⚠️ SAFETY: Triangle Choke targets the Carotid arteries and brachial plexus. Risk: Loss of consciousness from blood choke. Release immediately upon tap.
The Triangle Choke is one of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s most fundamental and high-percentage blood chokes, typically executed from the bottom position in closed guard. By trapping the opponent’s head and one arm between your legs while using your shin to compress the neck, you create a triangle configuration that occludes the carotid arteries and restricts blood flow to the brain. The effectiveness of the triangle lies in its mechanical efficiency—once properly locked, it requires minimal strength to finish and becomes progressively tighter as the opponent struggles.
Historically developed from judo’s sankaku-jime, the triangle choke has become a cornerstone technique in modern BJJ competition, especially in gi grappling where grips facilitate control. The submission works through a combination of structural alignment and proper angle creation, with the practitioner’s body position and hip angle being more critical than leg strength. When executed correctly, the triangle creates an inescapable mechanical trap where the opponent’s own shoulder acts as a fulcrum to compress their neck.
The triangle choke’s strategic value extends beyond its finishing potential—it serves as a gateway to multiple transitions including armbars, omoplatas, and sweeps. High-level practitioners use the triangle position as a control platform, maintaining the configuration while attacking multiple submissions in sequence. This makes the triangle one of the most versatile offensive tools in BJJ, equally effective in both training and competition contexts across all skill levels.
Category: Choke Type: Blood Choke Target Area: Carotid arteries and brachial plexus Starting Position: Closed Guard Success Rates: Beginner 35%, Intermediate 55%, Advanced 75%
Safety Guide
Injury Risks:
| Injury | Severity | Recovery Time |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of consciousness from blood choke | CRITICAL | Immediate upon release, but potential for injury if held after tap |
| Neck strain or cervical spine stress | Medium | 3-7 days with rest |
| Brachial plexus compression (temporary arm numbness) | Low | Minutes to hours |
Application Speed: SLOW and progressive - 3-5 seconds minimum to allow partner to tap. NEVER spike or jerk the finish.
Tap Signals:
- Verbal tap (saying ‘tap’ or any distress sound)
- Physical hand tap (multiple taps on body or mat)
- Physical foot tap (if hands trapped)
- Any loss of resistance or going limp
Release Protocol:
- Immediately open legs and release triangle configuration
- Remove shin from neck and lower legs to mat
- Release arm trap and create space
- Check partner’s consciousness and breathing
- If unconscious, place in recovery position and alert instructor
Training Restrictions:
- NEVER hold triangle after tap or loss of consciousness
- NEVER use competition finishing speed in training
- Always ensure partner has clear tap access with at least one hand
- Release immediately upon any tap signal
- Monitor partner’s color and breathing throughout
- Practice finishing mechanics on cooperative partners first
Key Principles
- Angle creation is more important than leg strength - proper hip angle creates the choke, not squeezing
- Control the posture by breaking down opponent’s base before attempting triangle lock
- Use opponent’s trapped shoulder as a compression point against their own neck
- Lock the triangle by placing ankle behind knee, not by crossing ankles
- Cut the angle by moving hips 45 degrees perpendicular to opponent’s body
- Pull opponent’s head down while lifting hips to create finishing pressure
- Maintain tight connection between your legs and opponent’s neck throughout
Prerequisites
- Opponent must be postured down with head and shoulders forward
- One of opponent’s arms must be isolated across their centerline
- Sufficient hip mobility to throw leg over opponent’s shoulder
- Control of opponent’s posture through grips (collar, sleeve, or overhook)
- Broken base or forward weight distribution from opponent
- Clear pathway to throw leg without opponent blocking or defending
Execution Steps
- Break posture and isolate arm: From closed guard, establish strong collar and sleeve grips. Pull opponent forward while opening guard, forcing their weight onto their hands. Simultaneously pull one of their arms across their centerline using your sleeve grip, creating the fundamental triangle setup position. (Timing: 1-2 seconds) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Throw leg over shoulder: Open your guard and immediately throw your leg (same side as the isolated arm) high over the opponent’s shoulder. Your shin should land on the back of their neck, with your knee pointing toward the ceiling. The opponent’s trapped arm should now be across their own body. (Timing: 0.5 seconds (must be quick)) [Pressure: Light]
- Lock the triangle: Pull your ankle (from the leg over the shoulder) behind your opposite knee to create the triangle lock. Do NOT cross your ankles—this is mechanically weaker. Your shin should be tight against one side of their neck while their own shoulder compresses the other side. (Timing: 1 second) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Cut the angle: Move your hips approximately 45 degrees to the side, positioning yourself perpendicular to your opponent’s torso. This angle adjustment is critical—it tightens the choke and prevents the opponent from stacking or posturing. Your body should form an ‘L’ shape with theirs. (Timing: 1-2 seconds) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Control the head: Establish a strong grip on the back of opponent’s head, either grabbing your own shin or using a collar grip if available. This grip prevents them from posturing up and allows you to pull their head into the choke. (Timing: 1 second) [Pressure: Firm]
- Lift hips and pull head: Simultaneously lift your hips toward the ceiling while pulling opponent’s head down toward your chest. This creates the finishing pressure on the carotid arteries. Squeeze your knees together while maintaining the angle. (Timing: 2-3 seconds) [Pressure: Firm]
- Maintain and finish: Hold the position with steady pressure until tap. Do not spike or jerk. If opponent doesn’t tap immediately, ensure your angle is correct and that their shoulder is properly positioned against their neck. Release immediately upon tap. (Timing: 3-5 seconds until tap) [Pressure: Maximum]
Opponent Defenses
- Posture up aggressively before triangle is locked (Effectiveness: High) - Your Adjustment: Pull down harder on collar/head while locking legs faster. If they escape, transition to omoplata or armbar from the same position.
- Stack you by driving forward and lifting your hips (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Cut angle further (more perpendicular), grab their far leg to prevent forward drive, or transition to armbar by swinging opposite leg over their head.
- Pull trapped arm free by yanking it back across centerline (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Immediately transition to armbar on the escaping arm, or switch to triangle on opposite side if you have time to reconfigure.
- Stand up and attempt to pass while you’re in triangle configuration (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Adjustment: Maintain triangle lock, cut angle even further, and use your free hand to off-balance them or grab their far leg to prevent passing.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: What is the most critical safety protocol when applying a triangle choke in training? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: The most critical safety protocol is to release IMMEDIATELY upon any tap signal or if the partner goes limp/loses resistance. Triangle chokes restrict blood flow to the brain and can cause unconsciousness in seconds. Holding the choke after a tap or after unconsciousness occurs can result in brain damage or death. Always apply pressure progressively (3-5 seconds minimum) to give your partner time to recognize the danger and tap.
Q2: Why is cutting the angle (moving hips perpendicular to opponent) essential for finishing the triangle choke? A: Cutting the angle to approximately 45 degrees perpendicular to the opponent’s body is essential because it prevents them from posturing up or stacking you forward. When you’re directly in front of them, they can drive their head up and create space. The perpendicular angle tightens the triangle by shortening the distance between your shin and their shoulder, making it mechanically impossible for them to escape while maximizing compression on the carotid arteries.
Q3: What is the correct way to lock the triangle, and what is the common mistake to avoid? A: The correct way to lock the triangle is to place your ankle behind your opposite knee, creating a proper triangular shape. The common mistake is crossing your ankles, which creates a mechanically weaker lock that can be escaped more easily and also makes your ankles vulnerable to ankle locks in some competition rulesets. The ankle-behind-knee lock creates superior structural integrity and finishing pressure.
Q4: How should you respond if your opponent begins to successfully stack you while you’re attempting a triangle finish? A: If your opponent successfully drives forward and begins stacking you, you should: (1) Cut your angle even further to the side, making it harder for them to drive forward, (2) Grab their far leg to prevent them from getting their hips over yours, or (3) Transition to an armbar by swinging your opposite leg over their head, attacking the arm that’s defending. Attempting to fight the stack with pure strength is ineffective—use angles and transitions instead.
Q5: What anatomical structures does the triangle choke target, and how does it create the submission? A: The triangle choke targets the carotid arteries on both sides of the neck, which supply blood to the brain. It works by using your shin to compress one carotid artery while the opponent’s own trapped shoulder compresses the other carotid artery against their neck. This bilateral compression restricts blood flow to the brain, causing loss of consciousness in 3-10 seconds if the opponent doesn’t tap. The choke may also compress the brachial plexus nerve, causing temporary arm numbness.
Q6: What are the acceptable tap signals in BJJ, and why must you recognize all of them during a triangle choke? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: Acceptable tap signals include: verbal tap (saying ‘tap’ or making distress sounds), physical hand taps (multiple taps on opponent’s body or mat), physical foot taps (if hands are trapped), and any loss of resistance or going limp. During a triangle choke, you must recognize all these signals because the opponent may have limited mobility—their trapped arm can’t tap, so they may use their free hand, feet, or verbal signals. Going limp indicates unconsciousness and requires immediate release.
From Which Positions?
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The triangle choke exemplifies mechanical efficiency in submission grappling—it’s a leverage-based technique where proper positioning creates an inescapable structural trap regardless of strength differential. The key insight is understanding that the triangle functions through precise geometry: the angle of your hips relative to your opponent’s torso determines whether you have a submission or merely a configuration. Most students make the mistake of trying to squeeze harder when they should be adjusting their angle. The opponent’s own shoulder becomes the instrument of their demise, acting as a compression point against their carotid artery. When teaching the triangle, I emphasize that 90% of the finish comes from correct hip positioning and only 10% from leg squeeze. Furthermore, the triangle serves as an excellent gateway to understanding positional geometry—once students grasp the angular relationships in the triangle, they can apply these principles to other submissions and positions. From a safety perspective, the triangle’s blood choke mechanism makes it particularly dangerous if held after a tap, as unconsciousness can occur within seconds once proper pressure is applied.
- Gordon Ryan: In competition, the triangle is one of my highest-percentage submissions from guard, but there’s a massive difference between how I finish it in training versus on the mat at ADCC. In training, I give my partners a full 3-5 seconds to recognize the danger and tap because we’re there to learn and improve together—there’s zero benefit to injuring your training partners, and doing so only reduces the quality of your future training sessions. In competition, however, I lock the triangle and finish as fast as biomechanically possible because my opponent is actively trying to prevent the submission until the last possible moment. The triangle’s beauty lies in its speed of finish once properly locked—unlike joint locks that can take several seconds to create pain, a properly executed triangle can render someone unconscious in under five seconds. This is why I drill triangle entries thousands of times: the setup and lock must be so automatic that in competition, by the time my opponent realizes they’re in danger, it’s already too late to defend. My preferred entry is from butterfly guard or when opponents stand in my closed guard—the triangle punishes their decision to stand. But regardless of how you enter, the non-negotiables are: get the angle perpendicular, lock ankle behind knee (never cross ankles), control the head, and squeeze your knees together while pulling their head down. Competition or training, those mechanics don’t change—only the speed of application changes.
- Eddie Bravo: The triangle choke is foundational to the entire 10th Planet system because it’s the gateway to our highest-level control positions like the rubber guard. From rubber guard, we have multiple triangle entries—New York, Meathook, and the classic Invisible Collar all set up triangle finishes, and if the triangle fails, we seamlessly flow to omoplata, gogoplata, or back takes. But here’s the thing people miss about the triangle in the 10th Planet system: we’re often setting it up from unorthodox positions where traditional gi grips don’t exist. In no-gi, you can’t rely on collar grips to break posture, so we use overhooks, head control, and rubber guard positions to manipulate our opponent into vulnerable positions. The triangle becomes even more versatile when you combine it with Eddie Bravo’s lockdown from half guard—opponents defending the lockdown often post their hand in perfect triangle range. Regarding safety, I cannot stress this enough to our students: the triangle is a blood choke that works FAST once locked correctly. We’ve all seen people go out from triangles, and it’s scary every time it happens. In 10th Planet gyms, we have a strict culture of tapping early and releasing immediately. If you feel a triangle locked and angled correctly, tap immediately—don’t wait to see if you can defend it. And if you’re applying it, the moment you feel that tap or see your partner’s resistance fade, you release instantly. The ego-driven mentality of ‘I’m going to hold this until they go completely limp’ has no place in our training environment. We’re here to get better and innovate new techniques, and that requires healthy, conscious training partners.