Guillotine from Bottom
Submission · Half Guard
A blood choke on both carotids, using your arm wrapped around the neck, done from bottom half guard. It is there when the passer drives his head low past your knee shield. Your choking arm comes up under the chin, and the wrist reaches past the far side of his neck. Clasp your hands palm to palm, keep that elbow high and tight, and shrimp your hips out about 30 to 45 degrees toward the choking arm. Finish by curling the elbow toward you and arching. Your legs on the half guard and your shin on his hip stop him from walking around it. Beginners lie flat and let the elbow sag onto the windpipe. He defends by hiding the chin, which opens the wrestle-up single, or by passing to the arm side. Squeeze gradually, because from the bottom the guillotine easily cranks the neck.
How to do it
- When they drive their head low, wrap the neck from underneath with your choking arm: forearm under the chin, the wrist reaching past the far side of the neck.
- Clasp your hands palm to palm. Keep the choking elbow high and tight so the choke squeezes the sides of the neck, not the windpipe.
- Keep your legs on the half guard and your shin blocking their hip, then shrimp your hips out to the side of the choking arm until you are at about 30 to 45 degrees.
- Finish: curl the choking elbow in toward your body and arch, pulling the forearm up into the neck. They cannot step around because your legs and shin hold their hips.
Key details
- The shrimp creates the angle; flat on your back the choke is weak. Finish at about 30 to 45 degrees toward the choking side.
- The wrist goes past the far side of the neck; a shallow arm only presses the jaw.
- Keep your legs on the half guard and block their hip with your shin, so they can neither pass nor run around the choke.
- Keep the wrapping elbow high and tight for the carotid (blood) choke; if it slides low, it lands on the windpipe and they can endure it.
- If their arm gets trapped inside the wrap, the arm-in guillotine works well from half guard.
- The finish depends on the arm. Arm out: lift the choking elbow up over their shoulder and drive the wrist through the neck. Arm in: the elbow cannot come up, so crunch instead, folding their head down toward their own belly while your legs pull their hips into you.
Common mistakes
- Choking flat on your back. — Their weight crushes your arms against your chest and nothing tightens. — Hip out to the side of the choking arm first, then squeeze.
- The arm is too shallow. — It squeezes the jaw, not the neck. — Reach deep until the wrist is past the far side of the neck.
- Letting go of the half guard. — They pass while your hands are busy with the neck, and the angle is gone. — Keep your legs locked on the trapped leg so the guard holds while you choke.
- Choking with the wrist not touching the neck. — The blade hangs in the air under the jaw and no squeeze reaches the arteries. — Dig the wrist up into the corner between jaw and neck, so a thumbs-up would touch the jaw, before you lock the hands.
How to drill it
Half guard: the partner drives in, you catch the neck and hip out, 10 reps; then the partner tries to pass.
Safety
Squeeze gradually: from the bottom a guillotine often cranks the neck.
What comes next
Where it comes from