Rustling Up the Wild West Choke with James Clingerman

James Clingerman is a highly regarded grappling and combat coach and instructor from Indiana.  He and his wife AJ own and operate one of the biggest academies in the midwest.  James' story transcends the mats in a very profound way.  For James Clingerman, Jiu Jitsu's impact goes far beyond being his passion and his business.  It has also helped teach him to overcome incredible adversity.  

Listen below as he shares his incredible story of overcoming a random act of horrific violence through the power of BJJ with Bernardo Faria.

Despite being brutally attacked by a crazed gunman, James Clingerman was able to persevere through jiu jitsu by first having a reason to get out of the house and stay active. 

After enduring reconstructive surgery of his cheek and eye socket area, as well as nearly full blindness and in that eye and hearing loss in his other ear, as soon as he was given the go ahead to train again, he would compete just two days later!  As Bernardo says at the end of the video, this 'win' was far more important than any tournament and in the end, BJJ helped him win the most important tournament there is.

In our spotlight technique excerpted from his new series HIGH COLLAR PASSING, James Clingerman demonstrates his Wild West Choke. Having options to prevent the opponent's ability to deny the pass and reestablish their guard or offense in general is extremely important.  Check out the video below from BJJ Fanatics and we'll break it down afterwards.

High Collar Pass

The scenario that James Clingerman finds himself in at the outset of the video is a high collar knee slice pass, where he first secures a palm-up cross grip of his opponent's lapel and begins to make his way through the guard using the slicing knee.

In an attempt to defend, the opponent rolls to the side and brings his top arm across his body underneath James' arm.  At this point, James sees an opening exposing the opponent's neck but the arm coming across will get in the way of the choke.

The Opponent Turtles to Prevent the Pass

Clingerman proceeds to allow the opponent to roll completely through to a turtle position.  Maintaining the high collar grip, he then starts to set up the Wild West Choke by grabbing a handful of material on the opponent's far shoulder.  To finish the choke he pressures down on the opponent's head and upper back and brings his elbows together to finish.  

Should the opponent attempt to escape the choke and roll out, James Clingerman maintains the grips and rolls through onto his left shoulder.  If he is able to drive his body towards the head, he could possibly get the finish.  If not, he will roll through belly down, then come to his knees and finish the choke with tight elbows.

Add this slick trap to your arsenal and make it much more highly likely that your high collar passing attempts will end up with a positive outcome for you and not for your opponent.  Let them think they're escaping and make them pay with the Wild West Choke!

For more from James Clingerman's newest series HIGH COLLAR PASSING, head over to BJJ Fanatics and grab yourself a copy!  You can get it here or at the Buy Now link below!

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