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NORTH SOUTH CHOKE BJJ

By Benjamin Strusnik, December 07, 2022

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a game of strategy, as athletes will intelligence and physical attributes to neutralise, and submit their opponents. A BJJ fight starts on the feet, as two competitors will battle for grips, and a dominant position in order to execute a takedown maneuver, or a guard pull. Once the fight has hit the mats it becomes a game of transition, as one athlete will play guard, and will try to sweep, or submit their opponent, as the other will attempt to pass the guard, gain a significant control position, and submit their opponent. This highly dynamic combat art can be extremely rigorous, as athletes will compete at the highest levels, enduring through physical exertion, and dangerous control positions.

What this article covers:

What Is a North South Choke
Where Does the North South Position Derive From
The Success Rate of the North South Choke
How to Defend the North South Choke

Neutralising an opponent in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can take a lot of physical energy, so it is important that athletes understand how to maximise their efficiency, and learn how to maintain their physical pressure when they are in a dominant control position. There are many different positions, and submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which makes the game extremely strategic, and intuitive. Knowing when to move from one position to the next becomes more about feel, as a higher level athlete can feel the shift in their opponent's body. Every control position has a range of different submissions that an athlete can access, like the guillotine bjj choke from the turtle position, the rear naked choke from the back control position, and the north south choke from the north south position. Knowing how to execute these submission maneuvers will take extensive time, and practise on the training mats.

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WHAT IS A NORTH SOUTH CHOKE

The north south position is a transitional position that an athlete will secure after leaving side control. It involves moving from the side of an opponent to a position where they can control the head, and the upper body. When this is done correctly, the position will have an athlete chest to chest on their opponent, but with their legs sprawled out above their head. This position is used to control an opponent, and set up a bjj choke called the north south choke.

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To correctly secure this choke the athlete will circle their arm around their opponent's head, in an upside down guillotine style of hold. Once they have their opponent's head trapped, the athlete will link their hands together in a gable grip, or an s-grip, and making sure their opponent's shoulders are flat on the mat. At the same time the athlete will sprawl their hips backwards, tilting their shoulder, and driving it underneath the chin of their opponent, while they anchor their opponent with an overhook on their arm. To finish the choke the athlete will simply apply pressure to the trachea of their opponent, which will result in the blockage of air, and ultimately lead to the submission result.

WHERE DOES THE NORTH SOUTH POSITION DERIVE FROM

The north south position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu originated in the Martial Arts stylings of Judo. Considering that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was taught to Carlos Gracie by Mitsuyo Maeda, who was Kano Jigoro's prized Kodokan Judo student, it is fair to say that many of these Brazilian Jiu Jitsu positions have ties to Judo movements. In Judo the north south position is called the kuzure kami shiho gatame, this is a position where Judo practitioners can only spend a short amount of time, before they are stood back up for competition. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a north south choke is generally applied more specifically to the neck area, which was illegal in Judo competition. For this to be legal in Judo the athlete must overhook the arm, and apply pressure to the neck and arm as a whole, instead of just isolating the neck. This position was passed down from generation to generation before falling in the hands of the Gracie family. Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu innovators over the years have mastered this position, and now use this as a way to choke out their opponents. The north south choke can be applied using both the neck, and the arm just like an arm in guillotine, but it can also be applied putting more force directly into the neck, as this is legal in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition. The gifts that Judo has instilled into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are exceptional, and even though Judo is predominantly a throwing art, the contributions it has made into the game style of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is outstanding.

SETTING UP THE POSITION

Setting up the north south position is not always an easy feat, as quite commonly an opponent has more wiggle room in order to escape. Quite often an athlete will be too shallow, and not have enough chest pressure on the chest of their opponent, which will allow them to have too much flexibility with their hips. This can make it easier for an opponent to turn onto their side, or come to their knees. Setting up for a north south choke position in some ways is similar to the jiu jitsu darce choke, because both positions require an athlete to use chest pressure in a way that can force their neck to become severely restricted. Using this position in between an athlete's transition is a crucial element in wearing down an opponent, and baiting them into turning a certain way.

The common series of transitions will usually start from a guard passing position. Once an athlete begins the guard passing process they will usually go into side control, or the knee on belly position. These transitions can usually happen in either order, as sometimes an athlete will pass straight into the knee ride before settling into the side control, or they will pass straight into a side control utilising grips, and jump up into a knee ride position. During these transitions there are multiple submissions that athletes can access like the clock choke, the paper cutter choke, arm bars, and the bjj ezekiel choke. Once an athlete has a solid side control, this is a good position to sap some of their opponents energy, and force them to give up position. In the side control position, the athlete will have a cross face, and an underhook with their hands linked together, while their hips or their knees apply pressure. To move to the north south position the athlete must let go of the cross face, and their under hook, as they switch grips and move their chest over their opponents head up towards their chest. It is important to stay on an athlete's toes, as this will help drive more pressure into their opponent.

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THE SUCCESS RATE OF THE NORTH SOUTH CHOKE

Some athletes may find that the north south position can give their opponent too much freedom with their hips, so they will commonly try to stay away from this position. If the north south position is administered correctly then an opponent should not be able to use their hips to escape the position. It really does come down to maximising the pressure the athlete puts into the abdomen of their opponent. Once a north south choke is applied it can choke out an opponent just as quickly as a bjj bow and arrow choke. The north south choke can be an extremely brutal submission, as the athlete will use grinding pressure into the jaw, and the neck of their opponent. Some athletes will tap to the pure asphyxiation of the choke, as the pressure of an opponent across the head region of an athlete, can sometimes be enough without technically choking the neck.

There are many world class athletes that use the north south choke to win their competitive matches. Marcelo Garcia is one that springs to mind, as his formidable style of grappling has seen many innovations within the art. Marcelo's ferocity in the top game is relentless, as his iconic back take prowess is coupled by his ability to pass the guard, control the position, and use high level chokes like the north south choke. Jeff Monson is another competitive beast that has a plethora of submission victories under his belt. The former two time ADCC Champion, and IBJJF World Champion is also dynamite in the Mixed Martial Arts cage, having competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Dream, M1 Global, and Pride FC. Jeff has an incredible 17 submission victories by way of the north south choke, which is a testament to just how effective the north south choke truly is.

HOW TO DEFEND THE NORTH SOUTH CHOKE

Defending the North south choke will highly depend on how far into the setup and opponent is. One of the first defenses to the north south choke, is that as soon as an opponent transitions from side control into the north south position, the athlete should instantly frame, and create space turning onto their side, as this will alleviate any chance at a north south choke position. If an opponent does manage to control, and get an athlete's shoulders on the mat, it is extremely important to try and shift their opponents weight towards their own head, as this will free up their abdomen, and their hips to be able to move onto their side. If they are extremely flexible, the athlete can also move into an inverted position, where they can take their opponents back in a swift maneuver called the great escape. More commonly though an athlete will not possess the ability to invert all the way over, as this can also be dangerous for an athlete's neck. It is much safer to twist onto their side, and begin to scramble for a control position, or to retain the guard.

Once an athlete is stuck in a north south choke this can be too late to defend, as their opponent is already applying pressure, which can be quite suffocating for the athlete. However there is a way to defend from this deep position, but it takes resilience, and ingenuity to achieve the process. The first step is to push their opponent's head away from their body, which should force enough of a gap for their arm to swim out of their opponent's overhook control. The athlete will then connect their hands together, and use both arms as leverage against their opponent's neck, forcing a lot of space in the choke, rendering their opponent's choking arm ineffective around the athlete's neck. Once this is achieved there will be enough space for the athlete to turn onto their side, and look to scramble into a better position. The north south choke can come on extremely quickly once an opponent secures the position, so an athlete must act fast, and use their frames well.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE NORTH SOUTH POSITION

There are many positions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that are extremely important in terms of controlling an opponent, in order to set up submission finishes. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition, controlling an opponent in different positions can score points, which can ultimately lead to a win. The most important positions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are the guard, the mount, side control, and the back control position. There are other positions that will help athletes transition, in and out of these major control positions like the knee on belly position, the north south position, the turtle position, and the kesa gatame position. These positions are not as important in terms of controlling an opponent, however they do have significant elements which can help an athlete generate a win.

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Some athletes will bypass using the north south position just out of fear of losing position. This is because there is not a great deal of pressure on an athlete's legs, or their hips, meaning an athlete that possesses great flexibility, dexterity, or is just good at changing their angles, will often escape from the north south position. Even though the north south is not the most important position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it can still be a great way to link between control positions, and set up chokes like the north south choke. Sometimes it is just good for grinding out an opponent, and putting their head under intense pressure, as this will frustrate an opponent, and could ultimately lead to them giving up position, or making mistakes.

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