The guillotine choke is a submission hold that you have undoubtedly seen before if you have spent any time training mixed martial arts or Brazilian Jujitsu. You most likely have seen it in many televised MMA events also. In fact, it’s one of the most common submissions you will see when you tune in to watch a MMA event, such as the UFC, on the old boobtube.

So why is it that you constantly see it? Well, it basically comes down to the fact that during the course of a mixed martial arts fight most MMA fighters will put themselves into a position to be guillotined many times throughout a fight. Every time someone goes for a takedown and places their head to the outside of the opponents body they put themselves right into position. So if you are going to be stepping into the ring with someone that will most likely be putting themselves into position for a certain technique many time through out a fight, don’t you think it would be a good idea to learn it? Good, then let’s get started.

The guillotine is a choke hold that can cause the tap by being either a blood choke or air choke depending on how it is performed. If the pressure from the forearm is placed against the wind pipe then of course you are going to get an air choke but if the pressure is on the arteries of the neck then you will get a blood choke.

In addition to there being two ways that this submission hold can cause the tap. There are also two primary positions that it can be applied from. Standing and on the ground. when applying it in the most commonly see way, on the ground from the guard, you should try to get the opponent into your full guard. If not it will be very hard to finish the choke and get him to tap.

As for instructions, I will leave it up to these well done videos by the members on the Gracie Family.

Renzo Gracie Demonstrates the Guillotine Choke

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The Guillotine Choke On the Ground and Standing

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An added bonus of learning how to apply this submission is that you are going to get a better idea of how to defend it also. And if you will be putting yourself in position to be guillotined everytime you go for a takedown with the head on the outside, then it would be a good idea to get used to defending it.

The rear naked choke is a submission hold used in mixed martial arts that cuts off the flow of blood to the brain. If applied correctly, it will force the opponent to submit. If they do not submit, they will pass out within a matter of seconds.

The name “Rear Naked Choke” most likely comes from the name used in Judo for the technique, “Hadakajime” or in English “Naked Strangle”. It is called that in Judo because the choke does not make use of the uniform (gi), as other chokes do.

To apply the technique, the back mount, also known as the rear mount, must be achieved. From that position of back control, which can be secured even more by hooking the insteps of the feet into the inside of the opponents thighs, the choke can be effectively applied.

The technique involves wrapping one arm around the opponents neck so that the inside of your elbow is placed against his throat. This will naturally place your bicep against one side of his neck and your forearm against the other side. From there you have two options for sinking in the choke and applying the pressure needed for the tap. You can place the hand of the arm you have wrapped around the neck on the bicep of the other arm and the hand of the other arm on the back of the opponents head. From there you hug your arms together and push out with your chest. The other option is to use what is called the Gable Grip. Where you take the hands of both your choking arm and your free arm and place them together with the palms facing. From that position you can squeeze the choking arm tight against the neck and get the tap out.

One factor to keep in mind if you are planning on applying this in an actual MMA fight, as opposed to a BJJ, judo or submission wrestling match, is the gloves. The gloves used in MMA can make it quite a bit harder to sink in the rear naked choke. So if you are going to be wearing them when you fight, you should be getting in a lot of training sessions with them on so that you get used to the added difficulty. When you step into the cage for your next fight, you don’t want any surprises.

Rear Naked Choke Tutorial

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The Kimura is a submission hold commonly seen in mixed martial arts fights. This submission effects mainly the shoulder joint, but also to a lesser extent the elbow joint. When applied, this joint lock hyperrotates the shoulder causing intense pain and the tap out.

The name for this grappling technique comes from the great judo master Masahiko Kimura. Practitioners of Brazilian jiu jitsu gave the grappling technique that name after Masahiko Kimura used it to break Helio Gracie’s arm during a 1955 challenge match in Brazil.

There are two primary positions from which this submission hold is applied. The guard and side control. Both of these positions give the practitioner the leverage needed to apply the technique with power and get the tap. It is also very common for someone applying this submission technique from the side control position to step over the opponents head with the leg closest to the head. This gives even more leverage and power to the technique.

The kimura has been used on many occasions, by many fighters, to get the tap and end a fight. There are literally hundreds of examples of this submission hold being used in MMA fights. Some of the notable examples of it in mixed martial arts are: Kazushi Sakuraba using it to break Renzo Gracie’s arm in Pride 10, Fedor using it to tap Kevin Randleman in the 2004 Pride FC Heavyweight Grand Prix and Matt Hughes tapping Joe Riggs with the technique in UFC 56.

This submission grappling technique has been and will continue to be a favorite for many of the top MMA fighters in the world.

Kimura from the Closed Guard.

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Stephan Kesting Demonstrates how to Counter Someone Defending the Kimura.

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The omoplata is a joint lock used in mixed martial arts and submission wrestling. The joint lock hyperrotates the shoulder joint causing pain and the submission. If the opponent chooses not to submit then they risk torn ligaments and tendons in the shoulder joint.

This lock is not seen very often in mixed martial arts competition. This is perhaps due to the fact that if not done properly, you will be giving the opponent a good opportunity to pass your guard. But that is not to say that it can not be used effectively. Here are just a few examples of it being used with great success in MMA fights…

Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira’s use of it during a beautiful transition in his fight with Enson Inoue on the PRIDE 19-Bad Blood card. That transition ended in him tapping Inoue with a triangle choke.

Frank Mir’s use of it to transition into a toe hold on David “Tank” Abbott in UFC 41-Onslaught.

Joe “Diesel” Riggs use of it to sweep Chris Lytle and escape form the bottom position in their fight on the UFC 55-Fury card.

As you can see from the examples above, the technique can be used for much more than just submitting an opponent. It can be used as a sweep (a technique that allows you to escape the bottom position and gain the top position). It can also be used to set up other grappling submission holds.

Omoplata from the closed guard

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Omoplata from the open guard

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Nino “Elvis” Schembri puts the technique into action during a submission grappling match.

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The triangle choke is a submission hold frequently used in mixed martial arts competition. This choke is one of the most common submissions seen from the full guard. This is due to the many opportunities to apply the technique that arise from that position. Such as when your opponent tries to pass your guard or strike you.

This choke is created by encircling the opponents head and one of his arms with your legs. The legs are then squeezed together, at the same time the opponents head is pulled down. The legs when in this position will form a triangle (hence the choke being called a triangle).

When applied to the opponent, this submission hold constricts the carotid arteries, which reduces blood flow to the brain. This will cause the opponent to tap out. If he chooses not to tap, he will pass out within a few seconds.

One thing to note about this technique. It is one of the many submission holds that become increasingly harder to apply in a mma fight the longer the fight goes on. This is due to you and your opponent becoming increasingly more sweaty as the fight progresses.

Now lets look at a few videos that give us the how-to for this choke hold…

Dean Lister’s tips for the triangle choke.

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Jorge Gurgel demonstrates the triangle on Rich Franklin.

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Compression locks (a.k.a. muscle lock, muscle crusher or muscle slicer) refers to a submission hold that is executed by pressing one of the muscles on the body against a bone, which causes intense pain and the submission. If the opponent does not submit and/or the technique is applied with considerable force, the muscle and/or tendon being compressed may suffer a tear. The most common versions of this kind of submission are the achilles lock, calf slicer and bicep slicer.

Although compression holds such as the bicep slicer and calf slicer are illegal in many BJJ tournaments, those techniques and others like them do remain legal in mixed martial arts competition. But just because they are allowed does not mean that you see them very often. In fact with the exception of the achilles lock, they are very rare. This could be due to the difficulty in setting them up or because once the practitioner and opponent have become sweaty it is easy to slip out of them.

If you are looking to slap this lock on your opponent, it is recommended that you attempt it early in the fight when both you and your opponent are relatively dry. Once it is past that point it would be smart to stick to simple submissions that are hard to slip out of, such as the rear naked choke. This is not to say that you should pass up an opportunity if it presents itself. If you think you can get it, go for it.

Like learning any submission, practice is the key. So try catching your partner with a compression lock the next time you roll.

The bicep slicer, a.k.a the bicep crusher or the bicep lock, is a compression lock used in MMA and submission fighting.

This technique causes intense pain by pressing the bicep into the humerus (the bone connecting the shoulder to the elbow). It can also damage the tendons and ligaments of the elbow by causing the joint to seperate.

To perform the bicep crusher you would insert your arm or leg between the opponent’s upper and lower arm at the elbow. The bone in the forearm or the shin bone should be placed directly against the bicep for the submission to work properly. The opponent’s arm is then put in a flexed positon thereby creating a fulcrum (point of support on which a lever turns when raising or moving something). Pressure can then be applied to the opponent’s flexed arm and the bicep will be pressed into the fulcrum causing pain and the submission.

Let’s take a look at a bicep slicer set up from the arm bar position…

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Let’s break it down.

1. The practitioner starts in a typical arm bar position. His legs across the opponent’s body and his right arm is wrapped around the opponent’s right arm. The bone in his right forearm is against the opponent’s bicep and his left hand is holding the right wrist of his own arm.
2. He then places his right leg on top of the opponent’s forearm and pushes down.
3. Next he places his left leg on top of his right, hooking his right foot behind his left knee.
4. The practitioner now has his legs in a triangle position and can apply downward pressure on the arm with both legs.
5. The pressure on the opponent’s arm causes the forearm of the practitioner to press into the opponent’s bicep.
6. The pressure on the bicep causes it to compress against the bone. The opponent is forced to tap.

This set up works very well if the opponent is holding his arm close to his body to prevent the arm bar, it keeps it in the perfect position for this submission.

Now let’s see a bicep slicer from the spider guard…

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Let’s break it down.

1. The pactitioner starts from the spider guard position. Soles of the feet in the shoulder crease, hands gripping the opponent’s wrists.
2. The left leg of the practitioner is placed over the top of the opponent’s right arm. Note: This is the place where the video you just watched actually starts.
3. He then uses his right foot to pull himself closer, so he is in better position for the bicep crusher.
4. He then reaches behind the opponent’s arm, grabs the tricep with both hands and leans back pulling on the tricep.
5. The pressure pushes the opponent’s bicep against the practitioners shin bone.
6. The bicep is compressed against the bone causing pain and the submission.

Like all submission holds, the bicep slicer can be set up and performed in many different ways. The list of setups for this compression lock could literally go on and on. With a little experimenting you will find numerous variations.

The arm bar is one of the joint locks used in mixed martial arts competition and submission wrestling tournaments.

This joint lock is performed by placing your legs across the opponent’s chest, with one of his arms between your thighs and with the elbow joint against your hips. From that position the opponent’s arm is grabbed with your arms and his forearm is placed on your chest. To lock the arm, you will simply lean back and arch your hips at the same time. This creates intense pressure in the elbow joint and forces the tap. If the man does not tap out, he risks torn ligaments and tendons in the elbow joint. In some cases the arm bar may result in a broken bone if the opponent does not submit.

Although it is typically applied in the way described above, it should be noted that there are many, many variations of this technique.

Just as there are numerous ways to perform this technique, there are many ways to set it up. The most common of which is from the guard or from the mount.

Here is an instructional video demonstrating how to perform this arm lock from the full guard.

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Now for a video showing the set up from the mount. Performing the technique is Brazilian Jujitsu Black Belt, David Meyer.

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This video shows the joint lock being performed from an Arm Wrap Position by Jujitsu Black Belt, David Meyer.

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Without a doubt the most exciting version of this technique is the flying arm bar. Here is a video teaching you one of the ways to do this amazing technique.

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Give these techniques a shot the next time you hit the mat. Adding these into your arsenal of joint locks will be sure to improve your game.

The gogoplata is one of the lesser seen moves used in MMA, yet it remains a very effective submission.

It is typically set up from the rubber guard position. Which would mean, from an open guard you are reaching behind the opponent, grabbing one of your legs with your arm and raising it up toward his shoulders.

From that position the raised leg would be pulled over the opponent’s head and the shin placed against his throat. The head is then pulled down and the windpipe is compressed causing an air choke.

Some versions of the gogoplata use the foot of the leg not being used in the choke to press up on the leg that is being used. This causes added pressure on the throat.

It takes quite a bit of flexibility to use this submission. Unless you are naturally very flexible, you will need to do quite a bit of stretching be able to perform this technique. When working on your flexibility for this move, you will want to focus on stretching the hamstrings and glutes.

Let’s take a look at the gogoplata being used in a MMA fight…

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Let’s break it down.

1. The man on the bottom is in an open guard.
2. From the open guard the practitioner brings his right leg up and passes it over the opponent’s head.
3. The shin is placed against the throat.
4. The practitioner first tries pulling down on the head with just his hands.
5. He then places his other leg on the back of the neck and pulls down on his foot. This gives him extra leverage.
6. The choke hold is now locked in tight and there looks to be no escape.
7. The fight is stopped.

This choke is certainly one of the more painful ones used in mixed martial arts. This is due to the pressure being applied directly to the throat rather than the side of the neck. It is quite a bit more painful to have your windpipe compressed than to have the same done to the arteries in your neck. In fact the tap out may come due to the pain rather than a lack of oxygen.

Note: The gogoplata thus far has been referred to as an air choke, but if the opponent turns his head to the side, this will become a blood choke.

Here is a fantastic video teaching you how to set up the arm triangle from within someone’s half guard…

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Here are some important points to remember when executing this technique from the half guard.

• When you secure the opponents head and arm you should have your upper bicep against his neck and your head against his upper tricep.
• When you post your weight on him before you pass the half guard, the weight should be on the bicep that is in his neck.
• The hand of the arm you are not choking the opponent with is placed on your head, not his.
• The half guard needs to be passed for this choke hold to take full effect.
• Once you are out of the half guard, you should jump to the side of his body that your head is on.

Now we will take a look at the arm triangle from the full guard…

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Let’s break it down.

1. The practitioner pulls his opponent into the full guard.
2. From the full guard, the practitioner passes the right arm of the opponent to the side.
3. The practitioner places his head against the opponent’s tricep and his right bicep against the opponent’s neck.
4. The practitioner’s right arm is fully wrapped around the head and arm of his opponent.
5. The right hand of the practitioner is placed on his own left bicep and his left hand is placed on his own head.
6. Now all that needs to be done for the choke to take effect is to squeeze the arms together.

Here is one example of how the arm triangle choke can be applied specifically to MMA fighting. When you have someone in your full guard, it is very common for him to try to throw some elbows from that position. If you slip the elbow to the outside it automatically puts you in the perfect position to apply this choke hold. His arm is already passed to the side, all you have to do is wrap your arm around his head and arm. From there you can sink in the choke.

This is a great submission, from the top or bottom. Give it a shot the next time you hit the mat.