An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint and/or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyperflexes or hyperrotates the shoulder joint is referred to as a shoulder lock, and an armlock that hyperextends the elbow joint is called an armbar. Depending on the joint flexibility and integrity of a person, armlocks that hyperrotate the shoulder joint can also hyperrotate the elbow joint, and vice versa.

Obtaining an armlock requires effective use of full-body leverage in order to initiate and secure a lock on the targeted arm, while preventing the opponent from escaping the lock. Therefore, performing an armlock is less problematic on the ground, from positions such as the mount, side control, or guard. Armlocks are more difficult to perform when both combatants are standing up, though the stand-up variants are a focus in certain systems such as Chin Na. Furthermore, a failed armlock can sometimes result in the opponent escaping and obtaining a dominant position.

Pedro Sauer is an 8th-degree Gracie Jiu Jitsu red and black belt under Rickson Gracie and Helio Gracie. On May 17, 2005, he was named "Best of the Best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor" in a worldwide poll conducted by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC).

Pedro Sauer was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where from an early age, he began training in the martial arts. At age five, he began boxing and later took up judo and taekwondo. At age fifteen, however, his friend, Rickson Gracie, invited him to practice jiu-jitsu with his younger brother, Royler, who at the time was only nine years old. The outcome of this experience convinced him that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was the most effective of all the martial arts, and he began offcial training the next day.

Pedro worked towards a double major (Economics and Business Administration) in college, and took post graduation course at Fundacao Getulio Vargas. He worked in Brazil as a stockbroker for eleven years^{[citation needed]} before deciding to move to the United States and pursue a career teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In 1990, he moved to California with the original wave of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors. He lived in California with Rickson Gracie and trained daily with the Gracie brothers (Rickson, Rorion, Relson, and Royce), their father, Helio Gracie, their cousin, Renzo Gracie, and the Machado Brothers, as well as many others. In December of that same year, he moved to Utah where he lived for sixteen years, pioneering Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the Southwestern United States.

Anderson da Silva (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɐ̃deʁsõ ˈsiwvɐ]; born April 14, 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins and 9 title defenses, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history.

Silva is ranked as the number one Middleweight in the world by multiple publications, and is the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN, Sherdog, Yahoo! Sports, MMAFighting.com and other publications. UFC president Dana White has proclaimed Silva as "the greatest mixed martial artist ever."^{[undue weight? – discuss]} Silva is also the last Cage Rage Middleweight Champion and a former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Besides the UFC and Cage Rage, Silva has fought for a number of other MMA promotions including the Pride Fighting Championships, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock.

Although known primarily for his mastery of Muay Thai striking, Silva is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt, a rank he earned in 2006 from Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira who follows Gracie Lineage through Carlson Gracie, like Murilo Bustamante and the Brazilian Top Team. He began martial arts training at the age of 14, training Tae kwon do and earning a black belt by the age of 18. He is also a black belt in Judo and a yellow rope in Capoeira.

Rickson Gracie (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁiksõ ˈɡɾejsi]; born November 20, 1958) is a Brazilian 8th degree black and red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin and Royler Gracie.

Rickson Gracie, son of Helio Gracie, was born into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. At six years old he began competing; at 15 he started to teach it; and at 18 he received his black belt. At 20 Rickson won his first victory against the famous 230-pound Brazilian brawler Rei Zulu. With this victory, Rickson gained immediate national acclaim as the top freestyle fighter, leaving his mark on the history of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and the Gracie challenge. Five years later Zulu requested a rematch and lost to Rickson again, in Maracanazinho before an audience of 20,000 spectators.

In the 1997 Pride 1 Vale Tudo match in Japan's Tokyo Dome (before 47,860 spectators), Gracie defeated Japanese professional wrestler, Nobuhiko Takada, in 4:47 of the first round. A year later, to the day, at Pride 4, Rickson defeated Takada once again. At Colosseum 2000, held at the Tokyo Dome, broadcast to 30 million TV Tokyo viewers, Rickson fought Masakatsu Funaki. He defeated his opponent with a rear naked choke in 11:46 of the first round.

Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɑs ˈrʏtən]; born February 24, 1965) is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). He is currently the star of Punk Payback on Fuel TV and co-host of Inside MMA on HDNet.

As a fighter, one of his favorite tactics was the liver shot (both punch and kick), and he popularized its use in MMA. Rutten is known for his charisma and has capitalized on his celebrity since retiring from fighting in 1999. He has worked as a color commentator in several MMA organizations, including Pride, and has appeared in numerous television shows, movies, and video games. He also coaches MMA and has authored several instructional materials.

Rutten was born in Tilburg, Netherlands and developed from the age of 6 a skin disease, named eczema, and severe asthma. Because of the skin disease he always had to wear long sleeves, turtle necks and gloves to protect him from showing his skin, his asthma made him very skinny and because of all this he was bullied on a daily basis as a kid. Rutten found refuge in climbing trees at a forrest behind his house, when bullies would chase him, he would climb in a tree and could swing from tree top to tree top, which made it impossible for bullies to follow pursued.