Triangle Choke
- BJJ
- Submissions
- fundamental
- Closed guard
- 4 steps
Trap the head and one arm and strangle with your legs in a figure-four around the neck. Also known as the Sankaku-jime or the Triangle from guard. Here is the exact breakdown from the DARCE app: 4 steps, the details that make it work, and the mistakes to avoid.
Step by step
- 01
Manage posture in guard
Feet on the hips, control the sleeves and break the opponent down so they cannot posture up.
- 02
Break posture & isolate one arm
Pull the head down, keep one of their arms inside your hips and push the other arm across to the centre line.
- 03
Shoot the leg over the neck
Angle your hips out and throw your near leg high over the back of their neck, keeping the trapped arm inside.
- 04
Lock the figure-four & squeeze
Tuck the foot behind your other knee, pull the head down and squeeze the knees together to finish the strangle.
Key details
- One arm in, one arm out, the trapped shoulder is what makes the strangle work.
- Angle your hips off to the side; a square triangle is far weaker than an angled one.
- Pull the head down and curl the locking leg, squeeze the knees, do not just cross the ankles.
Common mistakes
- Leaving both arms in or both out, so the choke never closes.
- Staying square instead of creating the angle.
- Pulling only with the legs and forgetting to break the posture down first.
Related techniques
- Armbar from GuardBJJIsolate an arm, swing a leg over the head and extend the hips to attack the elbow.
- Cross-Collar ChokeBJJFeed both hands deep into the collars and flare the elbows to strangle from guard.
- Kimura from GuardBJJTrap a posted arm, figure-four the wrist and rotate the shoulder to finish.
- WristlockBJJTrap their hand flat against your body and bend the wrist forward to load the small joint.
- Scissor SweepBJJLoad a shin across the body and scissor the legs to sweep the opponent and come up on top.
- Hip Bump SweepBJJSit up, reach over the shoulder and bump your hips to roll the opponent over into mount.
See it animated in DARCE
Film a round and the app finds which techniques showed up in your game, where the Triangle Choke fits, and what to drill next. Private beta, 50 founding seats.
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