The top Hindulotine position represents an offensive attacking configuration where you have secured a guillotine grip on your opponent while maintaining top position, typically from front headlock, sprawl position, or while attacking a turtled opponent. Unlike the bottom variation, the top Hindulotine allows you to use gravity and your body weight as additional pressure components while controlling your opponent’s movement from above.
From the top perspective, you maintain head control with the guillotine grip while using your legs and hips to prevent your opponent from escaping or achieving better position. This creates a unique pressure dynamic where your opponent is bent forward under your control, unable to achieve the posture necessary to defend effectively. The top position also provides more options for transitioning to other dominant positions like mount, back control, or north-south when your opponent attempts to defend.
The strategic advantage of top Hindulotine lies in your ability to combine submission pressure with positional control. Your opponent faces a dilemma: defending the submission often requires movements that allow you to advance position, while maintaining defensive posture leaves them vulnerable to the choke. This creates multiple pathways to success, whether through direct submission or position advancement.
Success from top Hindulotine requires understanding weight distribution and hip positioning. Rather than simply holding the guillotine grip and hanging on your opponent, you must actively create the angles and pressure that make the submission inevitable. Your legs play a crucial role in preventing your opponent from rolling, standing up, or achieving angles that would relieve neck pressure. Advanced practitioners use subtle weight shifts and hip adjustments to maintain optimal pressure while conserving energy and responding to defensive movements.
Position Definition
- Your guillotine grip is secured around opponent’s neck with your arm wrapped under their chin and hands locked, creating direct choking pressure while you maintain top position with their head controlled below your center of gravity, allowing gravity to assist your submission pressure
- Your hips and legs are positioned to control opponent’s ability to stand, roll, or achieve angles that would relieve neck pressure, typically with at least one leg base wide for stability while the other may be used for control or to create angling pressure
- Opponent’s head is trapped with their posture broken forward, unable to achieve vertical alignment or extract their head from the grip, with their body bent and your weight distributed to maximize choking pressure while preventing escape movements
- Your body position creates a mechanical advantage where your core strength, hip angle, and body weight combine to generate submission pressure rather than relying solely on arm strength to finish the choke
- You maintain top control with the ability to transition to other dominant positions if opponent defends the submission, keeping offensive initiative while preventing opponent from achieving neutral or advantageous positions
Prerequisites
- Successful control of opponent’s head from front headlock, sprawl defense, or while attacking turtle position
- Ability to establish guillotine grip before opponent can achieve defensive posture, stand up, or extract their head
- Proper base and balance to maintain top position while applying submission pressure without being swept or rolled
- Opponent’s posture must be broken forward with head lower than shoulders to facilitate grip establishment and submission mechanics
- Sufficient upper body strength and grip endurance to maintain choking pressure while controlling opponent’s movement from top
Key Offensive Principles
- Use body weight and gravity as force multipliers for submission pressure rather than relying solely on arm strength
- Maintain wide base with legs to prevent being rolled or swept while applying submission pressure
- Control opponent’s hips and shoulders to prevent them from achieving angles that relieve neck pressure
- Create rotational torque through hip positioning rather than straight downward pulling on the neck
- Transition smoothly to mount, back, or north-south when opponent’s defensive movements create opportunities
- Keep opponent’s posture broken forward continuously to maintain submission threat and positional control
- Adjust grip height and pressure angle based on opponent’s defensive reactions without loosening control
Available Attacks
Guillotine Choke → Won by Submission
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 40%
- Intermediate: 60%
- Advanced: 80%
Transition to Darce Choke → D’arce Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 35%
- Intermediate: 55%
- Advanced: 75%
Transition to Anaconda Choke → Anaconda Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 30%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 70%
Back Take from Top → Back Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 45%
- Intermediate: 65%
- Advanced: 80%
Transition to Mount → Mount
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 40%
- Intermediate: 60%
- Advanced: 75%
Transition to North-South → North-South
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 35%
- Intermediate: 55%
- Advanced: 70%
Front Headlock to Back → Back Control
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 40%
- Intermediate: 60%
- Advanced: 75%
Arm Triangle from Top → Won by Submission
Success Rates:
- Beginner: 30%
- Intermediate: 50%
- Advanced: 65%
Decision Making from This Position
If opponent attempts to stand up or achieve vertical posture to escape:
- Execute Follow to Standing Guillotine → Standing Position (Probability: 50%)
- Execute Snap Down to Front Headlock → Front Headlock (Probability: 60%)
- Execute Guillotine Finish → Won by Submission (Probability: 55%)
If opponent turns away to relieve pressure and exposes their back:
- Execute Back Take from Top → Back Control (Probability: 75%)
- Execute Transition to Anaconda → Anaconda Control (Probability: 60%)
If opponent flattens out completely in defensive turtle position:
- Execute Transition to Mount → Mount (Probability: 65%)
- Execute Front Headlock to Back → Back Control (Probability: 70%)
- Execute Arm Triangle from Top → Won by Submission (Probability: 50%)
If opponent creates defensive frames with arms while defending neck:
- Execute Transition to Darce Choke → D’arce Control (Probability: 65%)
- Execute Transition to North-South → North-South (Probability: 55%)
Optimal Submission Paths
Takedown defense to submission
Standing Position → Sprawl Defense → Front Headlock → Hindulotine Top → Guillotine Choke → Won by Submission
Turtle attack sequence
Turtle → Front Headlock → Hindulotine Top → Guillotine Choke → Won by Submission
Front headlock to back take
Front Headlock → Hindulotine Top → Opponent Turns Away → Back Control
Scramble to dominant position
Scramble Position → Front Headlock → Hindulotine Top → Transition to Mount → Mount
Success Rates and Statistics
| Skill Level | Retention Rate | Advancement Probability | Submission Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 50% | 40% | 35% |
| Intermediate | 70% | 60% | 55% |
| Advanced | 85% | 80% | 75% |
Average Time in Position: 15-40 seconds
Expert Analysis
John Danaher
The top Hindulotine position exemplifies the principle of combining gravity with technique to create overwhelming submission pressure. When you establish this position from top, you transform your body weight from a simple downward force into a rotational torque generator through proper hip positioning. The mechanical advantage is substantial - your opponent must fight not only against your grip strength but against your entire body weight amplified through leverage. The key technical detail that separates successful practitioners from those who fail is understanding that your legs are not passive supports but active control mechanisms. Your base must be wide enough to prevent being rolled, yet mobile enough to adjust angles as your opponent attempts to escape. The position requires continuous micro-adjustments rather than static holding - as your opponent moves to relieve pressure in one direction, you shift your weight and angle to maintain optimal choking geometry. Advanced practitioners understand that the submission finish is simply the final expression of positional dominance - if your opponent cannot improve their position, the submission becomes mathematically inevitable. When teaching this position, I emphasize the interconnection between grip position, hip angle, weight distribution, and base management as a unified system rather than separate components.
Gordon Ryan
From top, the Hindulotine is a position I use constantly in competition because it gives me complete control over the match pace and outcome. When I secure this position, my opponent is facing a losing proposition regardless of how they defend. If they stay static, I finish the choke. If they try to stand, I can follow or snap them back down. If they turn away, I take their back. If they roll, I step over to mount. This is exactly the kind of position I want in matches - one where I have multiple winning pathways and my opponent has no good options. The technical key from top is understanding weight distribution. I’m not hanging on my opponent with dead weight - I’m actively using my legs to maintain base while my hips create the angling pressure that makes the choke work. My arms are just holding the grip, they’re not the primary source of pressure. When I feel my opponent starting to defend effectively, I don’t stubbornly stick with the submission if it’s not there. Instead, I’m immediately thinking about which transition their defensive movement has opened up. The beauty of this position is that it teaches you to think in terms of systems rather than isolated techniques - you’re not doing a guillotine, you’re controlling your opponent in a way that gives you multiple submission and positional advancement options based on their responses.
Eddie Bravo
The top Hindulotine fits perfectly into modern no-gi grappling where front headlock control is one of the most dominant positions you can achieve. What makes this position special from top is that you have all the advantages - you’ve got gravity helping you, you’ve got the choking pressure, and you’ve got positional control all at the same time. When I’m working this position, I’m thinking about it as a hub in a wheel of options. The guillotine finish is there if they give it to me, but I’m equally ready to take the back, transition to darce or anaconda, or step over to mount based on how they defend. The creativity in this position comes from understanding the transitions between these options so smoothly that your opponent can’t tell where one attack ends and another begins. In the 10th Planet system, we drill these front headlock positions extensively because they come up constantly in scrambles and failed takedowns. The key technical point I emphasize is the hip angle - you can’t just hang straight down on the guillotine, you need to create that perpendicular pressure with your hips while maintaining enough base to not get rolled. When you get that angle right, the submission feels inevitable to your opponent, and their panic creates even more opportunities for you to attack. This is modern submission grappling at its finest - using position, pressure, and submission threats in combination to create situations where your opponent has no good defensive options.