18 August 2026
5 Underhook Attacks for No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling
5 Underhook Attacks for No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling
An underhook is not a finished technique. It is a control position. In this July coaching series from Modern Warrior Academy, one clinch grip opens five related options: a duck-under, double-underhooks and a body lock, a pull throw, a single-leg entry, and a double-leg.
What an Underhook Controls
In no-gi jiu-jitsu and wrestling, a BJJ underhook is the arm you thread under your partner’s armpit and along their back. You are connecting to the torso — the shoulder, the ribs, and the space behind the hip — not grabbing a gi collar.
That connection lets you steer the near-side shoulder, open a path to the back, and stay close enough that the other person cannot easily frame and reset. The coaching point in this series is simple: winning the underhook is the start of the exchange, not the finish. Treat it as a control position and you can branch into several attacks without a new setup every time.
Why Posture, Head Position, and Connection Matter
Across the five clips, the coach keeps the same details before the attack starts: head connected, hips close, underhook tight — a line from your shoulder through theirs, not a loose hug. If your head pops up, the partner can sprawl or pummel back inside. If your hips drift away, you lose the step behind, the level change, and the far leg. The grip does not create the angle. Your posture does.
Keep the underhook tight to the body. A loose arm is easy to pummel out of.
Stay connected through the head and shoulder so you can turn the corner or change level.
Close the space. Most of these entries fail when you reach from too far away.
Attack 1: Duck-Under
The first clip starts with both partners working underhooks. From that standing clinch, the coach adds a duck-under — dropping the level, turning the corner, and arriving behind the partner. On camera this is an entry and a back-take, not a guaranteed completed takedown. What happens next depends on how the partner reacts.
A duck-under from a BJJ underhook is not a separate trick you memorize in isolation. It is one way to use the space you already created when you won the inside position.
Attack 2: Double-Underhooks and Body-Lock Control
Poster still from BJJ 2 underhook - DOUBLE UNDERS mw.mp4. Video loads only after you press play.
In the second clip, the coach does not abandon the first underhook. He adds the second arm, wraps the body, and locks the hands — add this in, bring them, use all the tools instead of only trying to dig. This is a control progression. The finish on camera is a tight body lock, not a named throw. Double-unders give you the option to lift, turn, or ride. They do not automatically put someone on the mat.
Attack 3: Pull Throw
The third clip is the one that clearly finishes to the mat. From the underhook, the coach pulls, steps inside, and drops. On the ground he locks the wrap by gripping his own thigh. We are using the name from the coaching series: pull throw. The video does not give a Japanese judo name, and this article does not invent one.
What this clip is, and is not: unlike the duck-under and the single-leg clips, this one does complete the takedown. It is still the same underhook. The difference is the choice: stay behind, lock the body, or pull them through.
Attack 4: Single-Leg Entry
Here the underhook becomes a path to the near-side leg. The coach talks through a pull and a step, with pummeling still in the mix. The clip ends with the captured leg while the partner is still standing — an entry, not a finished takedown. Getting the single-leg is one job. Finishing it is a second job.
Attack 5: Double-Leg Entry
The last technique clip changes level from the same underhook into both legs. You see a lift, then the pair finish on the mat with the coach in top control to the side. Treat this one as a completed double-leg to the side. In the same breath the coach recaps the other options — single-leg, duck-under — which is the point of the series. One position. Several next steps.
Why Students Drill Related Options From the Same Position
Beginners often want a single “best” takedown from the underhook. Live grappling does not work that way. If the partner posts a hip, the duck-under may be there. If they stay square, the body lock may be safer. If they step a leg forward, the single-leg or double-leg becomes available. Drilling five related attacks from one BJJ underhook teaches decision-making: keep the connection, change the attack, and know whether the clip you just watched was control, an entry, or a completed takedown.
How Drilling Develops Into Live Rolling
Cooperative drilling is where the five options get clean. Live rolling is where you find out whether you can keep the underhook when someone is pummeling, framing, and moving for real.
The August clips below are here only to show that jump: from a taught sequence to live no-gi grappling. They are not labeled as a specific underhook attack, and this article does not claim they are.
In Modern Warrior’s adult jiu-jitsu program, live rolling is introduced progressively. You do not need to be a wrestler first. You need a coach watching the same details this series keeps repeating: posture, head position, and connection.
Learn Integrated Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling in New Westminster
Short clips help you see the idea. The work happens on the mats. At Modern Warrior Academy on 6th Street in New Westminster, adult jiu-jitsu and wrestling are taught as related skills — Judo, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the same conversation. Coach Cody Osborn leads the adult jiu-jitsu and wrestling classes.
For a broader look at how the academy talks about grappling, see the ground and grappling program overview and no-gi jiu-jitsu for real-world self-defence. Then check the current class schedule and come try the work in person.
