Baseball Bat Choke
Submission · Side Control
A blood choke with two collar grips: as your grips cross, the collar closes both sides of his neck. Set it from knee-on-belly: far hand palm up deep in his far collar, near hand thumb inside the near collar, hands close together with the knuckles opposite like on a bat. Make both grips deep before you move and keep your weight on him through the knee. When he turns in to you, his neck comes to your grips: drop the knee off his belly and step around his head toward north-south. The spin crosses the grips and closes the choke; pinch your elbows to finish, the arms do not pull. If he grabs your arms, take the armbar from knee-on-belly; if he turns away, take the back. It closes fast: finish slowly.
How to do it
- From knee-on-belly, grip their collar with both hands, knuckles opposite, like holding a bat. The far hand goes palm up deep in the far collar, the near hand goes thumb inside the near collar, and the hands stay close together.
- Make both grips deep before you move, and keep your weight on them through the knee so they cannot escape before the choke is set.
- Wait for them to turn in to you. Their turn brings the neck to your grips and makes the spin easier.
- Drop the knee off the belly and step around their head to the other side, turning toward north-south.
- As you spin, the grips cross and close the choke on both sides of the neck. Pinch your elbows together to finish; the spin closes it, not the arms.
Key details
- The spin around the head closes it, not your arms. Walking around the head crosses the grips over the neck.
- Both grips go deep before you spin. Shallow grips cross over the gi but do not close around the neck.
- Their turn toward you makes it easier. It brings their neck under your grips and shortens your spin.
- Far hand palm up deep in the far collar, near hand thumb inside the near collar, hands close together. Close hands make a tight bat that crosses the neck without slack.
- Turn toward north-south, drop the knee off the belly and pinch the elbows. The turn and the elbows together close both sides of the neck.
- The hands touch, little finger of one against the index finger of the other, like on a real bat; if they separate the choke stops working. To finish, pull the two grips apart as if ripping the collar open: the elbows pinch by themselves and the forearm blades cut across the sides of the neck.
Common mistakes
- Shallow collar grips. — The collar does not close around the neck when the grips cross. — Grip deep on both sides before moving.
- Squeezing without spinning. — The grips press but do not cross, so there is no choke. — Walk around the head toward north-south to cross the grips.
- Losing the knee pressure before the grips are set. — They escape before the choke is set. — Keep weight on them through the knee until you start the spin.
How to drill it
Bat grip and spin, 6 each side.
Safety
Closes fast: finish slowly.
What comes next
Where it comes from