Arm Triangle
Submission · Mount
A blood choke: your arm closes one side of his neck and his own shoulder, driven in by your head and shoulder, closes the other. From low mount it comes when he pushes your neck. Push that arm across his face so his elbow crosses his centre line, drop your head on his upper arm, ear to his arm, and wrap under his neck to lock your hands or grip your biceps. Then step off the mount to the side away from the trapped shoulder and turn almost perpendicular to him; drive your chest down and squeeze your shoulders together. From mount without that step it only crushes. If he pulls the arm out, his neck alone stays in your arm: the mounted guillotine. Tighten slowly.
How to do it
- When they push on your neck, push one of their arms across their face, so their elbow crosses their centre line.
- Drop your head on that arm to trap it against the neck, ear to their upper arm, so the arm cannot slide back.
- Wrap under the neck and lock your hands or grip your biceps, so the neck and the trapped arm are inside one loop.
- Step off the mount to the side of your head, away from the trapped shoulder, turning almost perpendicular to them.
- Drive your chest down and squeeze the shoulders together: your shoulder pushes their own arm into the side of the neck.
Key details
- Get off their body to the side; from mount it is weak, because there is no angle and you only crush.
- Your head and shoulder do the squeezing; the arms only hold the loop closed.
- Trap the arm tight with your head, so the arm stays across the neck.
- Turn almost perpendicular to them, not parallel: the angle is what drives the shoulder into the neck.
- Do not lift his arm with your arm: post a hand, slide your hips back for an angle and let his elbow ride up onto your shoulder, so your whole body pushes it across.
- Your shoulder goes under his chin, not on his jaw, and the crook of your elbow sits behind his neck, not on the artery: pressure on the face only cranks.
Common mistakes
- Finishing from mount. — There is no angle and it only crushes. — Step off to the side of your head, away from the trapped shoulder, to get the angle.
- Squeezing with the arms only. — The arms tire quickly and the choke stays loose. — Drive your chest down and pinch the shoulders together.
- A loose arm trap. — A loose trap lets them pull the arm out of the triangle. — Keep your head tight on their arm so it stays across the neck.
- Getting a leg trapped in half guard while stepping off. — Stuck in his half guard you cannot drive to the side, and the choke loosens. — Head to his head and forehead to the mat to lighten your legs, then step the foot over his leg first and slide off.
If they defend
- They turn into you. → Walk further to the side and keep squeezing.
How to drill it
Arm triangle setups from mount and side control, 8 reps; then with the partner pulling the arm.
Safety
Tighten slowly; it closes suddenly.
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