Closed Guard to Hindulotine is a guillotine entry in which the bottom player catches a high-elbow guillotine as the opponent postures forward, then angles their hips perpendicular to the spine to enter the rotational-torque Hindulotine.
Closed Guard to Hindulotine is the primary guard-based entry into the Hindulotine, the front-headlock guillotine variation that layers spinal-twisting hip torque onto a standard choke. The transition begins from closed guard, where the bottom player breaks the opponent’s posture and snatches the chin the instant their head drops below the chest line. Rather than simply pulling the head straight down toward the sternum as in a conventional guillotine, the attacker opens the guard, shifts their hips out to one side, and rotates perpendicular to the opponent’s spine, converting a linear pull into the rotational pressure that defines the Hindulotine.
This entry is one of the most commonly taught ways to reach the Hindulotine because closed guard naturally produces the broken-posture, head-low scenario the position requires. The closed-guard frame already controls the opponent’s hips, preventing them from circling or standing while the attacker establishes grip and angle. As the bottom player pivots, the guard transitions from a hip-clamp into either butterfly hooks or an open knee-shield that lets the hips finish rotating to roughly 45-90 degrees, the angle range that generates the Hindulotine’s torque.
Strategically the entry is valuable because it threatens immediately while preserving fallback options. If the choke does not finish, the rotational angle feeds directly into a butterfly sweep to mount, a back take when the opponent turns away, or a Darce when they frame the near arm. The chief risk is the Von Flue counter and the stack pass, both of which the attacker mitigates by keeping their hips off-line and their grip high under the chin before committing to the rotation.
From Position: Closed Guard (Bottom) Success Rate: 55%
Possible Outcomes
| Result | Position | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Hindulotine | 55% |
| Failure | Closed Guard | 30% |
| Counter | Side Control | 15% |
Attacker vs Defender
| Attacker | Defender | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Execute technique | Prevent or counter |
| Key Principles | Catch the chin the instant posture breaks and the head drops… | Prevent the entry by keeping your head up and spine stacked … |
| Options | 6 execution steps | 3 defensive options |
Playing as Attacker
Key Principles
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Catch the chin the instant posture breaks and the head drops below your chest line, before the opponent can re-stack their spine
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Lock the blade of your forearm high under the chin on the carotids, not low on the trachea or shoulder, before you commit to rotation
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Open the guard and shift your hips off-line to your choking-arm side rather than staying flat and square
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Generate the choke with hip rotation and core, treating your arms only as a fixed frame that transmits the torque
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Keep your legs working as control, butterfly hooks or a knee shield, so the opponent cannot circle out or stack you flat
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Stay tight to the head and shoulders so the opponent cannot insert a near-arm frame or drive a Von Flue shoulder into your throat
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Read the opponent’s reaction early so the entry flows into a sweep, back take, or Darce if the choke alone stalls
Execution Steps
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Break posture and bait the head down: From closed guard, use collar or head grips and the clamp of your knees to break the opponent’s post…
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Snatch the high-elbow guillotine grip: As the chin clears your chest line, thread your choking arm around the neck and bring the blade of y…
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Open the guard and clear your hips: Unlock your ankles and open the closed guard. This is the commitment point that separates the Hindul…
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Shrimp off-line to your choking-arm side: Shrimp your hips out toward the side of your choking arm so your spine is no longer stacked square b…
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Convert the legs into control hooks: As your hips rotate, replace the hip-clamp of closed guard with active control: insert a butterfly h…
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Rotate the hips to load the torque and settle the Hindulotine: With the grip fixed and the angle set, rotate your hips and pull your choking elbow toward your oppo…
Common Mistakes
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Trying to finish the guillotine flat on your back and square, never clearing your hips off-line
- Consequence: You get a standard guillotine instead of the Hindulotine, the opponent defends with a chin tuck and stack, and you never gain the rotational pressure or the sweep and back-take branches.
- Correction: Treat the catch as a doorway. The moment the grip is locked, open the guard and shrimp your hips out to your choking-arm side so your core can drive the choke.
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Opening the closed guard before the grip is locked high and tight
- Consequence: Opening the legs gives the opponent room to lift their head, re-posture, or begin passing while your choke is not yet secured, and you lose both the submission and your guard.
- Correction: Secure the high-elbow grip on the carotids first and confirm it is tight, then open the guard. Grip security must precede the hip clearance.
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Gripping low on the neck near the shoulder or pressing into the trachea instead of high under the chin
- Consequence: Pressure lands on muscle or windpipe rather than the carotids, so the opponent can endure it and methodically work an escape while you burn out your arms.
- Correction: Set the blade of your forearm high under the chin on the carotid line with a high choking elbow before committing to rotation.
Playing as Defender
Key Principles
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Prevent the entry by keeping your head up and spine stacked so your chin never drops below the attacker’s chest line
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Fight the choking grip with both hands before it locks high under your chin
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Recognize the hip clearance, the attacker opening the guard and shrimping off-line, as the true Hindulotine danger signal
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Drive your weight forward to stack and square your hips back over the attacker the instant you feel them angle away
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Use the Von Flue shoulder pressure into the neck as an aggressive counter while the guillotine is being held
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Protect your own neck and keep your chin tucked so the rotational pressure cannot wrap cleanly around the carotids
Recognition Cues
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The bottom player breaks your posture and your head drops below their chest line as they reach for your chin
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You feel a forearm blade slide high under your chin onto the carotid line with the choking elbow lifting high
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The bottom player unlocks their ankles and opens the closed guard while keeping the grip glued tight to your neck
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The bottom player shrimps their hips out to one side so their spine is no longer square beneath you and a butterfly hook or knee shield appears
Defensive Options
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Posture up early and pull your head out before the grip locks, keeping your spine stacked and chin up - When: Preventive defense, the moment you feel your posture being broken and the bottom player reaching for your chin
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Drive forward to stack and square your hips back over the bottom player as they try to clear their hips off-line - When: When the grip is already caught and you feel the bottom player opening the guard and shrimping to one side
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Execute the Von Flue choke by dropping your near shoulder into the side of their neck and driving toward their head - When: While the bottom player holds the guillotine and has not yet locked the off-line angle and leg hooks
Position Integration
Closed Guard to Hindulotine is the principal guard-based on-ramp into the Hindulotine sub-system and sits within the broader family of closed-guard front-headlock attacks. It shares its broken-posture trigger with the hip bump sweep and the closed-guard guillotine, so it chains naturally out of the same posture-breaking sequence every closed-guard player drills. Once the Hindulotine is established, the entry hands off to the position’s internal transitions: the guillotine finish, the butterfly sweep with the grip retained, the back take when the opponent turns, and the Darce when they frame. Strategically it converts a defensive-looking guard into an offensive submission hub, giving the bottom player a reachable path from a neutral closed guard into a high-pressure choke that threatens both the finish and positional advancement, which is precisely why it is one of the most commonly taught ways to arrive at the Hindulotine.