Hand Fighting

What it is

Hand fighting is the grip battle before a choke: peeling, trapping and controlling your opponent's defending hands. It decides most back attacks and many guard attacks, because the choke cannot start until a hand is out of the way. From back control you can even trap one of their wrists with your own leg, leaving two of your arms against one of theirs at the neck.

Where it shows up

• From back control: you have the seatbelt and they are protecting their neck with both hands.
• Defending the back: keep both hands at your neck and fight each grip as it comes, never giving up a hand.
• Standing: controlling wrists and stripping collar ties before a takedown.
• Finishing a choke from guard or mount: clearing the hand that blocks the collar or the arm.

Key details

• Two on one. Use both hands, or a hand and a leg, against one of their hands at a time.
• Grip the wrist or the hand, not the sleeve or the forearm, so they cannot slide out.
• Trap a hand and move on. Pin one wrist with your leg or hip and then attack with the free arm.
• Attack the hand that is doing the most work. The hand guarding the choking arm comes first.
• On defence, keep your elbows tight, your chin down and your hands on your own collar.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: fighting both hands at once. Neither is controlled and you tire while they rest.
• Mistake: grabbing the sleeve or forearm. They pull the hand through and reset the defence.
• Mistake: on defence, reaching back for the choking arm with one hand. The other side of your neck is open.
• Mistake: rushing the choke under the hands. It never closes, and the struggle pulls your chest off their back.

What they will try

• The defender rotates the wrists out of grips and keeps the elbows close to the body.
• Turning the hips toward the trapped hand to free it and take weight off the choking arm.