High Elbow Guillotine Success

Posted by Fanatics Authors on July 05, 2018

The high elbow guillotine, it’s a beast of a submission. Gaining most of its popularity in the no gi realm from heavy hitters like Marcello Garcia, who’s actually earned the term “Marcellotine” in reference to his killer version of the move. Its application shuts down a variety of would be defenses, and really cinches up the choke unlike any other neck-based submission. Once locked, it closes off several pathways of escape and can be quite a task to recover from.

One of the best in the business and Tom DeBlass' first black belt, Garry Tonon demonstrates a version of the high elbow guillotine (HEG) in this video. He talks about a very important detail that can definitely make or break the application of this devastating technique.

Many times, when performing the HEG we have trouble getting that all-important elbow high enough. As Garry explains in this video it’s not an issue of shoulder flexibility, but in the rotation of the body. Notice the extreme rotation Garry employs, that automatically puts his elbow in a more advantageous position. He does this by taking his head to his partners shoulder and bringing his knee across the body, so that the head of his opponent doesn’t pop out during this rotation. Garry chooses to finish the HEG in the mount in this case, and this detail matters just as much in other finishing scenarios. Add this rotational concept to your HEG guillotine application and see if you have more success finishing this nasty submission!

Ready to explore the guillotine choke even more? Check out renowned MMA and grappling coach Neil Melanson's "Headhunter Guillotine Series" available here from BJJ Fanatics!

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