Guillotine Choke
Submission · Closed Guard
A front headlock choke with one arm around the neck. With their arm trapped inside it is a blood choke: your forearm and their own shoulder close the carotids, and from closed guard that arm-in version is usually the better finish; without the arm it mostly crushes the windpipe. The moment is when their head drops low. Put the blade of the wrist under the chin, reaching past the far jaw, clasp palm to palm, keep the guard closed and cover their head with your chest and head on the choking-arm side. Angle about 90 degrees to their body, keep the choking elbow high and tight, lift the hips into the neck and finish with a crunch, elbow to your hip and knees toward you, not by leaning back. Squeeze gradually and never jerk: it can crank the neck.
How to do it
- When their head comes low, wrap one arm around the neck and put the blade of your wrist under the chin, reaching deep until the wrist is past their far jaw.
- Clasp your hands palm to palm, or grab the wrist of the choking arm with the other hand.
- Keep the guard closed and put your chest on the back of their head, your head on the side of the choking arm covering theirs.
- Lift your hips into the neck and angle to the side of the choking arm.
- Finish with a crunch, not by leaning back: the elbow of the choking arm goes down toward your hip and the knees pull toward you.
Key details
- The blade of the wrist goes under the chin, not the soft part of the forearm: the bone gives a narrow, hard edge.
- Finish with a crunch: elbow to your hip, knees toward you. Leaning back opens the space the neck needs.
- Keep your head on the side of the choking arm, covering their head, so they cannot lift it out.
- From closed guard the arm-in guillotine is usually the better finish.
- High-elbow version: bring the free elbow over their shoulder and rest it on their trapezius, then fall to your side.
- Get the hands high on your chest, not a biceps curl: slide the side of your ribs toward their neck so the elbow goes deeper, then close the elbow and shoulder down; curling up with the arms is the weakest finish and easy to hand-fight.
Common mistakes
- Pulling with the arms only. — Arms tire quickly and the neck stays safe. — Finish with the whole body: hips up into the neck, elbow down to your hip, knees toward you.
- The arm is too shallow. — It becomes a neck crank that hurts but does not choke. — Reach deep until the wrist is past their far jaw.
- Opening the guard. — They walk around and pass while you hold the neck. — Keep the legs closed until the finish.
- Falling flat on the back and arching. — The head slips straight out, and with the legs open they turn and scramble out. — Fall onto your side, keep your shoulder toward the base of their spine and everything forward, and close the guard.
If they defend
- They turn their chin and hide it. → Switch to a high-elbow (arm-in) guillotine or a sweep while they are busy.
- They walk to the side of the choking arm. → Follow with the hips and keep the guard closed; the angle only improves.
How to drill it
Snap the head down from closed guard and wrap the guillotine, 10 reps; finish slowly and only on the last 3.
Safety
A guillotine can crank the neck. Squeeze gradually and stop at the tap; never jerk.
Where it comes from