Defending the Back Take from Bottom Hindulotine requires understanding the precise moment when your turning escape from guillotine pressure creates back exposure. As the top player caught in the guillotine, your instinct to turn away from the choke is natural but predictable, and experienced opponents will exploit this rotation to transition from a stalling choke to dominant back control. Effective defense begins with recognizing the attacker’s grip release and body movement that signals the transition, then executing immediate counter-measures before seatbelt control is established.
The defensive priority hierarchy is clear: first, prevent the seatbelt from being locked by controlling the overhook arm with your hands before it crosses your chest. Second, if the seatbelt is partially established, prevent hook insertion by keeping your knees tight and hips squared. Third, if hooks begin entering, immediately address the upper body control by stripping the seatbelt before the position consolidates. The window for effective defense is narrow, typically two to three seconds between the attacker’s grip release and full back control establishment.
Successful defenders understand that the safest option is often to not turn at all, instead addressing the guillotine through posture, driving forward, or hand fighting the grip directly. When turning is necessary, controlling the speed and depth of your rotation while keeping your elbows tight and hands prepared to intercept the seatbelt creates the best defensive outcomes. The goal is either to stall the transition and return to the original Hindulotine position where you can resume your escape, or to complete your turn fully and re-establish guard before the attacker can secure hooks.
Opponent’s Starting Position: Hindulotine (Bottom)
How to Recognize This Attack
- Attacker releases their guillotine grip and you feel the choking pressure decrease while their arm stays across your neck or chest
- Attacker’s legs open from closed guard and begin moving independently to follow your hip rotation
- You feel the attacker’s chest pressing forward and following your rotation instead of pulling you into the choke
- Attacker’s far arm begins threading under your armpit as their choking arm slides across your sternum toward seatbelt position
Key Defensive Principles
- Control your turning speed to avoid fully committing rotation that exposes your entire back before you can defend
- Keep elbows tight to your body during any rotation to block the overhook arm from crossing your chest into seatbelt
- Fight the seatbelt immediately when you feel the attacker’s arm sliding across your chest rather than waiting for full lock
- Maintain hip connection to the ground and keep knees tight together to block hook insertion attempts
- Consider addressing the guillotine through posture or forward pressure rather than turning when possible
- If back is partially taken, prioritize preventing hook consolidation over stripping the seatbelt first
Defensive Options
1. Stop the turn and re-face the attacker by squaring your shoulders back toward them and driving your hips forward
- When to use: Early in the transition when you feel the guillotine pressure release and recognize the back take attempt before seatbelt is established
- Targets: Hindulotine
- If successful: You return to the original Hindulotine position where you can resume escaping the guillotine through other methods such as posturing or hand fighting
- Risk: Re-facing puts you back into the guillotine choke, which may be tighter if your partial turn worsened your neck position
2. Complete the turn explosively and immediately establish defensive frames against the attacker’s chest while pulling your hips away to create distance
- When to use: When you have already committed too far into the turn to stop, and the attacker has not yet secured the seatbelt or inserted hooks
- Targets: Closed Guard
- If successful: You complete the rotation, face the attacker, and re-establish guard position, negating the back take entirely
- Risk: If the attacker follows your rotation and locks seatbelt during the fast turn, you accelerate into back control instead of escaping
3. Two-on-one grip fight the overhook arm to prevent seatbelt completion while keeping elbows tight to block the underhook
- When to use: When the attacker has released the guillotine and begun threading the overhook arm across your chest but has not yet clasped hands
- Targets: Hindulotine
- If successful: You strip or block the seatbelt, preventing full back control establishment, and can work to re-face or posture from the disrupted position
- Risk: Committing both hands to fighting the overhook leaves you vulnerable if they switch to re-establishing the guillotine or transition to darce
4. Drive forward aggressively into the attacker’s guard to flatten them and prevent the transition by smashing their hips to the mat
- When to use: When you recognize the guillotine pressure is decreasing and the attacker is preparing to transition, but before you have begun turning
- Targets: Closed Guard
- If successful: The forward drive prevents the rotation-based back take, potentially stacks the attacker, and may open guard passing opportunities
- Risk: Driving forward into an intact guillotine grip may actually tighten the choke if the attacker does not fully commit to the back take transition
Best-Case Outcomes for Defender
→ Hindulotine
Stop your turn early when you recognize the attacker releasing their guillotine grip. Square your shoulders back toward the attacker, drive your hips forward, and use two-on-one grip fighting to strip their transitioning arm before it crosses your chest into seatbelt position. This returns you to the original position where you can resume guillotine defense.
→ Closed Guard
Complete your rotation fully and explosively before the attacker can establish seatbelt control. As you turn through, immediately frame against their chest with both arms, push your hips away to create distance, and establish closed guard or open guard before they can insert hooks. The key is turning faster than they can follow with their grip transition.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: What is the earliest recognition cue that your opponent is transitioning from guillotine to back take? A: The earliest cue is the sudden decrease in guillotine choking pressure combined with the attacker’s arm remaining across your neck and chest rather than releasing completely. You will feel their grip open but their forearm staying in contact, which indicates they are converting the choking arm into the overhook component of a seatbelt rather than disengaging entirely.
Q2: Why is stopping your turn and re-facing the attacker sometimes a better defensive choice than completing the rotation? A: Stopping the turn and re-facing denies the back exposure entirely, returning you to the Hindulotine where you face a known threat (the guillotine) rather than the unknown of a scramble. Completing the turn risks the attacker following your rotation with seatbelt control already established. Re-facing also resets the positional dynamic to your advantage since you can resume systematic guillotine defense from a position you understand.
Q3: Your opponent has released the guillotine and their arm is crossing your chest - what specific defensive action should you take with your hands? A: Immediately grab the overhook arm with both hands using a two-on-one grip, controlling their wrist and forearm before they can clasp hands with their underhook arm. Pull their overhook arm away from your chest and toward the mat while simultaneously tucking your opposite elbow tight to block the underhook from getting deep. This prevents the seatbelt from locking and gives you time to re-face or create distance.
Q4: What makes driving forward into the attacker’s guard a viable but risky defensive option? A: Driving forward is viable because it eliminates the rotation that creates back exposure and can stack the attacker, reducing their offensive options. However, it is risky because if the attacker has not fully committed to the back take transition, the forward drive may tighten the still-active guillotine choke. This option works best when you clearly feel the grip release indicating full commitment to the back take, making the forward drive safe from choke threat.
Q5: How should you address hook insertion attempts if the attacker has already established partial seatbelt control? A: Keep your knees pinched together and hips low to the mat to create a physical barrier against hook entry. Use your bottom hand to control the attacker’s top leg at the knee, preventing it from threading inside your thigh. Simultaneously work to strip the seatbelt with your top hand. If one hook enters, immediately trap it by closing your legs around their foot while continuing to fight the seatbelt. Preventing both hooks from entering simultaneously is the critical defensive threshold.