most/least effective chokes.

[Drew Foster]

I like the figure four grip arm triangle, it's pretty high percentage for me personally. I've just started experimenting with the d'arce and am only able to get it on inexperienced guys. I used to like the Anaconda but now I don't like the gator roll finish because you risk giving up position. I really want to get good at the d'arce since Drew raves about it.

If you need Brabo/Darce choke tips PM me. Don't give up the gator roll either. It doesn't suck. I just have found that for me, that are other setups for the Anaconda that I prefer. I still use the roll from time to time though.

 

[TalkShowOnMute]

The Anaconda is currently in the stage that the Guillotine was a few years ago. Then Marcelo revived it and proved that it can be versatile and effective. That is what needs to happen with the Anaconda as it is a solid choke. *Sends psychic waves to Marcelo*

 

[Drew Foster]

The Anaconda is currently in the stage that the Guillotine was a few years ago. Then Marcelo revived it and proved that it can be versatile and effective. That is what needs to happen with the Anaconda as it is a solid choke. *Sends psychic waves to Marcelo*

I agree. As Mikey T noted, the Anaconda never caught on in JJ the way it did in MMA, for whatever reason. I'm sure John Danaher knows haha.

The Guillotine was almost dead man. Marcelo really not only brought it back from the dead, but made it almost, if not as powerful as the RNC.

The Darce evolved very steadily, but I really hope that Ryan Hall, Cobrinha, and everyone else that knows the power of the mounted Darce will push it hard enough to get it more mainstream. That's the next direction for that position, I'm convinced. I've never felt chokes like that, ever. A step-over Darce from Ryan Hall is a powerful thing.

Unfortunately, with Marcelo's thoughts on head-and-arms, I don't think he's gonna be the guy to evolve the Anaconda. Rafael Mendes did it to an extent, and I think if anyone does it, it will be him. He doesn't really have to change anything. If he continues to use it just how he already did in future no-gi events, I'm sure people will notice. If he had finished Cobrinha, and not just Rader at ADCC, I'm sure people would be all over it man. The flipping half-guard, granby-balance, thigh-press, and overhead DDT setups from his 2009 matches are enough to keep me busy for a while.

 

[Connoisseur]

Almost all chokes are effective when done with correct form. Up until very recently I had trouble finishing Arm- triangles (which I tend to catch a lot), and then my teacher made a minor adjustments with how I use my head to cinch the choke, and guys tap almost immediately. D'arces and Anacondas are very good chokes, but guys with good hips can roll out of them if you don't have good control of their body.

 

[Shemhazai]

Drew, I think you've got the howdy confused with the arm triangle guillotine. The howdy is the choke where you trap the far arm across the body and encircle only the neck with your arm, as if applying a shoulder of justice. You can then figure-four your arms and apply a kind of arm triangle (but it usually turns into a crank on the shoulder), or what is more high percentage, transition to the brabo or take the back via mount.

 

[armtriangle]

^^ that's what I was referring to as the howdy as well.

That said, if you look at the mechanics of the howdy from side control, it is similar to that trapped arm guillotine. The arm triangle guillotine Drew posted would actually be ahead of the side control Howdy choke in my world.

 

[BigSiv]

We had a seminar with John Will last week, where we covered the anaconda, darce and peruvian in depth. He showed us the gator roll for the anaconda was unnecessary unless the opponent was rolling that way to escape. Finishing it on my side was what he suggested and it has seemed to work. I guess it's the same position just without the roll.

 

[lightw8]

I used to fantasize about finishing head/arm chokes when I first started training....I loved it, but I have short thick arms. Two of my first instructors NEVER showed me any other finish than the figure four grip, so I kinda ditched the idea of any head/arm chokes unless it was on a really smaller guy which REALLY sucks cause I used to naturally get into a lot of the setups. At the start of alot of rolls, I love snapping the head down and threading my arm through. For some reason I thought the gable/s-grips were the wrong way to do it....goodness. I was drilling darce's and couldn't get my fingers on my biceps, and the teacher just said it wasn't my move instead of showing me the other grips. I also didn't know the counter to the arm triangle via grabbing behind the knee til I read it in this thread. Thanks guys.