SAFETY: Ezekiel Choke from Mount targets the Carotid arteries and trachea. Tap early and often. Your safety is more important than any training round.
Defending the Ezekiel Choke from mount bottom compounds the challenge of an already dire positional situation with a submission threat that can develop with very little warning. As the bottom player in mount, you are already managing escape priorities and submission defense, and the Ezekiel adds a choking threat that bypasses the standard collar and arm defenses you may have prepared. Your primary defense lies in early recognition of the sleeve grip threading, which is the earliest and most reliable warning that the Ezekiel is being set up. Once you identify the threat, your defensive options split into two paths: prevent the forearm from crossing your throat through chin protection and two-on-one grip control, or exploit the attacker’s arm commitment to the choke as a sweep opportunity using upa bridges. The attacker’s decision to commit both arms to the choking structure removes their ability to post for balance, creating a window for bridge escapes that would not exist during normal mount control. Recognizing and exploiting this window is the key to turning the Ezekiel threat into a positional reversal opportunity.
Opponent’s Starting Position: Mount (Top)
How to Recognize This Submission
How do you know when someone is attempting Ezekiel Choke from Mount?
- The attacker threads one hand inside their own opposite gi sleeve while maintaining mount, which is the definitive early warning signal for the Ezekiel setup
- A deliberate forward weight shift combined with widened knee base, indicating preparation to absorb bridge attempts during the choke commitment
- The attacker’s free hand moving toward your neck or jaw line rather than establishing collar grips or isolating your arm for americana or armbar
- The attacker lowering their chest and head close to yours without any arm isolation or collar grip fighting that would indicate other submissions
- The attacker’s head dropping beside your head, which is the final commitment signal before the choking structure locks and finishing pressure begins
Key Defensive Principles
What are the key principles for defending Ezekiel Choke from Mount?
- Monitor the attacker’s hands constantly for any threading motion into their own gi sleeve, which is the earliest warning of the Ezekiel setup
- Maintain an active chin tuck as default defensive posture whenever the attacker lowers weight without obvious guard-passing or arm-isolation intent
- Use two-on-one grip control against the choking forearm rather than attempting to strip with a single hand
- Recognize that the attacker’s arm commitment to the choke removes their posting ability and creates bridge sweep opportunities
- Keep elbows tight to your body and use frames rather than extended arms that create armbar or americana vulnerabilities
- Tap early and without hesitation if the choke structure is fully locked, as blood chokes cause unconsciousness within seconds
Defensive Options
What can you do to defend against Ezekiel Choke from Mount?
1. Chin tuck with two-on-one forearm block to prevent the blade hand from crossing the throat
- When to use: As soon as you recognize the sleeve grip entry or feel the forearm approaching your neck, before the choking loop closes
- Targets: Mount
- If successful: Neutralizes the choke attempt and forces the attacker to abandon, returning to standard mount where you can resume escape sequences
- Risk: Both hands committed to forearm defense leaves your hips uncontrolled and delays your mount escape timing
2. Upa bridge exploiting both of the attacker’s arms being committed to the choking structure and unable to post
- When to use: When the attacker commits both arms to the Ezekiel and you feel their weight shift forward with no hands available to post for balance
- Targets: Closed Guard
- If successful: Reverses position completely, sweeping the attacker from mount into your closed guard where you gain the offensive advantage
- Risk: If the attacker has a sufficiently wide knee base, the bridge may fail and you expend energy without addressing the choke directly
3. Elbow-knee escape exploiting the attacker’s hands being occupied with the choke rather than blocking hip movement
- When to use: When the attacker’s arms are committed to the sleeve grip and blade forearm and cannot block your hip escape or re-center their mount
- Targets: Closed Guard
- If successful: Creates enough space to insert knee shield and recover to half guard or full guard while the attacker’s arms are trapped in the choke position
- Risk: If the choke is nearly locked, the hip escape motion may not create enough space before the forearm compresses the carotids
Escape Paths
How do you escape Ezekiel Choke from Mount?
- Two-on-one forearm push combined with aggressive chin tuck to prevent the choking loop from closing, then immediately resume standard mount escape sequences
- Upa bridge when both attacker arms are committed to the sleeve grip and blade forearm, exploiting their inability to post for balance to sweep to closed guard
Best-Case Outcomes for Defender
What is the best outcome when defending Ezekiel Choke from Mount?
→ Closed Guard
Execute an upa bridge while the attacker’s arms are committed to the Ezekiel structure and unable to post, sweeping them from mount into your closed guard
→ Mount
Strip the sleeve grip early using two-on-one control and force the attacker to abandon the choke attempt, returning to standard mount defense where you can resume systematic escape sequences