GUILLOTINE BJJ

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has developed significantly since the world first saw Royce Gracie dominate inside the Mixed Martial Arts arena. Since that moment BJJ has become iconic all over the world, especially in the United States of America. This has caused an influx of students to join the ranks of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, including already seasoned Martial Artists looking to add grappling to their repertoire. The art has evolved considerably since its inception, with many athletes innovating the new age of grappling. This is where athletes will utilise new age styles of leg locking systems, inverted guards, lapel wrapping techniques, and an audacious system of bjj darce choke entries. 

What this article covers:

• What Is the Guillotine
• Variations of The Guillotine
• How to Defend the Guillotine

Even though this new age of grappling has seen many modern day athletes create a whole new series of versatile movements, the old traditional techniques once taught by the Gracie clan are still extremely effective. The statistics are hard to argue with, as the rear naked choke is the number one submission used at the world class level, followed by triangles, and arm bars, as these three submissions reign supreme over everything else. The guillotine is another extremely successful submission that has been adopted by many high level athletes. The guillotine choke is an extremely versatile one, which can be executed from a range of different positions, and has an extensive amount of variations, which makes this submission extremely daunting. Furthermore the guillotine choke can be applied extremely quickly, giving the opponent seconds before they will be forced to tap.

WHAT IS THE GUILLOTINE

The guillotine is one of the most iconic brazilian jiu jitsu chokes in its arsenal, as they have been successfully utilised in high level Jiu Jitsu competitions, and in Mixed Martial Arts competition fights. The guillotine is quite simply a front headlock position, and can be snapped on in the blink of an eye. Athletes will commonly make mistakes like driving their head into their opponent, and giving them an opportunity to latch onto a guillotine choke. The most common way to execute the guillotine is from the guard position, where an athlete can use their legs to trap their opponent. To finish a guillotine the athlete needs to wrap their arm over the head of their opponent with their wrist coming underneath their chin. The next step is to link their hands together with the bottom hand holding onto the top hand in a way that it can be lifted up into the neck. Before the guillotine is applied the athlete should close the space between the side of their opponent's neck, and the crook of their elbow. The next step is to keep pressure over the top of their opponent's head, as they lift the blade of their wrist into the trachea of their opponent. This is an extremely brutal choke, and can severely damage the neck of an opponent if they are not quick in submitting to the maneuver.

OG Renzo Gracie Black Belt Karel "Silver Fox" Pravec has brought his complete guillotine system to BJJ Fanatics and you can get it here!

USING THE HEAD ARM CONTROL SYSTEM 

The guillotine choke is an extremely versatile one, and this is not just because it can be used quickly, and sharply to finish off an opponent. The guillotine has its own head and arm system, as it brothers up with the anaconda choke, and the darce choke. Much like the rear naked choke to the bjj bow and arrow choke, the guillotine system has a great transition rate between its brother chokes. Quite often setting up a guillotine can be a bait to slip into a darce choke, or vice versa, as an athlete attempts a darce choke, when the athlete defends, they can often leave their neck exposed for a guillotine choke. Because the arm in guillotine is basically the same grip as a darce choke, the only difference is which arm slides in for the choke. If an athlete had their left arm in a front headlock, and their right arm over hooking with their hands linked, they can use their left arm to attempt the guillotine, or they can switch sliding their right arm deeper under the armpit for the darce choke. This is the same for the anaconda, as this can also be utilised in conjunction with the guillotine, and the darce choke. 

Using a head and arm system is a great way to put an opponent under a significant amount of pressure, which can force them to panic, and lose sight of what their initial game plan was. It can be quite common in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to watch guard passers drive in deep with their heads, and this is the perfect setup to allow the guard player to play around with the head and arm system. Getting a tight grip around an opponent's head, and using a chin strap can be extremely annoying, which can force the opponent to outstretch their arms, which can ultimately lead to not only chokes, but arm locks too. Understanding the value of the head and arm system can be extremely beneficial to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athlete, and practising these movements will only make a grappler more deadly, and harder to compete against. 

VARIATIONS OF THE GUILLOTINE

There are many different variations of a guillotine choke, which can all be just as deadly as the rest. One of the most successful guillotines, especially in Mixed Martial Arts competition, is the standing guillotine. This type of submission has been utilised by many high level athletes, and was successful for athletes like Jon Jones when he choked Lyoto Machida unconscious, Ken Shamrock as he took revenge on Dan Severn, and Charles Oliviera defeating Myles Jury. There is a long list of success stories when it comes to the standing guillotine, as this can be utilised when an opponent tries to shoot in for a single, or a double leg takedown, as all the athlete has to do is latch onto the front headlock, tighten up their mechanism, and reef on to the standing guillotine.  

The Marcelotine is a guillotine that has been specifically designed by Marcelo Garcia, which he has utilised in world class competition. The difference between a normal guillotine, and the Marcelotine is the finishing mechanism. Marcelo Garcia is synonymous with guillotine chokes, as he uses an extremely fast attacking system to neutralise his opponents. Springing into action, Marcelo will often secure the headlock position, and close off all the space between the side of his opponent's neck, and his elbow. He then brings in his other hand, and grabs the bottom of his initial choking arm, as he proceeds to lift up the blade of his wrist into his opponent's neck. The slight variation which is what makes this choke iconic to Marcelo Garcia is the fact that he brings the elbow of his second arm up extremely high, which will put a significant amount of pressure into the neck of his opponent. This submission move is extremely iconic, as many athletes around the world practise this highly innovative submission maneuver.

Another high level form of guillotine is called the ten finger guillotine. This is one of those submissions that has a similar fast finishing mechanism just like the bjj ezekiel choke. The ten finger guillotine is a submission that can happen extremely fast during a transition, as some opponents will find it extremely unexpected. This is another submission that has had success stories throughout the history of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and is commonly achieved on opponents that are looking to execute single leg takedowns. To achieve the ten finger guillotine, the athlete will still have their chest pressure over the head of their opponent, but instead of wrapping one arm underneath  the neck, they will use two hands underneath the chin. This position is a little bit similar to the ninja choke, as the bottom hand grips the top hand, and pushes both hands up underneath the chin of an opponent. This can be extremely deadly, and can catch an opponent off guard, as all Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes should have this choke in their arsenal.

The peruvian neck tie is another high level style of guillotine that is more commonly executed by extremely dexterous athletes. Trying to execute the peruvian necktie can be extremely hard for beginners, as it takes a bit more of a complex mind to understand the mechanics of this highly intuitive choke hold. To execute this choke the athlete needs to setup like they were going for an anaconda, with the arm wrapping around the neck making a fist, and their other arm shooting under the armpit and grabbing hold of their wrist into what is called a harness grip. The next step is to pop up onto the athletes feet, and step the first leg over the head, which is the same side as their arm that is wrapping the neck. The next step is to sit down, and bring their other leg over the back of their opponent, as they squeeze up into the guillotine style of choke. If the athlete is not as flexible, then the second leg does not have to go over the back, it can just as easily trap the leg, as they reef on to the peruvian necktie.

Eddie Bravo has become a pioneer within the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. His innovative creations of the rubber guard, and the twister control have become revolutionary, and have helped many No Gi, and Mixed Martial Arts athletes world wide. Ben Eddy is one of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu's highly intelligent grapplers. His signature move is called a hindulotine, which is an intricate guillotine developed within the parameters of the rubber guard system. To execute the hindulotine the athlete needs to set up the mission control. From this control position the athlete will wrap their arm around their foot that extends out of the control, before tightly securing underneath their opponent's neck. Their other hand will then reach under the other arm, and link up with the athlete's other hand, forming a guillotine grip with their leg still trapping the back of their opponent's neck. From here the athlete will simply lift up with the choking arms in an intricate guillotine. This version of the guillotine is revolutionary, and is virtually impossible to defend. 

Catching a guillotine can happen in a multitude of different positions, and all it takes from an athlete is creativity to bait their opponents. As long as an athlete is thinking steps ahead of their opponent, they should be creating openings, which will force an opponent into thinking they have found an escape. This is one of the best ways to achieve submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and will commonly happen with the guillotine choke. This is also seen when an opponent attempts a darce choke, as an opponent is trying to defend they will often expose their neck for a guillotine. This can also happen as an athlete secures the north south position jiu jitsu. Looking for a north south choke is basically an upside down guillotine, and is a great way to secure the traditional style of guillotine. The athlete will allow their opponent a little bit of room to move, and as they turn on to their side, or look to come up to their knees, the athlete can then switch their hands, and slot in a deep guillotine. Using traps, and baits like this will always be successful, as an athlete that is telegraphing their movement can often find themselves being defended more often than not.

HOW TO DEFEND THE GUILLOTINE

Defending the guillotine choke is something that has to be instantaneous, as this formidable choke can put an athlete to sleep extremely quickly. Furthermore, being stuck in a guillotine can also significantly damage an athlete's neck, and if an athlete wants to stay away from injuries then they need to defend this position. Defending the position will depend on what style of guillotine is being applied. Some athletes only have one leg wrapped around the back of their opponent, while their other leg is on the inside for a butterfly hook, while they are latching onto a guillotine. A good way to defend this is for the athlete to use posture, and look to jump over the hook, as they circle away from the choking pressure. 

OG Renzo Gracie Black Belt Karel "Silver Fox" Pravec has brought his complete guillotine system to BJJ Fanatics and you can get it here!

Sometimes an athlete is too creative with their guillotine choke, and has a full guard wrapped around their opponents body. To defend this position an athlete should be driving their head into the mat, and stepping up onto their feet, while raising their butt into the air, into a downward dog yoga position. This will begin to alleviate some of the pressure on their neck, as the opponent should be gripping onto the wrist that is choking them. Pulling down on the choking arm, and angling their head away from the choke, will give an athlete some much needed breathing space. This is not foolproof, as when an athlete is deep in a guillotine choke this can be time for desperation. An athlete can escape as long as they are addressing the neck grip, and are not allowing their opponent to have significant pressure in extending their hips away from the neck. Developing a guillotine defense is crucial for all athletes due to the availability of a guillotine in many different positions. 

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