Why it's called the twister
It is the only case in the series where the man behind the technique could have put his own name on it and chose not to. He had a practical reason.
BJJ Square · Updated on 08/11/2026
Eddie Bravo, a black belt under Jean Jacques Machado and the founder of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, did not invent the twister. The hold comes from American scholastic wrestling, where it is called the *guillotine*, and dates back to the 1920s: it was developed by Ralph Lupton, NCAA champion in 1928 with Cornell. Its job was to force the opponent onto his back by hurting him.
Bravo, who came from wrestling, remembered it and brought it into jiu-jitsu — but as a submission, not as a tool for pinning. In grappling the objective is a different one, and the same mechanics change trade.
Why he did not call it “bravo something”
For a practical reason: in grappling, *guillotine* was already taken. The guillotine is the front choke from the front headlock, a completely different thing. Two techniques with the same name, in a gym, are a daily nuisance.
So he chose twister — which describes what happens, the twisting — instead of his own surname. In a discipline where almost every hold carries somebody's name, it is an exception worth noting.
The correction to make
You often read that Bravo submitted Royler Gracie with a twister at ADCC 2003. That is not what happened. That win — the first by an American over a Gracie, in the quarter-finals, as a brown belt — came with a triangle. His own words: “*it was all built for the triangle, and I got it*”.
The twister is his signature technique, and he devoted a book to it. But it is not the technique of the match that made him famous — and confusing the two is one of the most repeated errors in jiu-jitsu online.
What we do not know
- Who Bravo learned the wrestling guillotine from. A coach, a training partner: no source says.
- Exactly when “twister” went from being his nickname to being the name of the hold. By 2003 it was already his nickname.
Note The recurring debate — “the twister is just the wrestling guillotine” — has the substance right. The real discussion is not about the origin, which is settled, but about how much Bravo changed the mechanics in going from a pin to a submission.
The other words you will hear at the gym, explained one by one: BJJ glossary.
Frequently asked questions
- Who invented the twister?
- The hold comes from American scholastic wrestling, where it is called the guillotine and dates back to the 1920s, developed by Ralph Lupton. Eddie Bravo brought it into jiu-jitsu as a submission and gave it its current name.
- Why is it called the twister and not the guillotine?
- Because in grappling “guillotine” already means the front choke. Bravo renamed it to stop two different techniques sharing one name.
- Did Eddie Bravo beat Royler Gracie with the twister?
- No. At ADCC 2003 he submitted him with a triangle. It is a very common error: the twister is his signature technique, but it is not the one from that match.
- What is the difference between the twister and the wrestling guillotine?
- The objective. In wrestling it is used to pin the opponent through pain; in jiu-jitsu Bravo uses it to get a submission. The basic mechanics are the same.
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