Most martial artists will focus on the specific techniques that will end a fight quickly.  They will look for economy of motion and the overall effectiveness of any technique.

We all know that some techniques are more effective than others.  We also know that it’s been proven time and time again that once one of your arms are bent backwards, you’re not going to be 100% ready to continue.

That’s why the arm bar is a primary staple of a submission fighters training diet.  Most Jitz classes start out with a swinging arm bar drill as a common drill for their warm ups.  Here’s 17 sec of swinging arm bar drill from the bottom.

If you’re still reading this, there’s a strong chance that you already know there’s 100′s of ways to throw an arm bar.  Usually each variation of the arm bar is best served when your opponent is in the most appropriate position for the exact technique.

Forcing (setting up) a position is very common to trick your opponent into falling in line with the perfect position to execute your technique.  On the other hand defensive position can be used to accomplish this as well. but then your opponent is in control and you’re waiting on him to make a mistake.

The flying arm bar is the same application just with different positioning.  Below is a video where you will see how it is applied and practiced.  While you’re watching this video you will see the point of this article.

You’ll notice that when you’re executing this technique, the back of your head is extremely vulnerable to forcibly striking the ground.  Sometimes the ground is a gym mat and other times it’s not so forgiving.

My opinion is that this move is only a success because of it’s innovative nature.  In the future it will be of HIGH RISK to attempt this technique against someone who may have trained on it’s counter.   I’m not saying that it’s not awesome, or that I personally would be able to stop it if one of the studs in the video threw it on me.  I’m only saying pay attention to the back of the head, the gravitation position of the bodies, and the direction the head is moving.