lock the figure-four, pull the head down, and angle off to one side before you squeeze.

Remember. The triangle is a squeeze on the neck, not a leg-cross. If your ankles are locked but you're not angled, you don't have it yet — reset the angle, then finish.

5. Kimura (From Side Control or Closed Guard)

The kimura is a shoulder lock that works from multiple positions — side control, half guard, closed guard, north-south — which means one motor pattern serves you in many situations.

Why it makes the cut

Mechanically simple: figure-four grip on the wrist, isolate the elbow, rotate.
It's a "control submission" — even without the tap, kimura grip is one of the strongest control positions in BJJ.
Legal and effective at every level, gi and no-gi.

Drilling focus

Pin the trapped arm's shoulder to the mat before you rotate.
Keep your elbows tight to your body; power comes from the whole torso.
If they hide the hand in their belt or lapel, break the grip first — don't muscle it.

Honest comparison: which one to drill first?

Submission	Position needed	Gi / No-gi	Difficulty	Best first target
Rear naked choke	Back control	Both	Low	Everyone
Straight armbar (mount)	Mount	Both	Low–Medium	Strong top players
Cross-collar choke	Closed guard	Gi	Medium	Gi players
Triangle choke	Closed guard	Both	Medium	Players with mobile hips
Kimura	Side control / guard	Both	Low	Everyone

If you're brand new: start with the rear naked choke and the kimura. Both work in gi and no-gi, both come from strong positions, and both scale with you as you improve.

Remember. You're not picking a favorite move for the rest of your life. You're picking a starter set so live rolling becomes a place where you do things, not just survive.

How to actually drill them so they stick

Watching a technique isn't learning it, and drilling once isn't remembering it. A simple loop that works:

Capture — right after class, write down (or record) the key detail your coach emphasized. One sentence per detail is enough.
Drill with intent — before every open mat, pick one submission and hit it in positional sparring from the position where it starts.
Revise before class — spend two minutes re-reading your notes for that week's focus submission before you step on the mat.

If you study YouTube instructionals, the same loop applies: watch → summarize the three key details → revise before you drill. That's the workflow BJJ Memo was built for — paste an instructional URL, get a structured technique card with timestamps, and revise it before your next roll. A paper notebook works too, if you'll actually use it.

Frequently asked questions

How many submissions should a white belt know?

Fewer than you think. Two or three that you can hit against resisting partners of your size are far more useful than ten you can only pull off in drilling. Depth beats breadth.

Should I focus on gi or no-gi submissions first?

Train whichever your academy runs most often. The five submissions above (with the guillotine as a no-gi swap for the cross-collar) cover both rulesets, so you're not wasting time either way.

Are leg locks safe for white belts?

Straight ankle locks are legal for white belts under IBJJF rules and can be trained safely, but heel hooks and knee-attacking leg locks are generally not appropriate at this stage. Follow your academy's rules and your coach's guidance — knee injuries are the ones that don't come back quickly.

What if I can't finish anything in live rolling?

That's normal. Finishing rate is one of the last things to develop. Focus on getting to the position first (back, mount, closed guard), then work on the submission from there. Position before submission is a cliché because it's true.

How long until these become automatic?

It depends on how often you train and how deliberately you revise. White belts who drill the same handful of submissions consistently tend to start hitting them in live rolling much sooner than those who chase a new move every week.

Do I need an app to remember techniques?

No — a notebook, voice notes, or a shared doc all work. The real question is whether you'll actually use it. Whatever system removes the most friction between "learning a move" and "reviewing it before class" is the right one for you.

Train, capture, revise

The reason most white belts forget techniques isn't a lack of talent — it's that they never revisit what they learned. Pick two of the five submissions above, drill them every week, capture what your coach corrects, and revise it before you step back on the mat.

For real feedback and safety, train these techniques at a legit academy with a qualified coach — BJJ Memo helps you remember and revise, it doesn't replace mat time. When you're ready to build a personal technique library from the videos you already watch, we're on iOS and Android.

Last updated 2026-08-14.