Famed coach John Danaher has long had a preference for the back.  Recently we documented his essay on the matter.

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.

If I could only pick one submission hold for the rest of my life – unquestionably I would choose this one and I believe the overwhelming majority of other jiu jitsu players of all levels and all sizes and skill levels would do the same. Understanding the many nuances of the back – both the positional element and the submission element is a huge part of my coaching program. Nothing shows me more clearly the speed of a student’s progress than A PROPENSITY TO RUTHLESSLY HUNT FOR THE BACK AT ALL TIMES IN A MATCH, THE PHYSICAL SKILLS TO GET THERE AND STAY THERE, ALONG WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND INTENSITY TO BREAK THROUGH DEFENSES AND FINISH IN THE MOST DECISIVE AND CONTROLLING WAY POSSIBLE FROM THERE. Here, Gordon Ryan, who has truly devastating control to submission sequences from the back, locks in a characteristically tight stranglehold from behind.

John Danaher Might Be Considered A Leglock Wizard – But In His Own Words Nothing Beats the Back

Now for the first time he’s revealing an inside look into his straitjacket backattack system.

If you want to be un-submitable, you need to check out Tom DeBlass’ “Submission Escapes” BJJ 3 volume BJJ instructional from BJJFanatics.com . In this series, he shares multiple escapes from all of the hardest to escape positions. Soon your training partners and opponents will be calling you Houdini.