⚠️ SAFETY: Cross Collar Choke targets the Carotid arteries. Risk: Carotid artery compression leading to temporary loss of consciousness. Release immediately upon tap.
The Cross Collar Choke represents one of the most fundamental and effective gi submissions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, targeting the carotid arteries through precise collar grip manipulation. This technique leverages the opponent’s own gi against them, creating a constriction that cuts blood flow to the brain when executed properly. The cross grip configuration—where your right hand grips their left collar and vice versa—generates tremendous mechanical advantage through the twisting action of your forearms. This submission is particularly valuable because it can be applied from multiple positions, most commonly from closed guard bottom, mount top, and side control. The technique’s effectiveness stems from its ability to disguise the setup within normal grip fighting exchanges, making it difficult for opponents to recognize the threat until the choke is already deep. When executed with proper depth and angle, the Cross Collar Choke creates an inescapable situation that forces immediate submission, often within 3-5 seconds of full application. Its versatility across skill levels and positions makes it an essential component of any gi practitioner’s submission arsenal.
Category: Choke Type: Blood Choke Target Area: Carotid arteries Starting Position: Closed Guard Success Rates: Beginner 35%, Intermediate 50%, Advanced 65%
Safety Guide
Injury Risks:
| Injury | Severity | Recovery Time |
|---|---|---|
| Carotid artery compression leading to temporary loss of consciousness | High | Immediate recovery if released promptly; potential for serious injury if held past unconsciousness |
| Trachea damage from improper hand placement | Medium | 1-2 weeks for minor irritation; months for severe damage |
| Neck strain or whiplash from defensive reactions | Low | 3-7 days |
Application Speed: SLOW and progressive - 3-5 seconds minimum application time in training
Tap Signals:
- Verbal tap (saying ‘tap’ or any verbal signal)
- Physical hand tap on partner’s body or mat
- Physical foot tap on mat or partner
- Any distress signal including facial expressions or loss of resistance
Release Protocol:
- Immediately release both collar grips upon tap signal
- Open guard or disengage controlling position
- Allow partner space to recover breathing and circulation
- Check partner’s alertness and ensure full recovery before continuing
Training Restrictions:
- Never apply full pressure during initial learning phases
- Never hold the choke past the tap signal under any circumstances
- Never use competition speed or intensity in basic drilling
- Never practice on partners with neck or circulation issues without instructor supervision
- Always ensure partner has clear access to tap with hands or feet
Key Principles
- Deep collar grips are essential—second knuckle depth minimum for effective control
- Cross configuration creates mechanical advantage through forearm rotation and scissoring action
- Elbow positioning determines choke angle—pulling elbows apart while driving knuckles together
- Head control prevents escape—pulling opponent’s head down eliminates space and defensive posture
- Patience in setup allows disguising the attack within normal grip fighting sequences
- Blood choke mechanics target carotid arteries, not the trachea—proper placement is critical for safety and effectiveness
Prerequisites
- Establish first deep collar grip with at least second knuckle depth, preferably with thumb inside collar
- Break opponent’s posture by pulling their head down and breaking their defensive frames
- Control opponent’s ability to create distance—use guard retention or positional control to prevent escape
- Secure second cross collar grip without telegraphing intention—disguise within grip fighting exchanges
- Ensure both hands are positioned with knuckles facing opponent’s neck for proper choking angle
- Establish sufficient depth on both grips before initiating finishing mechanics
Execution Steps
- Establish First Deep Grip: Secure your first grip deep in the opponent’s collar, driving your hand across their neck with your palm facing you and your knuckles against their carotid artery. Aim for second knuckle depth at minimum, ideally getting your entire hand past the collar seam. The thumb should be inside the collar while four fingers grip outside. This first grip is typically established on the opposite side collar (right hand to their left collar for orthodox grip). (Timing: Take 2-3 seconds to work the grip deep without rushing) [Pressure: Light]
- Break Posture and Control Head: Using your first collar grip, pull the opponent’s head down toward your chest while simultaneously using your legs (if in guard) or body position (if in mount/top position) to prevent them from creating distance. Breaking their posture is critical because an upright posture gives them defensive leverage and the ability to hand fight effectively. Pull them into a compromised position where their head is lower than their hips. (Timing: Continuous pressure over 3-5 seconds) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Secure Second Cross Collar Grip: While maintaining the first grip and broken posture, snake your second hand underneath their defending arm to grab the opposite collar in a cross configuration. Your second hand should mirror the first—palm facing you, knuckles against their neck, achieving deep penetration. This is often the most technical step because you must thread past their defensive frames without losing the first grip. Use subtle movements and patience to work this grip into position. (Timing: Take 4-6 seconds to secure properly without forcing) [Pressure: Light]
- Adjust Hand Position for Optimal Choking Angle: With both grips established, make micro-adjustments to ensure your knuckles are positioned directly against the sides of their neck where the carotid arteries run. Your thumbs should be inside the collar pointing down toward their chest, and your knuckles should form a ‘V’ shape pointing toward their neck. The blade edge of your wrists (pinky side) should be what creates the primary choking pressure. Ensure you’re attacking the arteries, not the trachea. (Timing: 1-2 seconds for final positioning) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Execute Scissoring Finish: Drive your elbows outward and downward while simultaneously pulling your hands in opposite directions—one hand pulls toward your same-side shoulder while the other pulls toward the opposite shoulder. This scissoring action creates the compression on both carotid arteries. The key is not pulling straight back, but creating a rotational torque through your forearms. Your chest should drive forward as your hands pull apart, creating maximum pressure through the collar fabric against their neck. (Timing: Apply pressure progressively over 3-5 seconds) [Pressure: Firm]
- Maintain Control Until Submission: Hold the finishing position with consistent pressure, ensuring your grips don’t slip and your body position remains tight. In training, maintain the pressure only until you feel the tap, then release immediately. The choke should force submission within 5-7 seconds of full application if properly executed. If the opponent doesn’t tap after reasonable time, reassess your hand positioning and angle rather than increasing force. Never hold past the tap signal or past loss of consciousness. (Timing: Hold for tap or maximum 5-7 seconds in training) [Pressure: Maximum]
Opponent Defenses
- Frames on biceps to prevent second grip (Effectiveness: High) - Your Adjustment: Use your first grip to pull their head further down and off-angle, creating space to swim your second hand underneath their defensive frames. Alternatively, switch to a different attack like an armbar to force them to change their defense, then return to the collar grip.
- Tucks chin to chest to block collar access (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Use your first grip to lift and turn their head slightly, creating angles that expose the collar. You can also attack with other submissions like armbars or triangles to force them to abandon the chin tuck defense, then return to the collar attack.
- Grabs your sleeves or wrists to prevent grip depth (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Use constant grip fighting and fake attacks to other positions to occupy their hands. When they release even briefly to defend another threat, immediately work your collar grips deeper. Patience is key—wait for the moment they’re distracted by another attack.
- Postures up aggressively to create distance (Effectiveness: High) - Your Adjustment: If in closed guard, break them down immediately using leg squeeze combined with pulling motion on your established grip. If they successfully create distance, maintain your grips and transition to another attack temporarily, then return to breaking posture when opportunity presents.
- Attempts to strip grips by pulling on your sleeves (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Adjustment: Tighten your grip and use your body weight or positional control to maintain grip security. Often their attempt to strip grips actually helps you work your hands deeper into the collar. Counter their pulling motion by pulling in the opposite direction, deepening your grips.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: What is the correct hand position depth needed for an effective Cross Collar Choke? A: Your hands should achieve second knuckle depth at minimum, ideally getting the entire hand past the collar seam. The thumb should be inside the collar while four fingers grip outside. Shallow grips are the most common reason for choke failure, as they provide insufficient leverage and are easily stripped by a posturing opponent. Deep grips ensure you have mechanical control even when the opponent attempts to create distance or defend.
Q2: Why must you immediately release the choke upon receiving a tap signal in training? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: The Cross Collar Choke is a blood choke that can cause unconsciousness within seconds of proper application by restricting blood flow to the brain through carotid artery compression. Holding the choke past the tap signal risks causing your partner to lose consciousness, which can lead to injury from falling, seizure-like reactions, or potential brain damage if held extended periods. In training, partner safety is paramount, and developing the conditioned response to release immediately upon any tap signal is a critical safety practice that must be ingrained in every practitioner.
Q3: What is the difference between attacking the carotid arteries versus the trachea, and why does it matter? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: Attacking the carotid arteries creates a blood choke that restricts blood flow to the brain, causing rapid loss of consciousness with minimal pain when properly applied. This is the correct target for the Cross Collar Choke. Attacking the trachea creates an air choke that is painful but less effective for forcing submission from skilled opponents, and more importantly, carries significant risk of trachea damage which can be a serious injury requiring medical attention. Proper Cross Collar Choke technique targets the sides of the neck where the carotid arteries run, using your knuckles and wrist blades to create pressure, not the front of the throat.
Q4: What is the correct finishing mechanic for the Cross Collar Choke—pulling straight back or scissoring? A: The correct finishing mechanic is a scissoring action, not pulling straight back. Your elbows should drive outward and downward while your hands pull in opposite diagonal directions—one hand pulls toward your same-side shoulder while the other pulls toward the opposite shoulder. This scissoring action combined with rotating your forearms creates the rotational torque that compresses both carotid arteries effectively. Pulling straight back is ineffective because it allows the opponent to defend by tucking their chin or posturing up, and it wastes energy without creating proper choking pressure.
Q5: Why is breaking your opponent’s posture crucial before attempting to secure the second cross collar grip? A: Breaking posture is crucial because an opponent with good upright posture has several defensive advantages: they can effectively frame on your arms to prevent the second grip, they can generate distance to strip your first grip, and they maintain visual awareness of your grip fighting. By breaking their posture and pulling their head down, you compromise their base, limit their ability to use their arms defensively, and create the angles necessary to thread your second grip past their defensive frames. Attempting the choke without breaking posture first has a very low success rate and telegraphs your intention, allowing prepared defense.
Q6: From closed guard, what should you do if your opponent successfully creates distance and postures up before you can complete the choke? A: If the opponent successfully postures up before you complete the choke, you must prioritize maintaining your grips while immediately working to break them back down using your closed guard leg squeeze combined with pulling pressure on your established collar grips. If you cannot break them down immediately, consider transitioning to a different attack such as a sweep or triangle setup to force them to change their defensive focus, then return to breaking their posture and completing the collar choke. Never sacrifice your closed guard position by overcommitting to the choke when they have strong posture—this often results in guard passes. Maintain positional control first, attacks second.
From Which Positions?
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The Cross Collar Choke exemplifies the fundamental principle that submissions are won or lost in the setup phase, not the finishing phase. Most practitioners err by rushing to the finish with inadequate grip depth, resulting in easily defended attempts. The biomechanical advantage of this choke comes from converting your linear pulling force into rotational torque through the scissoring action of your forearms—this creates exponentially greater pressure than pulling alone. Notice that the collar fabric acts as a mechanical pulley, allowing you to generate force multiplication. The key technical element is hand position relative to the carotid arteries: your knuckles and the blade edge of your wrists must align precisely with the arterial pathways. When executed with proper depth and angle, the choke becomes virtually inescapable because you’re attacking both sides simultaneously. In training, prioritize developing sensitivity to recognize when your grips have achieved sufficient depth—this proprioceptive awareness separates beginners who attempt dozens of shallow chokes from advanced practitioners who finish with their first properly set attempt. Remember: patience in the setup phase yields rapid finishes.
- Gordon Ryan: In competition, the Cross Collar Choke is one of my highest percentage submissions from closed guard because it’s extremely difficult to defend when you disguise the setup properly. The key difference between training and competition application is timing—in competition, you can’t sit in someone’s guard slowly working your grips because they’ll strip them or stand up. I establish my first grip during active grip fighting exchanges when their attention is divided, making it look like normal collar control rather than an attack setup. The critical moment is breaking their posture with that first grip while immediately threatening a sweep or triangle—this forces them to defend multiple threats simultaneously, opening the path for my second collar grip. From mount, the Cross Collar Choke becomes even more dominant because they have almost no ability to create the distance needed to strip your grips or defend effectively. In training, I use the Cross Collar as a systematic attack to chain with triangles and armbars—when they defend the collar grips by framing, those extended arms become armbar opportunities; when they pull their arms back to strip grips, their neck opens for triangle entries. This creates an impossible defensive dilemma that characterizes high-level guard play.
- Eddie Bravo: The beauty of the Cross Collar Choke is it works in both gi and elements of it transfer to no-gi when you adapt the concepts to different grips. In 10th Planet system, we study the collar choke mechanics to understand how to create similar carotid artery compression using arm-in chokes and modified grips when training no-gi. But in the gi, this choke is absolutely fundamental—I teach it early to all my students because it forces you to understand grip fighting, posture breaking, and the systematic approach to submissions. One variation we particularly emphasize is attacking the collar choke from high guard or rubber guard positions where you can really break them down and get incredibly deep grips. The rubber guard variation allows you to control their posture with your leg while freeing both hands to work the collar grips without worrying about them creating distance. Safety culture is critical with all chokes—we drill slow and controlled, building up pressure gradually over months of training. The goal is developing practitioners who can finish efficiently without hurting training partners, because you need healthy partners to keep improving. The Cross Collar Choke teaches discipline: if you rush it, you fail; if you’re patient and systematic, it becomes unstoppable.