
Originally Posted by
Mike Nall
The video is down, but I assume you mean their roll and not their match? In their match Braulio hit an arm triangle/arm-in RNC from the back. In their roll, Marcelo's chin was down, but Braulio has a way to choke anyways. It pulls their jaw into their carotid arteries, and the key detail in on the placement of the choking arm's elbow. For sure it's not super common to see top level guys tap to RNCs on the face/jaw. Braulio is not cranking the face though. Garry Tonon is also a really good dude at choking through the face/jaw.
I'm a pretty firm believer that tucking the chin is not a good defense for the RNC unless you're hand fighting and trying to move your hips and escape. Just tucking the chin is a recipe for disaster.
Wow, I didn't realize there was a technical chin-in RNC. That is both exciting and disturbing, I trust in my chin as a primary defense for back control. Keeping chin to the chest is probably more than 50% of my concentration while back mounted, resisting chin-in attempts while I try to cross my opponents' legs with my hands and pull half committed leg cranks to make them go back to mount

. Or trying Dean Lister's leglock for the back triangle which I am yet to pull off.
If a chin-in choke is in fact legit, that makes the back mount a much more dangerous place..
Also, I remember now a Scott Epstein video about choking with the chin using the freedom rock. Didn't take it seriously, now that I (think I) understand the freedom rock I should watch it again. Thanks for the detail man!