The triangle choke is one of the most common and also one of the highest percentage submissions in Grappling.
When executed perfectly, it is a powerful weapon which is very hard to escape.
There are so many micro adjustments that make it so much more effective. This is what some grapplers such as Rickson Gracie call “Invisible” details.
In BJJ, most experienced practitioners are used to defending front triangles. These are the type of triangles set up from a guard position, either closed, half, or open guard.
You can usually set up the front triangle from a spider guard or from a lasso guard etc.
The back triangle is another common triangle set up used in Brazilian jiu-jitsu especially in the past few years. This is usually applied when you have your opponent’s back and trap an arm and then lift the other arm, falling to the side to trap a triangle. This triangle is very difficult to get out of.
A few years ago, Braulio Estima shocked the world When he was able to submit many world-class opponents at ADCC 2009 with a reverse triangle set up from an open guard. Victims of this reverse triangle included Andre Galvao and Xande Ribeiro.
There is another triangle variation which is much less common in BJJ. It is usually set up when you are mounted on the opponent.
Khabib Nurmagomedov applied a beautiful triangle from mount on Judtin Gaethje in their UFC bout which Rener and Eve Gracie show you how to set up:
In this video, 2019 ADCC silver medalist shows a very sneaky set up for the mounted triangle. He has a very interesting way of pinning the arm.
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