Triangle from Back
Chain finish · Back Control
A blood choke with the legs: your thigh closes one side of his neck, his own trapped shoulder the other. It comes from the armbar from the back when he pulls his elbow in and his arm ends up across his neck. Keep hold of the arm and bring your leg over the back of his neck, then lock the triangle with the shin deep behind the neck and the arm kept inside your legs. Scoot your hips back to adjust the angle so your calf cuts across the side of his neck and your thigh drives his shoulder into it; across the back of the neck it leaves a gap. Only then squeeze the knees and pull the head down. The armbar and the triangle are one attack: his escape from one feeds the other. If he postures up or stacks you, go back to the armbar from the back.
How to do it
- From the armbar attempt, when they pull the elbow and extend the arm across their neck, keep hold of their arm and bring your leg over the back of their neck.
- Lock the triangle around the neck and the trapped arm, the shin deep behind the neck and the arm kept inside the legs.
- Scoot your hips back to adjust the angle, so your calf lies across the side of the neck, over the artery, and your thigh drives their shoulder into the neck. Locked across the back of the neck, it leaves a gap.
- Pull the head down and squeeze the knees together. The trapped arm and your thigh close both sides of the neck.
Key details
- Switch the moment they pull the arm out. The armbar and the triangle are one attack: their escape from one feeds the other.
- Adjust the angle before squeezing. Squeezing on a bad angle presses the head, not the neck.
- Keep the trapped arm inside the triangle. Its shoulder closes one side of the neck; without it there is a gap.
Common mistakes
- A late switch. — They escape both the armbar and the triangle. — Chain the armbar and the triangle as one attack.
- A loose triangle. — A loose triangle leaves room at the neck, so there is no choke. — Adjust the angle and lock the legs deep behind the neck.
- Letting go of the arm. — Without the arm inside, the triangle opens around the neck. — Keep the trapped arm inside the triangle.
- The top knee pushed forward. — With the knee forward the calf does not press the neck, so locking adds no squeeze. — Drop the knee toward the mat, pinch the knees, then pull the heel back so the calf cuts into the neck.
How to drill it
Armbar-triangle chain from the back, 6 reps; then the partner chooses the defense.
Safety
Blood choke: release at the tap.
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