Triangle Choke Escapes

This past weekend I competed in a grappling tournament where I placed third in the middleweight division. Each match I lost, I lost due to triangle choke. The first match I lost was to a Judo fighter who ended up winning the division. After he got full mount on me, I managed to escape and get back to my feet, at which point I took him down with a single leg takedown. As soon as I put him on his back he caught me with one arm in and one arm out. I'll explain this concept shortly. He pulled my gi over my head like a hockey jersey, sucked me in, and sunk in the choke. There was nothing left for me to do but tap. The other match I lost was very similar. There was a lot of back and forth between me and him. At one point I had him in full mount and was setting up a triangle choke from mount, but he reversed position and we scrambled. I scrambled right into the triangle. I yelled out "Oh Crap!" and everyone laughed. I tried to fight the choke for as long as I could, but I was finished. Once again I had to tap.

In light of what happened, my coach went through two triangle choke escapes with me in our next class. These escapes should be automatic once your are caught in the triangle. I will describe these escapes and the concept of the triangle choke.

First off, my coach says that the best way to avoid the triangle is to not get caught in it. Sounds funny, I know, but it's the truth. Knowing the basic theory of the triangle choke will help you to prevent it from happening.

This brings me to the one arm in one arm out concept. A triangle choke is applied when you are on your back and your opponent is in your guard. The trick is to have one of his arms inside your legs and the other one outside. (One arm in - One arm out). With one of your opponent's arms between your legs, you can now set up the triangle.

Say you have your opponent's right arm between your legs. Wrap your right leg around your opponent's head so that your calf is pressing on the back of his neck and the inside of your thigh pressing against his left carotid artery. You then take your left leg and wrap it around your right foot. This locks in the triangle position. Bring your opponent's right arm and place it across your belly so that his hand points out to your right. This causes his shoulder to press against his right carotid artery. If you have it in tight, your right thigh and his right shoulder should now be pressing tightly against both his carotid arteries, cutting off the bloodflow to the brain. If he's hanging in there, you can tighten your lock and pull down on his head to make the choke more effective.

So again, the easiest way to avoid the triangle is to not get caught in it. Not getting caught in the triangle means never having one of your arms in between your opponents legs with one of your arms outside. So always follow this rule. ALWAYS. Either have both your arms inside your opponent's guard or have both arms outside the guard. Doing so will make it very difficult for your opponent to set up the triangle. If he can't trap one arm between his legs then he will move on to something else.

Now, sometimes you do get caught. So if you end up in the triangle position, here are two escapes to use:

Spinning Triangle Escape

Say your opponent has trapped your right arm.

• Make a fist with your right hand and plant it on the floor on the right side of your opponent's head.
• Stand up.
• Place your right knee against your opponent's left hip.
• With your left hand, reach around and grip your opponent's left hip.
• In one motion, turn to your right, press in against your opponent's hip with your right knee and your left hand.
• You should then spin to your opponent's left side and keep spinning around his head and over to his right. This will open his legs, releasing the triangle.
• Once you are at his right side, you can drop and end up in side control.

Knee Grip Triangle Escape

Once again, we'll use the example with your opponent trapping your right arm.

• With your right arm across your opponent's belly, take your right hand and grap his right knee.
• Take your left hand and place it over your right hand, grabbing at the knee.
• Drop his right knee to the floor.
• In one motion, pull in on his knee with both hands and push against his calf with your shoulder. This will cause his knee to twist and force him to release the triangle.
• You will end up back in his guard.

These are pretty simple escapes, but are very effective. They should only be used as a last resort. Remember, don't allow yourself to be caught in the triangle. Always keep both arms in or both arms out.