Brutal And Effecient Traingle Variation With Karel "Silver Fox" Pravec

By Fanatics Authors, May 22, 2021

Everyone who practices Jiu Jitsu knows a few submissions or positions that are so brutal they would rather be anywhere else but there. These positions place your body in spots that most people couldn't even conceive, but most importantly allow you to get the tap you are looking for.

Getting creative with setups and submission finishes is pivotal to success, especially when you begin to train or compete at higher levels. The evolution of Jiu Jitsu is consistently ongoing, so being able to surprise your opponent with something they aren’t expecting is increasingly difficult.

Most people are familiar with the fact that the triangle choke, arm bar, and omoplata are very closely related and it is fairly easy and common to transition between them. However, have you ever pictured being able to interchange the triangle choke and a knee bar? It may sound a bit far out, but the “cryangle” is a technique that offers you just that.

In addition to being an overall awesome and brutal submission, it serves as a great option to escape deep half and immediately transition to offense. Depending on the length or your legs and your flexibility there are a few modifications that can be made, but once you pull this off your opponent will be more than ready to give up the tap.

In this video, Karel “Silverfox” Pravec shows a deep half escape into the brutal cryangle submission, demonstrating a variety of finishing options. Check it out below!

The Technique

The entry into this technique is when your opponent has you in deep half guard. The first step from here is going to be to widen your base with your free leg and slide that leg up high so your knee is under your opponent's head. Next, you are going to work to unlock your opponents legs and grip under your opponents far side leg and start to lift it up.

Lift that far side leg up as high and as close to your opponents head as possible. Once you get your opponent's leg to the proper position, you are going to take your leg which was just trapped in his guard, and transition it under your opponent's leg and begin to wrap it around his head. For context, this is a very similar motion to setting up a mounted triangle, however the leg that would be biting against your opponent's neck is now also trapping his leg. Super uncomfortable…

As you wrap that leg under your opponent's head, grab your shin with your far side arm to keep the position strong and ensure that your opponent cannot escape as you start to move and transition onto your back. Once you have a good grip on your shin and you are confident that the position is secured, begin to sit over top of your free leg and transition onto your back and lock up the triangle.

In a traditional triangle choke, you have one arm trapped so you will be cutting off the blood to the carotid arteries with your leg on one side and your opponent's shoulder on the other side where his arm is trapped. As you notice with the cryangle, not only do you have one of his arms trapped but you also have one of his legs trapped inside the triangle. This is an extremely uncomfortable position and you can guarantee that your opponent is ready to do whatever it takes to get out.

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From here there are a ton of options. First, as long as everything is positioned correctly you can finish with your tradition triangle choke finish. Second, a knee bar is available with the leg you have trapped. Your opponent is in such a compromised position that his trapped leg is very weak and it will be extremely difficult for him to defend against the knee bar. Additionally, you have access to an easy shoulder lock or arm bar.

The only escape for the unlucky victim in this scenario is for him to slip his head out. If this is the case, your legs are still positioned properly for you to finish with a straight knee bar. Even if you don’t have the longest legs and find you aren’t able to lock up the triangle from this position, you can still finish the knee bar or arm lock from your legs in the diamond position.

Karel explains why this is called the cryangle; it's because it's miserable. He shares that when he is rolling with some of his black belts and they see that he is attempting the cryangle, they just fold away their guard and let Karel pass to avoid the obvious misery ahead of them. As you can see, this is such a great option to go to from deep half because of the tremendous amount of control it offers and all of the submissions that are readily available.

About Karel Pravec

Karel “Silverfox” Pravec is a 4th degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, and was one of Renzo Gracie’s first students in the United States. Karel has had the opportunity to teach all around the world, and is especially known for his passion to make Jiu Jitsu accessible for absolutely everyone.

Some of his main achievements include 1st place in the 2010 IBJJF European Open, 1st place in NAGA World Championship, as well as many other impressive titles. Being the highly sought after instructor that he is, Karel has coached numerous accomplished ADCC and EBI competitors, and he continues to teach out of his school, Silver Fox BJJ in New Jersey.

About Karel’s Instructional

Karel has devoted this entire instructional to mastering the triangle. Included you will find techniques such as reverse and inverted triangles, no arm triangle, the utilization of the leg scissor, back triangles, and so much more.

Since the Silver Fox began his Jiu Jitsu training under Renzo Gracie in 1993, he has continued to be one of the top names throughout the art. From his own competition experience to his expert coaching of numerous accomplished grapplers, knowledge and success continue to run through his veins. Get a hold of all of the techniques you can to perfect your triangle finishing rate, check out his instructional here!

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