What are Submission Chains?
Submission chains link attacks by using an opponent’s defense to one submission as the opening for another, while preserving useful positional control.
Learn the response that links two attacks before adding a longer sequence. If the response does not appear, keep control instead of forcing the next submission.
Film Study
Watch Submission Chains in action — curated instructionals
Rear naked choke finishing transitions — taught by Nick Albin · Watch on YouTube
Danaher's chained attack system from side control — taught by John Danaher · 15:47 · Watch on YouTube
How to build your own submission chains — taught by Nick Albin · 4:47 · Watch on YouTube
Seven-submission flow chain — taught by Johnny Jitsu · 1:16 · Watch on YouTube
Building Blocks
- Make the first entry credible enough to draw a recognizable defense.
- Choose the next attack from the defense you actually receive.
- Transfer the required controls before changing targets.
- Return to position when the next entry is unavailable.
Prerequisites
Recognition of Defensive Patterns: The ability to identify and categorize opponent defensive responses in real-time. This includes recognizing when an opponent is pulling their arm out versus stacking, posturing versus turning, or using specific grip patterns that indicate their defensive strategy. Pattern recognition allows the attacker to anticipate the next move in the chain before the defender fully commits to their escape.
Positional Retention During Transitions: Maintaining dominant position and control while moving between submission attempts. This skill involves keeping key control points (hooks, grips, weight distribution) even as you release one submission to attack another. Losing position during transitions negates the entire chain concept by allowing the opponent to escape or counter-attack.
Grip Management and Reconfiguration: The technical ability to release, adjust, and reestablish grips smoothly during chain transitions without telegraphing your next attack or losing control. This includes understanding which grips can be maintained across multiple submissions and which must be abandoned and re-acquired. Elite chain attackers can transition grips so smoothly that opponents feel constant pressure without clear breaks.
Tempo Control and Pace Variation: Controlling the speed and rhythm of chain attacks to prevent defensive anticipation while managing your own energy expenditure. This includes knowing when to explode through a transition versus when to maintain steady pressure, and how to use pauses strategically to bait defensive movements that open new attacks.
Multiple Submission Mechanics Mastery: Deep technical proficiency in at least 4-6 submissions that can be linked together based on their mechanical relationships. This goes beyond knowing how to finish each submission in isolation—it requires understanding the transitional mechanics that connect them and being able to execute each one from compromised positions during active chain sequences.
Contingency Planning and Adaptive Sequencing: The strategic ability to adjust chain sequences based on opponent responses, including having backup options when primary chains are defended and being able to restart chains from different entry points. This skill separates rigid chain followers from creative chain builders who can improvise new connections in real-time.
Distance and Angle Management: Controlling the spatial relationship with your opponent throughout the chain to optimize each submission setup while preventing escapes. This includes understanding how to close distance for chokes, create space for joint locks, and adjust angles to maximize mechanical advantage at each transition point in the sequence.
Psychological Pressure: Using the relentless nature of chains to create mental fatigue and panic in opponents, forcing rushed defensive decisions that create larger offensive opportunities. This skill involves maintaining composure and systematic pressure even when individual submissions fail, demonstrating to the opponent that escaping one attack only leads to another.
Where to Apply
Closed Guard: Link familiar armbar, triangle, and omoplata entries according to how the opponent withdraws an arm or changes posture.
Mount: An armbar defense may open a triangle entry; keep upper-body and hip control as the available target changes.
Kimura Trap: Use the opponent’s grip and shoulder movement to choose a follow-up entry or positional advance while retaining arm control.
Front Headlock: Changes in head and arm position can open another choke entry or a go-behind; follow the opening without forcing neck pressure.
How to Apply
- Assess current position and available primary submission entries: Identify your strongest 2-3 submissions from current position based on opponent’s current posture, grip configuration, and defensive awareness level
- Initiate primary submission with position retention focus: Execute first submission attempt while maintaining critical control points that will be needed for secondary attacks—do not overcommit to the finish if it requires sacrificing position
- Monitor opponent’s defensive response pattern: Identify which defensive category opponent employs: arm extraction, posture recovery, rotation/rolling, or stacking—this determines your next attack in the chain
- Execute chain transition at peak of defensive movement: Release primary submission and transition to secondary attack at the moment of maximum defensive commitment when opponent has the least ability to counter your transition
- Reassess position integrity during transition: Verify that you maintained dominant position during the transition—if position was compromised, prioritize position recovery over continuing the chain
- Evaluate submission viability of secondary attack: Determine if secondary submission has high-percentage finish potential or if it should be used to force another defensive reaction that opens a tertiary attack
- Continue chain or consolidate position: If opponent shows signs of panic or exhaustion, push for immediate finish—if they remain composed and defensive, use current submission to improve position before continuing chain
- Reset or recycle chain sequence: When chain reaches its natural end or position becomes compromised, either reset to primary submissions or transition to a different chain family based on new positional context
Progress Markers
Beginner Level:
- Can recognize basic defensive patterns (arm pull, posture, roll) after they occur but struggles with real-time anticipation
- Successfully executes 2-submission chains in drilling contexts with cooperative partners but chains break down under moderate resistance
- Frequently abandons chain attempts to reset position when first submission fails, reverting to single-attack mentality under pressure
- Understands intellectually which submissions connect but lacks smooth mechanical transitions between them
Intermediate Level:
- Anticipates common defensive patterns before they fully develop and begins transitions proactively rather than reactively
- Regularly completes 3-4 submission chains in live sparring against similarly skilled opponents
- Maintains dominant position throughout most chain transitions, demonstrating improved control point management
- Has developed 2-3 go-to chain sequences from each major position and can execute them reflexively
Advanced Level:
- Creates custom chain variations in real-time based on opponent-specific defensive patterns observed during match
- Successfully executes 5+ submission chains with smooth transitions that opponents struggle to identify and defend
- Uses failed submission attempts as intentional position improvements rather than true submission attempts, demonstrating advanced strategic thinking
- Demonstrates opponent-specific chain selection, adjusting sequences based on pre-match scouting or in-match pattern recognition
- Can restart chains from multiple entry points when primary sequences are defended, showing deep chain system understanding
Expert Level:
- Creates entirely new chain connections spontaneously during matches by recognizing novel transitional opportunities
- Submission attempts create such relentless psychological pressure that opponents make defensive errors even when individual attacks aren’t perfectly executed
- Successfully executes chains across position changes (e.g., guard chains transitioning to mount chains), demonstrating mastery of position and submission integration
- Teaches and articulates sophisticated chain concepts to others, including creating opponent-specific chain gameplans for teammates