The guillotine is a classic choke in many martial arts, including BJJ. It is intuitive, prevalent, and effective at all levels. But why is this choke named after an execution device so powerful and common?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guillotine choke is a move where you surround the neck of the opponent with your arms, stopping the blood flow to the neck, air to the lungs, or a bit of both, to force him to surrender. Like any other blood choke, the guillotine has the potential to put someone to sleep very quickly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The guillotine has many variations, entries, and defenses. As easy as it looks, finishing consistently against experienced grapplers is tricky. As a move all grapplers must master, a detailed look at all of its aspects is well worth your time reading, watching, and practicing on the mats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guillotine choke is among the most popular chokeholds in BJJ and many other grappling martial arts. It’s one of the first techniques taught to white belts, and it remains widespread even at the highest level of jiujitsu and MMA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guillotine is a choke applied from the front of the opponent, and the arms encircle the head and pressure the neck. His head is under the armpit, while the forearm pressures the neck. The choke is named after the very effective execution device widely used in the years of the French Revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A guillotine can be either a blood or an air choke, depending on the angle. When it’s a blood choke, the forearm presses the carotid arteries and stops the blood flow to the brain, while when the tension is on the trachea, it becomes an air choke. In reality, the guillotine is often a bit of both, making it even worse to endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guillotine is a very versatile move that can be applied from many places, which we will take a more detailed look at in the variations paragraph. But the most common variation is from a front headlock, making it a perfect weapon to counter careless takedowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The front headlock is a common position, usually resulting from a failed takedown attempt or a well-timed snap-down. The position is common in wrestling, but strangles are not allowed there, and the headlock serves only as a transition. But BJJ has many choke options from the position, with the guillotine being the primary one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common variation of the guillotine is done from a closed guard, where you end up when you are taken down. The guillotine is highly effective against wrestlers who enter with double-leg takedowns with their heads unprotected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is even more valid for self-defense, where people are rarely aware. If someone is trying to take you down, I can almost guarantee you there is a window for a guillotine choke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>What Is The Guillotine Choke?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When To Use The Guillotine?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>How To Do a Guillotine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n