Body Triangle
Position · Back Control
From back control you lock your legs in a figure-four around his waist: one shin across his belly with its foot tucked behind your other knee, so his hips cannot turn out. One leg wedges and reinforces the other, so the lock gets tighter the harder he fights it, and his hands are no longer busy stripping hooks. Keep the seatbelt and your chest to his back; the triangle controls the hips, not the shoulders. If his chin is exposed, the Rear Naked Choke; if his hands guard the neck, the Rear Ezekiel Choke. It also ties you to the position, so set it once hooks are being stripped, not from the start; lock it on the side where he cannot reach your ankle and attack it.
How to do it
- From the back, set the body triangle once a hook is being stripped, not from the start. Bring one leg across their belly.
- Lock that foot behind the knee of your other leg, not at the ankles. Lock it on the side they try to escape to.
- Turn slightly to the side of the bottom leg, so the lock sits across their waist and their hips cannot turn out.
- Keep the seatbelt grip tight on the upper body, chest against their back, so they cannot turn inside the triangle to face you.
- Squeeze the triangle and attack the neck. Each squeeze compresses the waist and tires them, which opens the chin.
Key details
- Stronger than hooks: they cannot slip out. One leg wedges and reinforces the other, so it gets tighter the harder they fight.
- Lock on the side where they try to escape. The locked side blocks their hips from sliding out that way.
- Squeezing tires them fast. The compression on the waist makes breathing hard.
- A body triangle traps the torso and blocks a bridge, but commits you to the position: switch to it once a hook is being broken, not before.
Common mistakes
- Crossing the feet at the ankles. — They cross their legs over and lock your ankles. — Lock the foot behind the knee.
- Locking on the wrong side. — They turn to the open side and escape. — Lock on the side they escape to.
- Losing the upper body. — They turn inside the triangle to face you. — Keep the seatbelt tight.
If they defend
- They turn to the lock side. → Switch the triangle to the other side.
- They attack your ankle. → Open the lock and go back to hooks.
How to drill it
Hooks to body triangle and back, 10 each side; then 1-minute rounds holding the back.
Safety
Squeeze with control: a body triangle compresses the ribs.
What comes next
Where it comes from