Mir Lock
The Mir lock in no-gi: an overhook shoulder lock on a bent arm, trapped across the attacker's torso and turned up and away — attacked from guard and half guard.
Adapted from InGrappling, Mir Lock. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
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The Mir lock is a shoulder lock built on an overhook. The attacker takes an overhook on the opponent’s near arm, folds that arm across their own torso with the elbow bent at roughly a right angle, closes a gable grip or a hand-on-own-hand clasp around it, and then turns the whole arm up and away from their body. The shoulder runs out of rotation; the elbow takes load at the same time, which is why the technique is credited with breaking both.
The bent arm is the requirement, not an accident of the position. A straight arm has nothing for the overhook to fold and no lever short enough to turn — it is an armbar problem instead. That detail matters more than it sounds: the reflex most grapplers are taught against arm attacks is to keep the elbow bent and tight, and that reflex walks directly into this one. The defence is denying the overhook rather than shortening the arm.
It is available from a fair few positions rather than one, and the set is the same one the shotgun armbar lives in — the positions where an opponent’s near arm gets presented. From underneath that is K-guard, Z-guard and the clamp; from on top it is knee on belly, north-south and side control. Published material on the Mir lock is thin and tends to name one position each, which is why sources appear to disagree; the common thread is the arm being offered, not the position offering it.
Elevated RiskMir Lock is an elevated risk technique. The Mir lock loads the shoulder and the elbow at the same time. The shoulder takes rotation through the capsule and rotator cuff; the elbow is folded and turned rather than extended, so it takes a torsional load rather than a hyperextension one. Compound loading across two joints compresses the tap window, and rotational shoulder pressure reads later than an elbow extension does — the movement feels survivable well past the point where the capsule is taking load. Sources consistently note that held past the tap it damages both joints. Serious injury can occur fast — two joints loaded together, with the shoulder's rotational warning arriving late.
If you are new to this technique: read this section before anything else. Understanding the danger is part of understanding the technique.
The person applying the technique is responsible for releasing immediately.
Communicate before drilling. Know your partner's experience level with this position.