BJJ INSIDERS CLUB/BUGGY CHOKE WITH JACOB RODRIGUEZ

INTRO

Jacob “Jay Rod” Rodriguez, the younger brother of “Nicky Rod” Rodriguez, is one of the Austin-based B Team Jiu Jitsu standouts who has electrified the grappling world with his dynamic takedowns, back takes, and innovative submission attacks.

At the most recent ADCC North American Trials in New Jersey, Jacob, a blue belt at the time, submitted his way to victory and secured his ticket to the ADCC Worlds in Vegas last year.  He submitted both of his opponents via RNC leading up to the finals, where he caught veteran Hunter Colvin in his signature “Buggy Choke,” sending competitors scrambling to learn this strange new submission.  In this edition of the Insiders Club, Jay Rod shares how you can add this unique choke to your game.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE BUGGY CHOKE?

Let’s start with the premise that all BJJ practitioners and submission grapplers can benefit from adding another submission to their arsenal.  The beauty of the Buggy Choke is that when perfectly executed it’s usually by the person who is in the inferior position.  This gives it a sneaky element of surprise that can often overtake the opponent before they know what’s happening.

With that said, the Buggy Choke can be difficult to secure when one is statically remaining on the back in side control, and the opponent is not actively trying to transition to another position, therefore too distracted to stop the Buggy Choke.  The Buggy Choke also relies on a relatively high level of flexibility.  According to Jacob, hip flexibility and knee flexibility are extremely important to secure and finish the Buggy Choke.

It’s important to understand that given some time and dedication, no matter your current level of flexibility, you can improve both your hip and knee flexibility and make it more likely you’ll catch your opponents in a Buggy Choke.

PREPARATION FOR THE BUGGY CHOKE

In the Home Drill portion of this Insiders Club Jacob offers a number of exercises to prep both his hips and knees for a better quality Buggy Choke.  Let’s take a look at these exercises one by one.  Again be reminded that even Jacob, a young man barely in his 20’s still needs to consistently work on his flexibility.  Therefore, if you’re an older grappler or someone who’s not naturally flexible, you will need to spend some time working these stretches to prepare your body for an effective Buggy Choke.

THE DEEP SQUAT

The Deep Squat performed with one’s feet placed shoulder width or a bit wider, and toes angled out slightly, is one of the most effective movements and exercises in the world.  It helps develop foot and ankle mobility, along with knee and hip strength and flexibility.  The movement can be performed at almost any time and in any place.  It is a movement that should be added to your daily schedule and ideally practiced in small increments throughout the day if you are working towards a better level of hip mobility.

KNEE BOXES

The Knee Box or Shin Box stretch involves sitting with one leg folded in front of us and one folded behind us.  This allows one to use their upper body to move over different parts of the lower limbs to work the knees, thighs and hips in an almost endless variety of ways.  This movement is also helpful in developing one’s BJJ “S Mount”.

Butterfly Stretches

Butterfly stretches involve sitting in a position with the bottom of one’s feet touching and the knees flared out to either side.  Using the hands, one can apply varying degrees of pressure to the knees in an effort to get the knees to the floor.  

Simultaneously, the person performing the butterfly stretch can move their upper body forward bringing their forehead towards the floor to change the impact of the stretch to different areas of the lower back, hips and glutes.

Hamstring Side Bends

The Hamstring Side Bend is performed by seating oneself on the ground with one leg extended and the other leg folded in towards one’s body.  The primary position creates a powerful stretch in the back of the leg from hip and hamstring all the way down through the calf muscles.  Jacob Rodriguez recommends including an upper body side bend to loosen the back and abdominal muscles.  This serves an added benefit as one of the finishing details of the Buggy Choke involves pulling one’s upper back lat muscles towards the hips.

Knee Turn In

The Knee Turn In is performed by standing with feet more than shoulder width apart.  With the knees slightly bent, Jacob will alternate turning each knee in towards the opposite knee.  This will both loosen the knees and the inner and outer thighs.

The Hip Opener

The Hip Opener is performed from a standing position.  While standing one will pull one knee up to their waist level.  Keeping the knee at that level, the hip is turned so that the knee points off to the side and then the foot is placed on the ground.  This creates a rotational movement that will improve the overall mobility of the hip socket and surrounding muscles.

THE BUGGY CHOKE

The Buggy Choke is a submission in which an opponent’s head and arm become trapped between the leg and lat muscles of the person performing the choke.  Using pressure created by a figure four connection of the legs and grasping the legs with both arms, the opponent’s head and arm become constricted thereby cutting off blood flow to the brain.

STEP ONE:  The first step of the Buggy Choke would be to position one’s body in a way that facilitates a successful choke.  From the simplest starting point where an opponent has you pinned in side control, Jacob recommends getting onto your right side to better allow your knee to come up towards your chest, allowing you to underhook it with your topside arm.

STEP TWO:  Once your body is positioned on the right side ribs, you will bring your knee as high as possible towards your chest.

STEP THREE:  Using the top side arm that may have been framing on the opponent’s head and throat you will push their head towards your rising knee and underhook the calf.  Optionally, Jacob will sometimes wrap his arm around gripping down towards his foot.

STEP FOUR:  Once the lower leg is underhook, Jacob will simultaneously connect his hands and triangle his bottom leg over the instep of the top foot.

STEP FIVE:  The finish of the technique will be the combination of the downward pressure with the legs, the anchoring of the upper body with the gable-gripped hands, and lastly a side bend pulling the top-side lat towards the hips.  The confluence of these forces will constrict the opponent’s blood flow and should force the tap.

CONCLUSION

The Buggy Choke is one of the hottest and most dramatic submissions out there today.  Showing itself in high level competition from the likes of the Ruotolo Brothers and Jay Rod himself, the dramatic submission has caught fire at academies across the world.

Give the Buggy Choke a chance, but know that you will probably have to do a bit of prerequisite leg work (no pun intended) to develop the joint and muscle flexibility required to perform the movement correctly.  Take your time and dedicate some daily work and soon you’ll be catching those opponents and training partners in this viral new submission.