When grabbing the sleave of the choking hand is there a right way? One instructor says to go with 4-3 fingers, which can be difficult for me as they get stretched and weaken. Another says to grab it in a fist, which I can tell is stronger, but it limits my mobility as it's so tight on the choking hand. What do you guys say on the matter?
It depends on how many fingers your sleeve can comfortably fit in, really. I like wider sleeves so usually use 4 fingers.
I have trouble of fitting four fingers in, so I usually go for three (serious post is serious). I will try outside the sleeve next class.
It seems like a lot of people just try to crush the windpipe wwhich will work but is easier to escape from. I also don't know if it would incapacitate an attacker
The ezekiel is a blood choke if done right. I could explain it, but I don't think it would be well understood with words alone, but suffice it to say that it's significantly different from the one that Caio showed.
If you damage someone's windpipe they're not going to be fighting much. Using the fist to choke has some advantages - it's harder to get wristlocked and it's more painful. When guys try to Ezequiel Choke me with an open hand I find I can usually wristlock them (the first couple of times, at least). I also find that the pain of the fist/knuckle Ezequiel Choke has a certain psychological impact - it makes people panic a lot more which clouds judgement and hinders rationality; they might want the pain to stop so much that they, for example, try to push you off and gift you an armbar.
