Chokes and Joint Locks

What it is

Every submission in BJJ is a choke or a joint lock. A blood choke closes the carotid arteries at the sides of the neck and works in seconds with little pain. An air choke presses on the windpipe and is slower and hurts. A joint lock takes a joint past its range: the elbow, the shoulder, the knee, the ankle or the wrist. Knowing which one is on you tells you how early to tap.

Where it shows up

• Rear naked choke, collar chokes, the triangle and the arm triangle are blood chokes: tap as soon as the squeeze is on.
• A forearm across the windpipe is an air choke: slower, painful, and you still tap before you fight for air. Some chokes, like the guillotine, can be either depending on where the arm sits.
• The armbar attacks the elbow, the kimura and the americana attack the shoulder, and the straight ankle lock attacks the ankle. Tap when the joint reaches the end of its range, not when it hurts.
• A neck crank folds or twists the neck without choking. It is not a choke, it is illegal in competition at every belt, and it is not something to use on a partner.

Key details

• Blood chokes work on the sides of the neck and do not need to hurt. Tap to the pressure, not to pain.
• Air chokes work on the front of the throat. If you can feel your windpipe being pressed, tap.
• Joint locks damage before they hurt. The end of your range is the tap, not the first twinge of pain.
• The partner finishing slowly is doing it right. Finish slowly yourself, and give them time to tap.
• Cranking means forcing a joint or the neck with speed or power. It has no place in training.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: treating a blood choke like an air choke and waiting until it hurts. You go to sleep instead.
• Mistake: waiting for an armbar to hurt once the arm is straight. The elbow goes before you feel pain.
• Mistake: letting a kimura or americana go past the point where the shoulder is stuck. The shoulder tears, and a shoulder takes months.
• Mistake: finishing a submission fast on a partner. They have no time to tap and you injure them.