CROSS-COLLAR CHOKE FROM GUARD

The cross-collar choke from closed guard is one of the four canonical closed-guard submissions in the Gracie curriculum, paired with the armbar, triangle, and kimura. The technique uses two opposite collar grips crossing at the wrist to compress both carotid arteries while the bottom player pulls the opponent's head downward toward their own chest. Helio Gracie demonstrated the technique into his eighties as one of the proofs that BJJ's leverage mechanics scale across age and size.

From a broken-posture closed guard the bottom player establishes the first deep collar grip palm-up, fingers inside the gi, gripping as deep behind the neck as possible. The second hand grips the opposite collar palm-down, with wrists crossing to form an X over the opponent's neck. The bottom player then pulls the opponent's head downward while squeezing the elbows together, compressing the carotids between the two wrists and the opponent's own neck musculature. The finish takes five to ten seconds when the grips are deep enough.