The New York to Invisible Collar transition represents a critical advancement within the 10th Planet Rubber Guard system, moving from the foundational New York control into one of the most dangerous attacking positions in no-gi grappling. This transition involves releasing the shin grip while maintaining the overhook, then swimming the free hand behind the opponent’s head to establish deep collar-style control on the neck without requiring a gi collar.
Strategically, this transition capitalizes on moments when the opponent focuses on defending the overhook or attempting to restore posture. The hand swim to the back of the head must be explosive yet controlled, threading between the opponent’s shoulder and your own leg while maintaining constant pressure through the overhook. The resulting Invisible Collar position creates immediate choking threats and opens pathways to gogoplata, omoplata, and triangle attacks.
The biomechanics of this transition exploit a fundamental weakness in the opponent’s defensive structure. When trapped in New York, opponents typically focus their defensive attention on the overhook and the shin across their back. The hand controlling the shin appears to be a critical anchor, so when it releases and immediately attacks the neck, opponents often react too slowly to prevent the collar grip establishment. This misdirection is central to the technique’s high success rate at advanced levels.
From Position: New York (Bottom)
Key Attacking Principles
- Maintain overhook pressure throughout the transition - never release the arm control
- The hand swim must be explosive and direct - hesitation allows defensive hand fighting
- Pull the head down immediately upon grip establishment to load their weight forward
- Hip angle adjustment follows the hand swim to maximize control leverage
- Timing the release of shin grip when opponent is focused elsewhere increases success by 40%
- The collar grip should cup the back of the skull, not simply grab the neck
- Core engagement must increase as the shin releases to prevent opponent driving forward
Prerequisites
- Established New York position with deep overhook controlling opponent’s tricep area
- Opponent’s posture fully broken with head and shoulders pulled down toward your chest
- Shin positioned high across opponent’s back with active grip near ankle
- Hip flexibility sufficient to maintain leg position even after releasing shin grip
- Free hand (non-overhook side) positioned to thread past opponent’s shoulder
- Core engaged to prevent opponent from driving forward during transition
Execution Steps
- Secure overhook: Ensure your overhook is deep around the opponent’s tricep with your shoulder tight against their armpit. This grip must remain locked throughout the entire transition and serves as your primary anchor.
- Load opponent forward: Use your shin grip and overhook to pull the opponent’s weight forward and down toward your chest. Their head should be below shoulder level, and they should have minimal posting ability on their trapped arm side.
- Release shin grip: Release your grip on your own shin while maintaining leg position through hip flexor engagement. Your leg should stay wrapped high across their back through active muscular control rather than the hand grip.
- Swim hand to neck: Immediately swim your free hand between the opponent’s shoulder and your own thigh, threading it behind their head. The hand travels in a circular arc, palm facing inward toward their skull.
- Establish collar grip: Cup the back of the opponent’s skull with your palm, fingers wrapping around toward the ear on the opposite side. Pull their head down toward your chest while your wrist applies pressure to the back of their neck.
- Consolidate Invisible Collar: Adjust your hip angle toward the overhook side while pulling the head down with the collar grip. Both arms now control the opponent’s posture - overhook on arm, collar grip on head. Your leg maintains position across their back.
- Begin attack selection: From Invisible Collar, assess opponent’s reactions. If they drive forward, progress to gogoplata setup. If they try to posture, threaten arm attacks. If they remain passive, advance to Zombie or Chill Dog for finishing sequences.
Possible Outcomes
| Result | Position | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Invisible Collar | 65% |
| Failure | New York | 25% |
| Counter | Closed Guard | 10% |
Opponent Counters
- Hand fighting to prevent collar grip establishment by blocking the swimming hand (Effectiveness: High) - Your Response: If they block early, abort to triangle setup as their hand is now inside your guard. If they block late, use your forearm to lever their blocking hand away while completing the grip. → Leads to New York
- Explosive posture recovery attempt as shin grip releases (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Tighten overhook immediately and use their upward momentum to elevate your hips and threaten armbar. Their posture attempt opens the arm if you maintain overhook control. → Leads to Closed Guard
- Driving forward aggressively to flatten you before collar establishes (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Response: Accept the forward pressure and thread your leg for Chill Dog or gogoplata setup. Their drive actually assists these transitions by bringing their head closer. → Leads to New York
- Stripping the overhook by pulling elbow back toward hip during transition (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Response: The extraction attempt during your hand swim creates perfect triangle timing. Shoot your leg over their extracting arm’s shoulder for immediate triangle control. → Leads to Closed Guard
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: What is the primary goal of the New York to Invisible Collar transition? A: The primary goal is to advance from the foundational New York control to the more dominant Invisible Collar position, which adds head control to your existing arm control. This dual control creates immediate choking threats and opens pathways to gogoplata, omoplata, and triangle attacks while preventing the opponent from restoring posture or escaping.
Q2: What must your overhook arm do during the entire transition sequence? A: The overhook arm must maintain constant pressure throughout the transition, actually increasing grip tightness during the hand swim rather than relaxing. This arm serves as your primary anchor - if it loosens, the opponent can extract their arm and escape. The overhook should feel tighter during transition to compensate for releasing the shin grip.
Q3: Your opponent blocks your hand swim with their free hand - what adjustment do you make? A: If they block early, abort the Invisible Collar attempt and transition to triangle setup since their blocking hand is now positioned inside your guard. If they block late (hand is already past their shoulder), use your forearm to lever their blocking hand away while completing the collar grip. Never force through early blocks as this wastes energy and compromises position.
Q4: What is the correct path for your hand when swimming to the collar position? A: The hand threads between the opponent’s shoulder and your own thigh, traveling in a circular arc behind their ear and around to cup the back of their skull. The path is behind the head, not in front of the face. Palm faces inward toward their skull throughout the movement, with fingers eventually wrapping toward the opposite ear.
Q5: How do you maintain leg position across the opponent’s back after releasing your shin grip? A: Active hip flexor engagement must replace the hand grip. Before releasing the shin grip, consciously engage the hip flexors and hamstring to hold the leg in position. The leg should stay wrapped high across their back through muscular control. This requires dedicated flexibility and strength training - practitioners with insufficient hip strength will lose the rubber guard structure.
Q6: When should you NOT attempt the New York to Invisible Collar transition? A: Do not attempt when the opponent has strong posture and stable base, when your overhook is shallow and they’re close to extracting their arm, when you’re fatigued and cannot maintain hip flexor engagement, or when the opponent is actively and effectively hand fighting. The transition requires the opponent’s posture to be broken and their weight loaded forward.
Q7: What immediate options open from successful Invisible Collar establishment? A: From Invisible Collar, you can progress to gogoplata by threading your leg toward their throat, advance to Zombie for deeper control, transition to Chill Dog for finishing sequences, threaten omoplata by rotating toward the overhook side, or attack the trapped arm with kimura or armbar if they focus entirely on defending the collar grip.
Q8: The opponent drives forward aggressively as you release your shin grip - how do you respond? A: Accept their forward pressure and use it to your advantage. Their drive brings their head closer, which assists transitions to Chill Dog or gogoplata setup. Thread your leg toward their throat as they drive in rather than fighting to complete the Invisible Collar. Their aggressive forward movement actually accelerates your path to these submission positions.
Q9: What distinguishes cupping the skull versus grabbing the neck for the collar grip? A: Cupping the skull with your palm provides stronger grip security and better posture control. Fingers wrap toward the opposite ear for maximum coverage while your wrist applies pressure to the back of their neck. Simply grabbing the neck creates a weaker grip that is easier to strip and provides less mechanical advantage for controlling their head position.
Q10: How do you chain a failed Invisible Collar attempt into an alternative attack? A: If the hand swim is blocked, immediately transition to triangle by shooting your leg over their defending arm. If they posture during the attempt, tighten the overhook and threaten armbar using their upward momentum. If they strip the collar grip after establishment, return to New York and reassess. Every failed attempt should flow into the next highest percentage option rather than returning to neutral.
Q11: What is the optimal timing window for releasing the shin grip and initiating the hand swim? A: The optimal window occurs when the opponent shifts their defensive focus to the overhook arm - typically when they attempt to circle their trapped elbow or adjust their hand position to fight the overhook. This moment of divided attention means their free hand is occupied and cannot intercept your swimming hand. Watch for their shoulder to rotate inward toward the overhook, which signals they are focused on arm extraction rather than monitoring your shin-gripping hand.
Q12: What direction of force should you apply with the collar grip once established? A: The force vector is downward and toward your own chest, pulling the opponent’s head into your sternum while your wrist creates a fulcrum on the back of their neck. Avoid pulling laterally or away from your body, which weakens the grip. The downward pull loads their weight onto your chest and eliminates their ability to generate upward posture recovery force. Simultaneously angle your hips toward the overhook side to create a diagonal pull that further compromises their structural integrity.
Safety Considerations
The New York to Invisible Collar transition is generally low-risk for both practitioners when executed properly. The primary safety concern involves neck strain on the bottom player if they attempt the transition with insufficient hip flexibility, potentially hyperextending the lower back or straining hip flexors. Always warm up thoroughly before practicing rubber guard techniques. For the top player, the sudden head control can create neck compression - tap immediately if the collar grip creates breathing difficulty or neck pain. Training partners should communicate clearly about pressure levels and release grips immediately upon tap. Avoid explosive movements that could cause whiplash-type injuries to either person’s neck.