Three Chokes YOU Should Know with Lachlan Giles

As BJJ enthusiasts, hobbyists, and competitors, we love our chokes. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of pursuing, acquiring, and finishing a good choke on your opponent. I feel it’s one of the most dominant ways to finish an opponent and there’s something primal about the checkmate aspect of a strangle that other submissions just don’t seem to provide. Like all techniques in BJJ, chokes have their own unique intricacies and characteristics that make them successful and applicable and learning these important details is paramount as our level and the level of our training partners begins to rise. 

I find that almost everyone that comes in to the academy seems to know what a rear naked choke is, as it is almost a household name these days, but upon learning the technique with some special details, their eyes light up in amazement. These details make all of the difference and they are what separates common knowledge from sharp proficiency. 

In no gi, where chokes are king these details become even more important as things will become slippery and the action is moving at a faster pace. Let’s take a lesson from Lachlan Giles on the three chokes that he feels EVERYONE should know. If you’re not familiar with Giles, its time you get acquainted and begin reaping the benefits of his phenomenal teaching. This is a piece of instruction you don’t want to miss and stick around until the very end, as the last technique is incredibly interesting. Check this out! 

 

Rear Naked Choke - 

So, to apply a rear naked choke, you just wrap the neck, lock your bicep and squeeze, right? This isn’t wrong, but there are so many factors that will affect your success with the RNC. The length of your arms, how you position yourself behind your partner, etc. There is plenty to take note of and everything matters when you’re trying to submit a BJJ peer that knows what you’re after. 

This is where Giles begins. In this scenario, Giles has chosen the under-hook side (which in the past I’ve heard referred to as the “weak side”, but I refuse to use this term, as the under-hook side deserves much better!). Straight away, Giles gives us some important details. We have to be careful here to not allow our partners head and shoulders to travel to the mat. To prevent this, Giles tucks his bottom elbow tight to his ribs, creating a wedge and making this task very difficult. He also places his head under his partners head, as a barrier between the head and the mat.

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Beginning on the top side of his partners head, Giles begins to use his thumb knuckle to blaze a trail under his partners chin. Upon the arrival of his hand to the opposite side, Giles buries it behind his partners head and then covers it with his own head, making it nearly impossible to find when his partner begins trying to defend. 

Here’s where things take a very interesting turn. Giles now uses his free hand to build himself up to a seated position. I’ll be honest, this kind of blew my mind. From here, his hand is much more accessible and has greater mobility. Be sure to keep your head in position when you try this one or things will unravel very quickly. For the finish, Giles places his fist behind his partners head and then wraps his elbow over the front o his partners shoulder. He then secures his bicep and, game over. 

Arm in Guillotine -

The arm in guillotine is definitely a great option when were looking to attack the neck, but the finish can be elusive. 

Here, Giles begins from a common scenario, the front headlock position. With the arm in guillotine acquired, and a chin strap controlling the head, Giles lifts his partner’s head high off the mat using high hands and then drops his shoulder, biting down on the neck. This is another detail, I’ve really never seen before, but as Giles explains it adds another layer of power to controlling and finishing the technique. As Giles begins to sit back, he positions his shin across the belly, and then curls his opposite leg over the back. This will prevent common escapes and rolls that dismantle the position. He advises us to finish here with a curling motion of the body rather than an arching movement, to secure a solid finish. 

Anaconda Choke -

The anaconda is most definitely one of the closest family members of the arm in guillotine and its right there in the mix. Giles begins the set up with the identical method from the previous technique but here his partner has elected to defend with a two on one style grip places on Giles’ choking arm. Here’s where things take a departure from the first technique;His top leg now becomes a butterfly hook and he use it to reverse his partner. As they arrive in an inverted north south position, Giles must close his partners elbow. He does this by lifting the lower half of his body and uses his legs as a clamp to close down the elbow and compress his partners upper body. This removes the first grip. To remove the second grip, Giles secures the wrist, and with a push-pull action, removes it from the mix. This action also allows his to feed his hand to his bicep, establishing beginning stages of the finish. 

With incredible details on the finish, Giles advises us to being the arm lower in depth, so that we make contact with the side of the neck and the corroded artery area. Many times, and I include myself here, we ten to shoot this choking arm too deep and this actually prevents us from acquiring the submission! With the lock in place, Giles climbs his free hand to the far side of the body as deep as possible and then pulls his bottom elbow into his ribs for a string finish. 

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These are the kinds of game changing details that add significant value to your technique. Giles is one of the finest instructors on the planet and if you haven’t gotten to know him yet, maybe now is a great time to start! 

Lachlan Giles is FRESH off of a heroic ADCC 2019 performance where he defeated three +99KG superstars back-to-back-to-BACK with heel hooks. Leg Lock Anthology 50/50 by Lachlan Giles covers the TECHNIQUES that lead Lachlan to defeat 3 of Jiu-Jitsu’s BEST athletes in a row. Learn the nuances that make Lachlan’s leg lock approach unique and effective!

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