BJJ Chokes
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A blood choke squeezes the carotid arteries on the sides of the neck and cuts blood flow to the brain, so a tight one finishes in seconds. An air choke presses on the windpipe and cuts off breathing, which is slower, more painful, and easier to fight through. Most BJJ chokes, including the rear naked choke, the triangle, and the collar chokes, are blood chokes.
Blood choke vs air choke
The same choke can be either, depending on where the pressure lands. Blade of the wrist or forearm on the side of the neck is a blood choke; bone across the front of the throat is an air choke. So the details of a choke are about angle and which part of your arm is on the neck.
- Blood choke (strangle)
- Pressure on both sides of the neck. Fast, takes little strength once it's set, and safe to train because letting go ends the effect almost at once.
- Air choke
- Pressure on the windpipe. Slower, and they can often hold out while it hurts. If you keep getting an air choke, your angle is usually off.
Every BJJ choke by name
Roughly grouped by where they come from. The gi adds the collar chokes.
- Rear naked choke
- Blood choke from back control, no gi needed. The most common submission in MMA.
- Bow and arrow choke
- Gi blood choke from the back, using their collar and a leg to stretch them out.
- Triangle choke
- Blood choke with your legs, one arm in and one out, from guard, mount, or the back.
- Cross collar choke
- Gi blood choke from closed guard or mount, both hands deep in the collar.
- Guillotine
- From the front headlock or guard. A high-elbow or arm-in guillotine is a blood choke; a forearm straight across the throat turns it into an air choke.
- D'arce and anaconda
- Arm-in blood chokes from the front headlock and turtle, threading your arm under their neck and arm.
- Arm triangle (kata gatame)
- Head-and-arm blood choke from mount or side control, finished by walking to the side and dropping your weight.
- Ezekiel
- Sleeve choke from mount or even inside someone's guard. Depending on the angle it lands as a blood or air choke.
- Baseball bat and loop chokes
- Gi collar chokes: the baseball bat from knee on belly and side control, the loop choke against an opponent who drives in with their head low.
- North-south choke
- No-gi blood choke from north-south, your arm wrapped around their neck and your weight driving through.
- Clock choke
- Gi collar choke against the turtle, walking your legs around like the hands of a clock.
The best BJJ chokes to learn first
Start with the rear naked choke and the triangle. Both work with or without the gi, from positions you'll reach every round. In the gi, add the cross collar choke and the bow and arrow. In no-gi, add the guillotine and the arm triangle. Chokes don't depend on being stronger, so they're worth building toward.
Community flows for BJJ Chokes
- Marcelo Garcia Complete Butterfly Guard Vol 2: No Underhook — Marcelo Garcia's butterfly answers with no underhook: collar-tie and triceps sweeps, straight armbar, snap-and-pull guillotine, and double-overhook clamp…
- Kaynan Duarte Modern Back Attack, Vol 4: Finishes & SLX — Kaynan Duarte's back finishes by trapped arm: rear naked choke off the over-arm, triangles or armbar off the underhook, and his SLX-to-back chain. Off the…
- Roger Gracie Mastering the Mount, Vol 4: New York Seminar — Roger Gracie's seminar run of his mount system: low-mount lockdown, the half-choke, the cross-arm gap, and the body lock to high-mount armlock chain. The low…
- Roger Gracie Mastering the Mount, Vol 1: Concepts & Control — Roger Gracie on holding mount: two escapes that matter, the soles-glued rule, the cross-feet rest, and the foot-push climb to high mount for the finish. The…
- Standing to Submission — High-percentage techs from standing through dominant positions & submissions. Fundamental takedowns, front headlock control, & reliable chokes from top.
- Back Is the Endgame — Top game where every dominant position is a stepping stone to back control. HQ, side control, mount, & north-south all mapped toward the gift wrap & the rear…
- front headlock flow — what to do when you find yourself in a front headlock.
- Crucifix Flow — Crucifix as a fluid attack platform. Reading reactions and chaining submissions from top control.
- Street Survival Ground Fighting — Dominant top positions for real-world defense. Side control and mount with high-percentage submissions, capitalizing on reactions to secure chokes, armlocks…
- No-Gi Anti-Jitsu Flow — Complete no-gi game from standing through guard play to dominant positions. Practical pathways from takedowns or defensive scenarios into guard, passing…
- Back Control — Every position as a stepping stone to the back. Turtle, truck, crucifix, & Peruvian control all mapped toward getting behind your opponent & finishing
- Back Control — Control your opp's back & finish them. Different grips, handling their defenses, & knowing when to switch btwn the rear naked choke, rear triangle, & armbar.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a blood choke and an air choke?
A blood choke squeezes the carotid arteries on the sides of the neck and cuts blood flow to the brain, so it finishes in seconds. An air choke presses on the windpipe and cuts off breathing, which is slower and more painful. Most BJJ chokes, including the rear naked choke and the triangle, are blood chokes.
Which is faster, a blood choke or an air choke?
A blood choke. Once both sides of the neck are closed off it takes seconds, while an air choke relies on the opponent running out of breath and they can often hold out through the pain.
What is a blood choke in MMA?
The same as in BJJ: a strangle on the arteries in the neck. The rear naked choke, guillotine, arm triangle, and D'arce are the blood chokes that finish most MMA fights that end by choke, and the rear naked choke is the most common submission in MMA.
What are the different types of chokes in BJJ?
By how they work, blood chokes and air chokes. By uniform, gi chokes that use the collar (cross collar, bow and arrow, loop, baseball bat, clock) and chokes that work with or without the gi (rear naked choke, triangle, guillotine, D'arce, anaconda, arm triangle, north-south).
What is the best choke in BJJ?
The rear naked choke from back control is the usual answer. The triangle, the guillotine and, in the gi, the collar chokes are the other staples.
Are chokes safe to train?
Blood chokes are safe when you apply them with control and release the moment your partner taps, because the effect stops almost as soon as the pressure does. Tap early, and never crank an air choke or neck crank on a training partner.
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