The arm triangle choke submission is among the most effective and basic holds you’ll get to learn in BJJ. The move’s name is the game. You triangulate your opponents neck and throat with your arm and your opponent’s arm simultaneously. The move has several variations to it, all of which we’re going to highlight for you below. However, you’ll still have to study further on how best you can incorporate this submission hold into your BJJ game.
How To Escape The Arm Triangle Choke
Arm Triangle From Mount
The easiest way to implement this choke hold is from the mount. In this situation you start the move off by doing the captain hook. Do this cautiously because you’ll lose the opportunity of support from your hooking arm and if your opponent notices this he can sweep you into bottom guard. Once you’re done with the captain hook setup, isolate the opposite hand of your opponent. Use your other arm to do this. Attempt to slowly push their arm upwards.
Once the arm is at neck level, use your head to block the arm. This is the arm triangle choke in its most basic form, using your other arm that’s captain hooking to block of the neck side and using your head to push opponent’s arm into their own neck. The pressure from both fronts will cut off blood circulation into their carotid arteries and they’ll soon go to sleep. Start learning this technique by using only one arm together with your head.
If you do it this way, you’ll soon be able to master how to finish it by clasping your arms using gable grip, and the additional force that will have been generated will be used to create pressure on the neck of the opponent. After your triangle has caught their neck, jump to your gable grip side and start rotating towards the head of your opponent. The pressure on the neck will gradually increase and they’ll be forced to tap out.
Ezekiel Choke From Bottom Mount
Arm Triangle Choke From Forearm Set-up
When in an opponent’s forearm choke, act like it’s working so they commit and when they do, extend your hips away utilizing your hip power from close guard, but don’t overdo it.
When you feel your opponent’s force come forward, shoot up your right arm across their back and grab their distant armpit. This movement will engage your shoulder during the choke. Now, all you’ll need to do is pop you opponent’s arm out the way around the tricep and elbow area, ensuring it lands across the body and on the opposite side of your head.
Once you here, you’ll now need to push your right ear in close to your opponent’s shoulder. If you don’t, they might posture up into closed guard and pull their arm back; essentially escaping the move. You finally apply the last part of the move by using your arms to make a grip known as the “rear naked choke”.
Standing Arm Triangle Choke
Unlike its half-guard sibling, doing the arm triangle submission while standing is something rarely seen, as well as attempted, because it’s generally very hard to execute and there are better options available from that position. However, there are scenarios where you can easily pull it off like when your opponent’s back is on the cage.
Arm Triangle Choke From Side Control
Another variation of this move can be done by executing it from side control. Once again the captain hook is what will start everything off in general, the difference being you’ll now be implementing it from side control. Here, you’ll need to be patient and perform a counter attack maneuver first. If your opponent attempts to push your head using their opposite arm and uses this way to try irritate you, block off their arm using your head when leveled with their neck and throat.
This is very similar to what we had already explained earlier. The only difference here is that, while holding the triangle choke, you’ll now be required to jump on the opposite side so that you can have the ability to apply the force necessary to finish your opponent off.
How To Do An Armbar From Mount
Arm Triangle Choke From Bottom Half Guard
If you’re in the bottom half-guard position, there’s a variant of this submission move you can try. Insert your arm around the opponent’s neck and arm and use your other arm to set the triangle. After doing this you can destabilize your opponent by using a bridge and improve your triangle position. This will inevitably lead into them tapping out.
How To Defend Against The Arm Triangle Choke
The best way to defend this potentially devastating submission move is by using a technique that is commonly referred to as “answering the phone”. We spoke about this in our last article and if you haven’t read it before, I’d advise you to search our website and do so. Anyhow, this defense happens to be a technique that’s quite simple to implement. What happens hear is your isolated hand is what will be used to “answer the phone”- like talking on the phone, get it? This technique will create for you some space between your isolated arm and your neck. This might just create for you enough room to have some breathing capability, even though minimal.
However, you must always remember that this is in no way a full proof plan so when and if you choose to use it, put your all into giving it your best shot. Also, your isolated arm can be used to reach out and grab your leg’s inner thigh at the same side. This will help create a little space between your arm and neck and will allow you some room to breathe. Nevertheless, your reactions need to be razor sharp for you’ll need to act fast and waste no time catching your thigh because if you don’t you may have to watch your chance going out the window for it’ll be too late.
Conclusion
Setting these different variations up requires a little sneakiness, most of the time. However, once you’ve mastered each and every one of them you can, more or less, start using them immediately. This submission move is a very powerful technique and can be utilized at any BJJ skill level. The arm triangle submission is effective but still rather basic. No doubt one you should definitely try to master.