Gordon Ryan Upper Body Joint Lock Escapes Course

By BJJ University Editorial · Published 2026-11-09

9 listed volumesNo-gi curriculum

Our buying assessment

Best for: No-gi upper-body joint-lock escape study
Buy less if: Your main problem is chokes or leg locks
Main tradeoff: Deep focus, not a complete escape library

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Based on the seller’s curriculum and cited product sources, checked 2026-11-09. This is a researched guide, not a firsthand review. Study recommendations are our editorial assessment.

In this guide

What it teaches

This course teaches systematic escapes from upper-body joint locks, including juji gatame, te gatame, kimuras, americanas, omoplatas, shoulder sankaku, and scissor juji. The curriculum also addresses defensive stages, early versus late escapes, hand positions, grip stripping, leg pommeling, stacking, rolling, and end-game scenarios.

A major theme is not merely getting out, but connecting defense to counter-offense. The product source specifically mentions entries to leg locks and back takes as possible counter-offensive outcomes during the escape cycle.

Curriculum overview

Escape theory and omoplata problems

General escape stages, counter-offense, initial clamps, ude gatame, te gatame, omoplata conversions, reverse knee-on-belly, roll-throughs, and late omoplata escapes.

Study this if: Build a decision framework before fighting specific arm entanglements.

Kimura family from top, half guard, and pins

Head and hand positioning, body locks, wrist grabs, grip stripping, rolling through, T-kimura exits, leg pommeling, bottom half-guard counters, and bottom-pin escapes.

Study this if: Stop kimura controls from becoming shoulder locks, sweeps, or back exposure.

Dorsal kimura and americana escapes

Dorsal kimura grip stripping, leg-pommel escapes, stacking out of legs kimura, rolling out of power kimura, plus americana hand fighting from side control and mount.

Study this if: Defend shoulder-lock finishes when the opponent has strong upper-body control.

Armbar foundations and mounted armbars

Top and bottom armbar problems, early and late escape definitions, defensive hand positions, closed-guard hand fighting, top-lock escapes, mounted armbar movement, and offensive hand positions.

Study this if: Recognize armbar danger earlier and choose the right hand fight or movement phase.

Quarter, full, and 3/4 juji escapes

Figure-four and 10-finger escapes against top-hand and bottom-hand posts, kimura-grip answers, late escapes, far ankle cross separation, and 3/4 juji end games.

Study this if: Survive increasingly locked armbar positions without relying on one generic escape.

Shoulder sankaku, scissor juji, and live breakdowns

Escapes from top-side and bottom-side shoulder sankaku, scissor juji, near-side scoop grip issues, followed by rolling footage and commentary sections.

Study this if: Connect late-stage upper-body escapes to live positional reactions.

Who it is for

Consider this if you train no-gi and repeatedly get caught in upper-body joint locks from guard, mount, half guard, side control, north-south, or back-adjacent armbar positions. The source lists kimuras from top and bottom half guard, bottom pins, side control/north-south, mounted armbars, closed-guard hand fighting, and juji variations.

It may also suit competitors or advanced hobbyists who want to turn late-stage defense into scrambles, counters, and positional reversals, because the course explicitly includes rolling footage and breakdowns of the escapes in motion.

Prerequisites

The source presents the material as usable by grapplers of all levels, but the topic list assumes familiarity with common submission names and positions such as juji gatame, kimura, omoplata, half guard, mount, side control, north-south, and shoulder sankaku.

Our suggested prerequisite is a basic understanding of armbar and kimura finishing mechanics before studying the late escapes. That should make the early/late distinction and grip-specific answers easier to place in live training.

Format and ruleset fit

The supplied brief verifies the format as no-gi. The source also frames Gordon Ryan as a no-gi grappler and includes no explicit gi-lapel curriculum in the listed lessons.

The course is listed with streaming or download access through the BJJ Fanatics app. Research limitation: this guide is based on the supplied product and comparison source snapshots, not on independent viewing or testing of the course.

Strengths

The standout strength is depth inside a narrow defensive lane: the course does not just say “armbar escapes,” but separates quarter juji, full juji, 3/4 juji, mounted armbars, dorsal-kimura entries, shoulder sankaku, and scissor juji.

Another strength is the attention to decision points inside the escape: hand positions, posts, kimura grips, far ankle crosses, head and hand placement, lower-body battles, and early versus late phases all appear in the curriculum.

The inclusion of rolling footage and rolling commentary may help students connect the formal lessons to live reactions, because the source says the techniques are shown in gym rolling and then explained afterward.

Limitations

This is not a complete submission-defense course. The supplied curriculum is centered on upper-body joint locks; it does not list dedicated guillotine, rear naked choke, collar choke, triangle choke, or heel-hook defense modules in this product.

Buy less urgently if your current submission problem is primarily chokes or leg entanglements. For those needs, the supplied alternatives document choke-focused escapes and broader submission escapes, including heel-hook defense, while this course’s verified topic is upper-body joint locks.

Suggested study order

Our suggested order is to start with the general theory and omoplata/initial-clamp material, because those lessons introduce escape stages, offense after defense, and the idea of denying the opponent’s offensive structure.

Next, study kimura and americana defenses before the large armbar block. Kimura-family grips often appear as controlling mechanisms around armbars in the listed curriculum, and the course later includes specific armbar escapes against kimura grips.

After that, work through quarter juji, full juji, 3/4 juji, shoulder sankaku, and scissor juji, then use the rolling and commentary sections as a review layer to see how the same ideas appear under resistance.

Alternatives to consider

Ultimate Choke Escapes by Henry Akins is the more specific alternative if the danger you are trying to solve is strangles rather than joint locks. Its supplied curriculum covers cross collar, Ezekiel, triangle, rear naked choke, D’Arce, anaconda, guillotine, papercutter, bow-and-arrow, bulldog, and baseball choke defenses.

New Wave Jiu Jitsu: A New Philosophy Of Submissions Escapes by John Danaher is the broader alternative. It includes guillotines, armbars, triangles, kimuras, and heel-hook or ashi-garami defenses, while Gordon Ryan’s course is more concentrated on upper-body joint locks and rolling breakdowns for that category.

Purchase assessment

Consider buying if you want a focused no-gi defensive study on upper-body joint locks, especially kimura and armbar families, with a path from escape to counter-offense. Check the current product page for live purchase terms rather than relying on any archived snapshot.

Buy less if you need a first defensive instructional for every submission type. The supplied sources show more appropriate alternatives for choke defense or broader submission-escape coverage.

Bundle or individual course

This supplied product is an individual course, not a bundle. No component courses were supplied, so there is no verified bundle-versus-individual breakdown to compare.