Question about Martial Arts with a lot of joint locks?

[elbows_and_knees]

many of them are easier to escape than locks from the ground as well.

[Treebranch]

Joint locks are not pain comliance moves, they are meant to attack the joints and rip, tear or break them. Nice people use them as pain compliance and people that are not nice take advantage of that and as a result you loose the lock. Also joint locks in stand up is a way to capture balance and design to break unless the attacker has superb ukemi. If someone is "serious" your wrist, arm, shoulder joint will be blasted and useless before you have time to counter. That's why you see those Aikido guys flying through the air with a wrist lock throw or whatever. If they didn't do that, they'd be screwed.

Agreed, but the problem is that standing locks are much more difficult to get than locks while on the ground. This is especially true of wristlocks, since your opponent has so many articulations at the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

Im not saying they're impossible, just very difficult, even for experienced people.

Agreed, it takes much more skill and understanding to do a standing lock on someone. That's why you have to attack their balance first and the locks show up. Someone trying not to fall is not going to feel the lock until it's too late. The pain of the lock is iceing on the cake the articulation from the wrist to elbow to shoulder to spine (balance) is what the locks are really for. Sadly, I'd have to show you for you to really understand how to make them work. Just like BJJ, if you can't get the armbar or go for the triangle, or kimura. If you can't get that lock, do something else. There are countless variables and you have to learn to adapt in the moment. The more you practice it, the more likelihood it will be part of your arsenal.