Triangle Choke from Tripod
Submission · Side Control
A blood choke with the legs: your thigh closes one side of his neck and his own trapped shoulder the other, one arm in and one out, as in the triangle from guard. It comes from the tripod after the kimura from side control, when he pulls his head free and sits up: the rising head comes between your legs together with the arm still in your figure-four. Swing the leg on the side of his free arm over that shoulder so your shin crosses the back of his neck, drop to your side and lock your ankle behind your other knee. Pull the trapped arm across his centre line, cut an angle and pull his head down before you squeeze. Squeezing square only presses the head. Squeeze gradually.
How to do it
- From the tripod, when he pulls his head free and starts to sit up, keep the figure-four on the trapped arm. His rising head comes up between your legs while the arm is still yours; do not chase the head with your arms.
- Keep the leg that pins the trapped arm in place and swing your other leg over the shoulder of his free arm, so your shin crosses the back of his neck. Head and trapped arm are now inside your legs, the free arm outside.
- Drop to your side or back facing him and lock: the ankle of the leg across his neck goes behind the knee of your other leg, and that knee folds down over it.
- Use the figure-four to pull the trapped arm across his centre line, then release it and hold his wrist across his body. Cut an angle with your hips until your shin lies across the neck, not the back of the head.
- Pull his head down with your free hand and squeeze your knees together. Your thigh closes one side of the neck, his own shoulder the other.
Key details
- His sitting up feeds you the neck. Do not fight the head; let it rise into your legs.
- One arm in, one arm out, the trapped arm pulled across the centre line. Its shoulder closes the second side of the neck.
- Angle before you squeeze. Square to him, the shin lies on the head and the neck has space.
- Keep his head pulled down. When he postures up, the neck slides out of the lock.
Common mistakes
- Both arms in or both arms out. — Both in, his arms frame and nothing chokes; both out, it is only a head squeeze. — Keep the figure-four on one arm until the legs are locked.
- Squeezing square to him. — The shin presses the back of the head, not the neck. — Turn the hips to an angle first, then squeeze.
- Letting him posture up. — The head rises out of the triangle. — Pull the head down the whole time.
How to drill it
Your partner lies in your tripod and slowly frees the head and sits up. Swing the leg, lock the triangle and take the angle five times on each side, then the partner adds light resistance to the head pull.
Safety
A blood choke: squeeze gradually and release at the tap. Do not yank the head down; that cranks the neck.