Category: Choke

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FilmJitsu – BJJ in The Expanse S3 E3: Assured Destruction

The rear naked choke (often shortened to RNC even though the choke has no political affiliation) is the most effective and simplest choke in all of BJJ. It’s a choke that can still be effective even when done poorly and applied to the windpipe instead of the carotid artery.

The rear naked choke is so simple and effective that even at the highest level of competition against skilled opponents, it is far and away the most commonly effective choke in the UFC with 49% of all submissions by RNC (the next closest is the guillotine at 14%) according to BJJ Tribes in December 2020. 

Also, because the rear naked choke is a blood choke it is mostly undetectable as a cause of death. Where a windpipe choke would leave bruising and damage to the windpipe, the rear naked choke just shuts off blood to the brain like kinking a hose.

So it’s not surprising that the well trained former soldier Cotyar used it to quickly and reliably dispense of the nervous nelly and noted turncoat Theo in The Expanse S3 E3: Assured Destruction. Theo started as an electrician on Jules-Pierre Mao’s Guanshiyin luxury space yacht and helped Chrisjen Avasarala, Bobbie Draper, and Cotyar escape. So he was a friend but then as soon as the heat was on, was willing to lie about that to save his skin when the U.N.N. ship Agatha King picked them up. 

So when Cotyar needed a way to quickly, efficiently, and most of all undetectably kill Theo, he used the old faithful rear naked choke. While Cotyar executed the RNC correctly, The Expanse is still a TV show and they need to show to non-fight sport enthusiasts that Theo had no chance of surviving the choke so they added in a TV Trope neck snap.

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How To Do a Ninja Choke

One of the best advantages of an in-depth knowledge of BJJ is the depth of options available in any given situation. If you’ve studied Jiu-Jitsu even a little bit you’ve probably discovered that no matter what happens and how your initial plan gets derailed, you still have options. 

Case in point is the ninja choke off of a failed guillotine attempt. When your opponent stops your guillotine choke by removing your choking hand, you could fight back against them and force your arm back under their chin, but that requires your one arm to be stronger than their two, which is a dumb fight to get in. Instead, you have the option to allow them to remove your choking hand and just take advantage of their two-on-one arm strategy and replace it with your free hand, making that the choking arm.

Trading back and forth between a guillotine choke and a ninja choke will frustrate your opponent and wear them down until one choke or the other is too much for them to defend and you end up with a submission. 

Start: Guillotine 

Step 1: Opponent uses two hands to pull your choking hand out, and you feed your free hand through in the space created, making that the choking hand

Step 2: Figure four choking arm’s hand onto non-choking arm bicep

Step 3: Drop non-choking hand onto opponent’s back

Step 4: Drop non Choking elbow down while you lift choking arm up and squeeze

Finish: Submission via Ninja Choke

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How To Do A Twisting Arm Control Submission

The twisting arm control submission is an excellent BJJ attack that draws on a fundamental principle of Jiu-Jitsu and uses an opponent’s energy against them.

Mount is an extremely effective and dominant position in BJJ, but you may find yourself unable to finish a submission from mount due to your opponent’s strength, excellent defense, or escape attempts. In those cases, the twisting arm control submission is a useful transition to the back and the rear naked choke. 

Twisting arm control is a frustrating position for the bottom player, and many BJJ fighters will fall into this trap just to move out of the position. In MMA or a fight, the position leaves one of the top fighter’s hands free for punches, forcing the bottom fighter to escape or be knocked out.

This technique by the great Rener Gracie for his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy Youtube channel is part of the Gracie How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ guide.

Start: Mount

Step 1: Secure a cross-grip on one of opponent’s wrists and using your free hand to push their elbow, drag that wrist across their body to their opposite shoulder

Step 2: Lay your chest on the twisted arm and post your gripping hand into the mat to secure their arm in place

Step 3: Slide your free hand under opponent’s neck and grab their wrist, switching which hand has the grip

Step 4: Slide your back knee (the side that now has the grip on opponent’s wrist) up behind their shoulders and post front foot next to their stomach

Step 5: Pull opponent’s wrist towards you while pushing their elbow with your free hand, forcing them to turn away

Step 6: When opponent turtles (either out of frustration, to escape punches, or to avoid the discomfort of your heel digging into their stomach), abandon the twisting arm control and post both hands on the ground to get both hooks in and take the back.

Step 7: Slide one arm under opponent’s neck and through to other side, figure four your arms and reach free hand behind their head to finish a rear naked choke

Finish: Tap due to Twisting Arm Control Submission

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How To Do An Ezekiel Choke in BJJ

The Ezekiel choke in BJJ is named after Ezequiel Paraguassu, an olympic Judo fighter who studied with the Gracie BJJ family before the 1988 olympics to perfect his ground fighting. According to Jiu Jitsu Legacy, Paraguassu was frustrated by the tight closed guard of his new Brazilian friends until he remembered an old, rarely used judo choke called the Sode Guruma Jime, Japanese for sleeve wheel constriction. The choke was so effective and popular that it was named after him (albeit with a misspelling).

The Ezekiel choke uses the cross face position from mount, half guard, or even from inside someone’s guard to grip onto the free arm’s sleeve and use that sleeve to choke the opponent. This setup doesn’t require sacrificing your good position, so it’s a great submission to attempt even if your opponent defends it well. 

Start: Mount

Step 1: Establish cross face behind opponent’s neck

Step 2: Grip attacking arm’s sleeve with four fingers of cross face hand

Step 3: Slide attacking hand under opponent’s chin and over their neck

Step 4: Pour weight onto your hands and into the choke

Finish: Submission via Ezekiel choke

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How To Do A No Gi Ezekiel Choke in BJJ

The no gi ezekiel choke in BJJ is one of the meanest chokes in the game. Achieved by wrapping your arms around your opponent’s neck and then figure fouring them so that no space is left and your opponent’s head feels like it’s going to pop off, this choke is one that should be in every Jiu-Jitsu fighter’s arsenal. Slow and methodical but strong and tight, the no gi ezekiel choke is absolutely disheartening for the victim.

The no gi ezekiel choke can also be used in gi BJJ, but there is an easier ezekiel choke that uses a grip on the gi sleeve instead of figure fouring the arms.

Start: Mount

Step 1: Establish deep cross face by pushing opponent’s head into bicep with your head

Step 2: Clear opponent’s free hand so that both of your arms are able to attack the neck (threaten an arm triangle so that opponent’s defense leads them to an underhook)

Step 3: Lean towards arm with cross face

Step 4: Grip bicep of your attacking arm with cross face hand

Step 5: Slide hand along opponent’s ear to their neck

Step 6: Squeeze arms similar to rear naked choke

Finish: Submission via no gi ezekiel choke

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How To Do A Stage 1.5 Triangle Choke Variation

The triangle choke is an essential choke in BJJ. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a martial art is focused on using body mechanics to submit an opponent even if they might be larger and stronger than you and the triangle from guard is a perfect example of that. Using the geometry of your legs and your opponent’s neck and arm, the triangle allows you to choke them without relying on strength.

The BJJ Stage 1.5 position is an open guard position that uses a push-pull on your opponent’s arm to secure them in a spot that prevents them from punching (in MMA or on the street), passing your guard, or backing out of the position. Stage 1.5 in Jiu-Jitsu is achieved by gripping your opponent’s wrist while pushing your knee into their elbow, blocking any movement forward or back.

The triangle choke stage 1.5 variation is a part of the How To Get A Blue Belt guide by Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Start: Stage 1.5 position, side with knee trapping opponent’s arm will be attacking side

Step 1: Push knee forward and then use the space created to slip foot up and over opponent’s shoulder, cross ankles

Step 2: Pull opponent’s trapped arm across your body to the attacking side

Step 3: Grab back of opponent’s head to pull them in and drop your non-attacking side leg to their hip, adjust your position so that opponent’s trapped arm is 90 degrees

Step 4: Bring attacking-side leg over opponent’s neck so that your hamstring is against their neck and figure four your non-attacking leg over your shin

Step 5: Push your knees together, pull opponent’s head down and push your hips up

End: Submission via stage 1.5 triangle choke

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How To Do a Giant Killer Triangle Choke Submission in BJJ

The triangle choke submission in BJJ is one of the defining submissions of the sport. Using the triangle choke a smaller or weaker person can use the mechanics of their legs to choke the neck of a larger, stronger opponent. The triangle perfectly illustrates the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu core belief that technique will beat strength. That belief is at the core of the name of this submission, the giant killer triangle choke. 

The giant killer triangle choke submission is a basic technique that is a part of the How To Get a BJJ Blue Belt guide for what the Gracie family expects every blue belt to know. 

The giant killer triangle submission is an option if your opponent is too large or too strong for you to secure the open guard 1.5 position and you are left without the push-pull necessary to fully control their upper body. 

Start: Closed guard with opponent hugging close to you

Step 1: Use legs to push opponent’s hips down and away from your head

Step 2: Use two hands to push opponent’s head to one side (this will be attacking side)

Step 3: Post non-attacking side foot on the ground and shrimp to that side

Step 4: Put both feet onto opponent’s hips and grab opponent’s non-attacking side arm with both hand

Step 5: Stretch opponent out with push-pull of hips and arm to create enough space for triangle setup

Step 6: Swim attacking side leg up and over opponent’s neck and lock ankles

Step 7: Push opponent’s trapped arm across their body

Step 8: Post non-attacking foot on opponent’s hip and rotate your body in line with their trapped arm

Step 9: Figure-four non-attacking side knee over attacking shin

Step 10: Pull down on opponent’s head and squeeze triangle choke 

Finish: Submission via giant killer triangle choke submission

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BJJ Drill: Armbar, Triangle, Omoplata Drill from Closed Guard

Drilling BJJ is one of the most essential ingredients to getting fast and good at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While it’s obvious that drilling is essential to improving your BJJ game, how you should drill is not as obvious. Shrimping across the mat at the start of class will help train that movement, and repeating techniques until you have the movements memorized is an excellent way to make muscle memory, but there are other drills that may prove to be equally useful to your BJJ game.

This BJJ flow drill from MMA Leach is a great example of a drill that will help your BJJ game rise to the next level. This drill for the closed guard uses three essential BJJ closed guard techniques: the armbar from closed guard, the triangle from closed guard, and the omoplata from closed guard. This drill will help you to quickly react when your opponent defends your closed guard attack and chain together submissions to develop a comfortable, dangerous closed guard game.

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How To Do a High Elbow Guillotine in BJJ

The guillotine choke is an incredibly powerful choke that is both easy to do and hard to escape, making it one of the most popular choke submissions in BJJ, MMA, and real world street fighting. The high elbow guillotine is one of the many different guillotine variations for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that is available when you have access to your opponent’s head and neck but have not secured control of their arm. For variations with the arm secured, see the arm in guillotine or D’Arce choke.

This great video by John Danaher has a lot of details for getting the guillotine from half guard, but the high elbow guillotine can be reached from several positions.

Start: headlock position with opponent’s neck exposed

Step 1: Grip opponent’s chin with strangle hand (non-high elbow side hand) over their head and neck

Step 2: Slide support hand in between opponent’s shoulder and head alongside their neck and grip your strangle hand with your support hand palm on the back of your strangle hand

Step 3: Push your strangle side shoulder forward into your opponent’s creating space for the guillotine submission

Step 4: Bring your support side elbow back to your body to prevent opponent from securing control over it while shifting your head over toward strangle side

Step 5: Drag both hand up and to support side inside opponent’s clavicle, then turn support side elbow forward and onto opponent’s back

Step 6: Secure opponent’s body and rotate towards strangle side, raising support side elbow towards sky

End: Submission via guillotine

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How To Do A Rear Naked Choke (RNC) in BJJ

The rear naked choke or RNC is one of the most simple and effective chokes in BJJ. It’s also a natural, intuitive technique, unlike many in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Despite the intuitive nature and the fact that most people off the street understand the basic mechanics of the technique, there are details to the position that can mean the difference between straining your strength against your opponent’s skeleton and sinking in the RNC and getting the submission quickly.

Bas Rutten is one of the original stars of mixed martial arts and famously brought technique together with real world effectiveness to create a functional but effective style that can translate well to any situation.

Start: Back

Step1: With your hand flat, slide it under opponent’s chin, starting at the back

Step 2: Slide hand through opponent’s neck until it reaches behind opponent’s other trap 

Step 3: With your flat, underside hand, grab your topside bicep, push opponent’s head forward with topside hand

Step 4: squeeze arm together and pull shoulders back

Finish: Submission via RNC 

The rear naked choke is an essential BJJ submission and this technique is featured in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ guide.