Chokes

Rear Naked Choke – the most important choke, by far

The Rear Naked Choke aka the Sleeper Hold aka Hadaka Jime 裸締め represents by far the most important choke to know in self defence, and arguably the only one worth learning. But there are several good variations of it.

The word ‘naked’ here refers to not using their clothing to assist with the choke. Because in jacket wrestling arts like Judo, BJJ and Shuai Jiao, it’s also very common to choke out your opponent using their own jacket collar.

Khabib Nurmagomedov executing Rear Naked Choke vs Dustin Poirier
Khabib Nurmagomedov executing a Rear Naked Choke vs Dustin Poirier in 2019.

There are two main methods of choking – depending on how your arms are contacting the neck. You could be doing a Blood Choke (also called the Carotid Restraint, as it prevents the carotid arteries on the side of the neck from sending blood to the brain) or an Air Choke (which crushes the windpipe at the front of your neck and stops you from breathing).

Short Choke variation

The Short Choke, also called the Fulcrum Choke, is a quicker & easier way to get into the choking position, but it’s less tight & secure than the standard RNC, so it’s easier to escape from.

Khabib neck crank on Conor McGregor
Khabib Nurmagomedov submits Conor McGregor with a Short Choke in 2018. It’s a Short Choke because he doesn’t tuck his second hand behind Conor’s head – instead he just locks both hands together for a quicker & easier position to get into, although it’s also less secure and easier to escape from. This particular choke is also called a Mandible Choke because it doesn’t manage to reach the neck so instead it captures the jaw and becomes a Jaw Crank, which could also be called a Face Crank or Neck Crank depending where the pressure is building up, but make no mistake, it can simultaneously also be a very effective Blood Choke when executed well.
Kangaroo choking dog
A good chokehold is the ultimate equaliser. Even kangaroos use them to subdue dogs. This is a still from a viral video filmed in 2016 which also captured Australian zookeeper Greig Tonkins punching the Kangaroo in order to rescue his dog Max.

One Arm variation

In Kung Fu, we often avoid tucking our spare hand behind their head. Instead, we often hold the Rear Naked Choke position with just one arm, without fully committing to choking the person out, keeping our other hand free to instantly respond to potential additional attackers; or to strike the temple, or target the eyes, to instantly disable them or to encourage a conscious submission, and to avoid causing unnecessary brain damage by unnecessarily putting them to sleep.

Randy Brown' doing One Arm Rear Choke on Alex Oliveira
Randy Brown submitting Alex Oliveira with a One Arm Rear Choke in 2021.

We also tend to stay standing, and often walk backwards, sometimes digging a knee or fist into the opponent’s spine, or pushing our hip forward, to keep them slightly supine and prevent them from regaining their footing.

What about the Side Choke?

The Side Choke aka Head & Arm Choke aka Arm-Triangle Choke aka Kata Gatame 肩固め is probably the second best type of choke to learn, since it’s often a more accessible close alternative to the Rear Naked Choke, but it also has major weaknesses that the Rear Naked Choke does not – namely the opponent can see and hit you a lot easier when you’re at their side rather than fully behind them. Most importantly, watch out for fingers in eyes, and grabs of private parts.

Bruce Lee doing a Side Choke
Bruce Lee doing a form of Side Choke called Tate Shiho Gatame, to finish Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the final boss in Game Of Death, a movie that Bruce Lee never completed. From Kareem’s point of view, instead of holding Bruce’s shoulder he should attempt to gouge Bruce’s eye which is probably his best chance of making Bruce release the chokehold.

In applying the rear choke, watch out for the same two things – fingers in eyes, and grabs of private parts. Plus avoid being thrown over their shoulders, and don’t let them turn around to face you. Foot stomps are also a threat but you may be able to ignore them – compared to eyes and privates, your feet are far less of a pressure point, the pain is a lot easier to ignore, and they will heal a lot easier and affect you a lot less in the long run.


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