BJJ Training: How to do a Triangle Choke
1) Once you have your opponent in your (closed) guard, grab both of your opponent’s wrists with the hand closest to each.
Your left hand will control their left wrist and your right hand will control their right wrist.
2) Take one wrist and push it into your opponent’s stomach.
3) Pull the other wrist in towards you (your same side shoulder or your chest both work - as long as you pull the wrist away from your opponent)
4) Open your guard (aka uncross your ankles).
5) Push the wrist into their stomach again and shoot your hips up to your opponent’s chest, while you pull the controlled wrist on your chest down.
6) Immediately after (or even during the process of) elevating your hips, bring both legs up and over, crossing your ankles when done.
When the wrist pushed into the stomach is clear from being trapped by your legs, you should release your grip on this wrist and cross your feet. This wrist should be outside of your legs.
The leg on the opposite side of the controlled wrist will go up and over the shoulder on the side of the pushed in wrist - wrapping around the side of your opponent’s neck.
The leg on the side of the controlled wrist will be directly under the armpit on the side of the controlled wrist.
7) When you cross your feet:
Top leg: same side leg as the opponent’s controlled arm
Bottom leg: leg wrapping around the opponent’s neck
8) Bring your opponent’s controlled arm under their own neck and across their chest.
9) Grab the back of their head and pull down.
10) To tighten the choke and simultaneously prevent your opponent from escaping, take the arm on the same side as the top leg and grab your shin/ankle on the bottom leg (the one currently hooked around your opponent’s neck).
Support your knee by grabbing it with your hand or cupping it with the inside part of your elbow (between your bicep and inside forearm). Pinch your elbow and arm in toward your centerline.
In other words: the position will allow you to reach forward and grab the shin/ankle of the leg you have wrapped around your opponent.
By grabbing your shin/ankle, you are holding the opponent in place while you adjust the choke to be tighter. If they try to escape, they should be wedged between your arm and legs.
11) Open your guard by uncrossing your top leg from your bottom leg, while still controlling the shin and knee of the bottom leg. The leg that you are not controlling (top leg) will place the foot on the opponent’s hip.
11) Push off the hip and rotate your entire body toward your opponent (back stays flat on the mat).
The leg on your opponent’s neck will be repositioned so that your calf is at a 90 degree angle across the back of their neck.
12) Take your other leg off of your opponent’s hip and cross your legs.
13) When crossing your legs:
Place the back of the knee of the top leg on the ankle of the bottom leg. For the bottom leg, use the instep of your foot to hook your own top leg (aim for the outside of the knee or calf). Make sure to point all of your toes up.
14) Use both hands to grab the back of your opponent’s head. Pull down and finish.
If you have watched our video and read our guide, but are still having some trouble - attached below is a video of John Danaher demonstrating how to do a triangle:
Thank you for reading - we hope this helps and gives a clear explanation on how to do a triangle choke in Jiu Jitsu!
1 Comment
Love the step by step triangle instructions!