The Darce and Guillotine Choke support each other and are very good friends… When one fails, the other one is right there to cushion its failure, and revenge its fallen brother!
That is especially true when the „fallen brother“ is the Darce Choke, which a skilled opponent will recognize being set up and move on to defending it properly… But they won’t be expecting this subsequent Guillotine Choke setup that the great Robert Drysdale explains below!

YOUR OPPONENT MIGHT BLOCK YOUR DARCE CHOKE ATTEMPT…

When you have a Front Headlock position on a turtled opponent and you are trying to set up a Darce Choke, Robert explains that your goal is to bring their arm as close to their head as possible, which will make up for a tight wrap on your Darce.
So, what your opponent might do to defend this is that they will – as Robert’s training partner, Rodrigo Cavaca, does – block it by lifting their head up and pulling their elbows back. This will make it very difficult for you to even move their arm, let alone get it close to their head.

This is solid defense! But there’s a way to get around it, to adapt to it and to get that tap… By setting up the Guillotine Choke!

…BUT YOU CAN USE THAT TO SET UP THE GUILLOTINE CHOKE!

What Robert does in order to set up the Guillotine is that he gets up to his feet and then steps in with his far leg right next to Rodrigo Cavaca’s elbow, with a goal to place his knee behind the Rodrigo’s armpit. Pay attention that you do all of this while still preserving your Front Headlock position.

From there, Robert pushes that knee through the space between Rodrigo’s own knee and elbow, and then uses that knee to push the outside of Rodrigo’s arm, moving it into his neck. This sort of mimics the Triangle Choke, in which you try to pull your opponent’s arm across in order to get the tap.
In other words, the trick is, Robert emphasizes, to push your opponent’s arm in as deep as possible, doing so by pushing it with your hip and knee.

FINISHING DETAILS – DON’T RUSH!

Then, Robert shows that you need to grab your hand and move it across your opponent’s neck and torso, doing so as deep as you can. A good reference is that you should aim for seeing the palm of your hand on the other side; this will ensure that your choke will be tight enough.

Now, in order to finish the Guillotine Choke, Robert points out that you need to take your time and adjust before pulling guard. Don’t hurry! You have time – your opponent is in a bad spot and is on the defensive… But, if you pull guard and sit down too early, your opponent will just slip and it is you who will end up in a defensive position.
So, adjust your hands properly and then, when you sit down, place one of your feet on your opponent’s hip and the other one over their lower back – and finish the Guillotine Choke!

Watch Robert Drysdale demonstrate this setup on the video below:

Submit from anywhere with these weird Darce chokes made up by the innovative and creative ADCC medalist Jeff Glover.

• Learn the best ways to lock up and finish the darce choke with Jeff’s special variations, including the darce, the marce, and the farce.