“For the choke, there are no “tough guys”. With an arm lock he can be tough and resist the pain. With the choke he just passes out, goes to sleep.”

Helio Gracie

Setting up no gi chokes is an invaluable skill that every serious grappler needs in their submission arsenal.

These chokes are powerful tools whether gi or no gi, sport, mma, self defense, etc.

Turtle position is one of the most common and versatile positions from which to gain an understanding of how these chokes effectively work. A scramble or a sprawl is usually what will make this position happen , and occurs frequently in a variety of contexts.

On the back position in Jiu-Jitsu, the famed John Danaher has this to say:

“No other weapon in the jiu jitsu submission arsenal offers such variation in severity of application as the back/strangle combination. It can go from a mild hold-down/immobilization to a safe means of rendering an uncontrollable opponent safely unconscious; to a truly brutal elbows-to-the-back- of-the- head beatdown position to a lethal strangle in a life or death struggle. No other submission offers this mix of versatility allied with safety and high percentage success rate. As such, the back and the mata leao strangle are the most symbolic representation of jiu jitsu.”

He added:

“The strangle is the ultimate weapon in Jiu jitsu: Jiu jitsu is the art and science of control that leads to submission. Within the realm of submissions you have two main choices – joint locks and strangles. Both are essential knowledge, both are extremely effective – but if you are ever given a choice – go with the strangle.

Strangles take the element of CHOICE out of submission. Whenever you attack a joint your opponent has a choice of whether to submit or not. The higher the stakes – the more likely the choice will be no – I will not submit- and the match will continue. With strangles, their choice becomes irrelevant. If the choice to submit, the match is over. If they choose not to submit – they pass out and the match is over.

The choice has no effect on the outcome. In a truly tough match with an opponent who is prepared to reckless with their physical health and safety – The strangle is truly the grapplers equivalent of a knock out punch, while the joint lock is perhaps closer to the notion of a body blow – it causes damage that degrades your opponents ability to fight and thus takes you closer to victory but will not always provide a decisive finish. LEARN YOUR STRANGLES! In your toughest matches they will be your most trustworthy weapon.”

If you like chokes, you can turn your arms and legs into pythons and squeeze necks like never before! Here are some tricks that helped Lachlan Giles  (Craig Jones’ instructor) to being a 2x ADCC Trials champion and medalist at the IBJJF Worlds in No Gi. Learn Lachlan’s systematic approach and catch the neck effortlessly in no gi. HIGH PERCENTAGE CHOKES: NO GI by BJJ Fanatics.