Arm Triangle

Arm Triangle from Triangle Choke is a finishing attack built around a handful of repeatable controls. The top athlete is established in chest-to-chest side control with cross-face and underhook on the bottom player. Another common starting shape: the top player has isolated the bottom player's near arm with movement and slid into a shin-mount with the bottom player's head and arm on one side. It is worth attempting once comfortable with: Stabilize side control with cross-face and underhook frames and comfortable with: Stabilizing position after passing the guard. The ideas that hold it together are position before submission, weight distribution from the hips, not the arms, and shin mount.

The arm triangle chain is a sequence of small controls, not one athletic burst. Drive the hips low and forward to remove space and prevent the bottom player from turning in. Isolate the target limb or neck before committing to the finishing leverage. Slide into shin-mount once the knee comes out and the arm is trapped. Step over the body to thread the leg through, lock the triangle, and rotate to hantai-sankaku for the finish. Use the framing hand to redirect the opponent's head across the centerline, deeper into the legs. Throw the near leg over the back of the neck and connect the figure-four behind the knee. Squeeze the knees together while curling the head down to finish without an arm inside. Pull the opponent's head down with the upper-body grip to expose the neck. The submission is finished with the opponent tapping or clear mechanical leverage achieved on the joint or neck.

Later in the arm triangle, head-and-arm trap, some triangles only work as head-only chokes; commit fully to the line that exists, and break posture first tend to decide whether the position stays on track. Watch for these mistakes: Lifting the hips or coming up onto the knees, which surrenders the pin. Trying to triangle without first isolating the arm with the shin-mount. Trying to scoop an arm in instead of committing to the head-only finish, which loses the opportunity. Leaving the lock loose so the opponent can posture out. The high-percentage version of arm triangle from triangle choke is the one you can still chain when the first squeeze is defended.