North/South Choke Variation with Travis Stevens

The North/South position is an extremely powerful position which allows the top player to maintain strong control over their opponent by maximizing pressure and control on the upper third of the opponent's torso.  By maintaining a strong north/south control, you are able to avoid the powerful hips and the flexible hips of those dreaded escape artists you train with at the academy or compete against at tournaments.

A strong north/south game should be filled with a number of Gi and No Gi choke options to be able to address opponent reactions and counters.  Two time Judo Olympian and John Danaher BJJ black belt brings his wealth of competition and training experience to show a powerful version of the classic north/south choke that utilizes one's own lapel to strangle the opponent.  Pay attention to the simple, clear instruction in the video below and you will be tapping your training partners and opponent's before you know it!

 If you want to learn more about north-south submissions, check out our article on the head and arm triangle from north-south here at BJJ Fanatics!

 

Establish strong side control position

Your knees should be against your opponent with strong cross face control.  If your opponent is smart they will be attempting to frame on both your neck and body/hips in 'prayer position.'  If they are not, all the better.

Pass Lapel and Re-Grip

You will now work to pass your lapel on the side closest to the opponent's hips through their arms if they are framing and around the far side of the neck.  The hand/arm you are cross facing will grab the end of the lapel and secure it for the next move.

Grab Pants and Push Away

Once the lapel grip is secured by the cross facing arm, you will grab the pants near the butt and hips of your opponent and push down and away, walking yourself to a north/south position.  Simultaneously you will sprawl your hips on any semblance of a frame your opponent might be maintaining in your hips.

Adjust hand and secure underhook

As you move away from the opponent's hips to a traditional north/south position, you will let go of their pants and secure an underhook on the opponent's arm on that same side.  The ultimate goal is to get a grip on the sleeve of that arm to be able to control that arm and hand from causing you trouble with frames or pressing on your face.

Drop below opponent shoulder and finish choke

The grand finale comes when you've secured the grip on their sleeve to control that arm and you're able to drop your head to the ground and drop your shoulder below theirs to maximize the pressure of the gi around their throat. With a slight pull on the original cross facing hands grip on your lapel, the tap comes.

With this technique, you now have a way to move from a very powerful side control position to an equally, if not more, powerful north/south position where you are able to safely launch a sneaky lapel choke variation on an old north/south standard.  Travis Stevens' clear instruction will have your opponent's unable to stop this progression until it's much too late.

 Now's the time to latch onto Travis Stevens' "Chokes" instructional DVD (also available in On Demand Digital format) for the ridiculously low price of only $47 today!