Side Choke Difficulties

[Greg W]

sign up for free trial @ Gracie U. Watch lesson 3 slice 2. Pay close attention to legs.

[Joshua Jarboe]

”The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy's useful actions but allow his useless actions”
― Miyamoto Musashi, A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy

Musashi ftw

[Griffin Lambert]

Are you getting swept to the side the arm triangle choke is on? I don't like to lock my hands until after I pass to the side the choke is on because of how easy it is for them to sweep you from mount. I just grab the inside of his arm pit, keep my head to floor and close to their head and leave my other hand free to post. I finish the arm triangle without even locking my hands about 20% of the time.

[Spencer Brown]

You can always try to time the bridge and lock your legs underneath his back for an anaconda-like mount. Has worked for me, sounds a little weird though.

[Andrew Sarasin]

Hard to say without seeing what it is your doing wrong. I would assume your knees are just too low on his body if he's able to sweep you. Are you stabilizing position at the chopping block before you attempt head & arm choke?

Actually I can't really remember if I'm high or not, I keep getting worried that he puts his arm underneath my leg when Im up too high, especially with my knees pointing out (I got that trick from youtube, works well on newbies who try to bridge and sweep( I forget what the sweep is called, i know its not upa but it looks similar) ).
Just that should help a little. I don't remember what chopping block is, I guess Ill have to revisit the dvd again but it sounds very familiar. I feel like once I get his arm up i should move right away to the side and that's what I used to do when I was doing it the old school way. But eddie says to wait a bit before moving. His way must be better and I guess it makes it more unpredictable as well. Probably tests out if your position is good as well.

But thanks for responding, I really appreciate it from all of you to help out a non 10p member like myself.

[Andrew Sarasin]

Andrew, sure you are being swept, not bridged off?
If people try to bridge me and I don't want to let go of head and arm, I sometimes extend the leg hooks and collapse their base, then hurry back up high again, that works for me.

true, I forgot about that technique. But never thought of using it for that. I saw it as a submission on submissions 101 a long time ago. Some kind of sambo leg lock. thx!

[Andrew Sarasin]

andrew, i know exactly what you're talking about. lets say i'm in skydive, and i am trying to get his left arm up. i'm using my right arm to walk my fingers up to get head and armpit control. my LEFT arm is around his head/neck. the opponent will bridge hard to his right, getting the reversal (i don't think that's considered a sweep, just reversal.) is that what you're talking about?

if so, i have been having similar troubles, my only way of countering it is to anticipate that bridge and to let get of the head and base out with my left arm, but then that means i have to bail on the arm triangle attempts because he'll do the same thing over and over. so lately i've been doing two on one and trying to work kimuras and arm bars from mount.

but yeah, i am curious to know if anyone has any solutions to that problem. am i not applying enough shoulder pressure on his face/head? should my left hand already be grabbing his armpit so that i give him no space to even use his head to bridge?

yes I meant reversal, sorry lol. I dont know why I said sweep. I know I should go for other stuff after that but Im stuburn, I want to be able to do the technique I want to do even if he knows that's what Im going for, but.. I guess that's probably black belt quality JJ and Im not there yet lol. But it would be nice to know the little details to get this basic choke to work from mount!

[Tom Carbone]

Actually I can't really remember if I'm high or not, I keep getting worried that he puts his arm underneath my leg when Im up too high, especially with my knees pointing out (I got that trick from youtube, works well on newbies who try to bridge and sweep( I forget what the sweep is called, i know its not upa but it looks similar) ).
Just that should help a little. I don't remember what chopping block is, I guess Ill have to revisit the dvd again but it sounds very familiar. I feel like once I get his arm up i should move right away to the side and that's what I used to do when I was doing it the old school way. But eddie says to wait a bit before moving. His way must be better and I guess it makes it more unpredictable as well. Probably tests out if your position is good as well.

But thanks for responding, I really appreciate it from all of you to help out a non 10p member like myself.

If a guy manages to put his arm underneath your leg then he would be putting himself into a mounted triangle, which would be fine by me.

Ive been taught to hold the chopping block position to wear out the opponents arm before you go for the choke.

[Andrew Sarasin]

This,
the longer you can ride a position, the longer the person on bottoms going to feel helpless. The mounted arm triangle is a move that in my opinion you grind out and crush your opponents will on the way to submitting him. Rarely do i "snatch" up arm triangles, but I have to set them up from a long ways out, isolating the arm, grinding my way into position, smashing with good pressure, and by that time the squeeze comes super easy, eddies arm triangle is one of the nastiest I've ever felt, followed closely by Brandon's, Johnny Ho's and Geo is surprisingly deceptive because he's a 145'r and he squeezes like a heavyweight, he also posts on his head every time you try and buck him off, or shrimp out or attempt to throw his balance off. (goodLuckwiththat lol)

really, shrimp out. I'de like to see that. I'm a bit confused though. but thx

[Andrew Sarasin]

If a guy manages to put his arm underneath your leg then he would be putting himself into a mounted triangle, which would be fine by me.

Ive been taught to hold the chopping block position to wear out the opponents arm before you go for the choke.

k, I'll take your word for it. Sounds like your second paragraph something eddie said word for word in his dvd mastering the twister lol.