FRONT HEADLOCK

The front headlock is the transitional top position in which the attacker has the opponent's head and one arm trapped from in front, typically after sprawling on a defended takedown attempt or controlling a turtled opponent. The position scores no IBJJF points but is one of the most consequential transitional positions in no-gi submission grappling, serving as the entry point for the D'Arce choke, the anaconda choke, the Peruvian necktie, the guillotine, the bulldog choke, and various wrestling-derived takedowns.

The mechanics involve wrapping one arm around the opponent's head and neck while the other arm captures the near-side wrist or controls the far-side underhook. The attacker's weight presses downward to keep the opponent in the bent-forward posture that the front headlock requires, and the attacker's hips stay back to prevent the opponent from re-establishing standing posture or driving into a single-leg takedown.

The front headlock has been a defining position of the modern Danaher Death Squad / New Wave competitive system, with Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon using it as the primary scramble-response and back-take-entry configuration in no-gi competition. Its versatility — multiple choke options, takedown options, and back-control transitions — makes it one of the highest-value transitional positions in modern grappling. Defensively the front headlock is escaped by walking forward to disrupt the angle, by hand-fighting the headlock arm before the chokes establish, by rolling forward to recover guard, or by attacking the attacker's exposed back during the headlock control window.