INVERTED TRIANGLE

The inverted triangle is the variation of the triangle choke in which the figure-four leg configuration is established with the attacker's body positioned 180 degrees from the conventional triangle — typically from mounted or back-control positions rather than from guard. The technique attacks the same carotid-compression mechanism as the conventional triangle but the body geometry is inverted, producing distinctive entry options that conventional triangles cannot access.

The mechanics involve the attacker on top of or behind the opponent with one of the attacker's legs threaded across the opponent's shoulder and underneath the opponent's neck, while the attacker's other leg figure-fours behind the threaded leg's knee. The opponent's near arm is trapped between the attacker's legs (similar to conventional triangle), and the figure-four configuration compresses the opponent's neck against the trapped shoulder, producing the carotid compression that finishes the choke. The inverted name describes the body orientation — where conventional triangle has the attacker on bottom and the opponent on top, inverted triangle has the attacker on top and the opponent on bottom.

The inverted triangle has been used extensively by competitors who specialize in mounted attack systems — Roger Gracie used it as a primary finish from mount in multiple Mundial finals, and Mikey Musumeci has integrated it into his back-control attack system. The technique is particularly common from S-mount (technical mount) where the leg geometry naturally produces the inverted-triangle setup. Defensively the inverted triangle is escaped by hiding the near arm before the figure-four consolidates, by hand-fighting the leg-over-shoulder threading before the carotid compression develops, or by bridging laterally to disrupt the geometry before the choke finishes.