Modern jiu jitsu is becoming more and more popular these days that even white belts attempt berimbolos! Ok flashy jiu jitsu players you made the Fuhrer angry!
Take a chill pill Adolf!
No matter how you perceive these evolutions to be, whether you look at it as something practical or impractical; you can't ignore the fact that these moves are built on fundamentals. And despite the growing number of dela riva, reverse dela riva and inverted guards on local and international comps; nobody on their right mind would claim that the basics are outdated and obsolete!
Let Kron Gracie remind you of what the basics is all about! Thanks BishopBJJ.com for this slick highlight.
Deep understanding of the basics are necessary in order to be effective in modern jiu jitsu. I for one don't oppose the new trends in the sport but, I prefer to evolve without missing any of my basics.
And now......Oss and Roll pays homage to the simplest choke there is: The Cross Collar Choke.
It is the very first choke I learned in BJJ and to be honest, it is my all time favorite choke. The thing I love about this choke is that it can be done from various positions including the closed guard, top position, half guard top or bottom, knee on belly or even on north south. The concept of this choke is simple to understand yet, most people (including myself) miss the choke a lot because of different reasons.
For instance, from the guard, here are common mistakes that I used to encounter why I just can't hit it!
1. Wrong placement of either or both the first arm and the second blocking arm.
2. Pulling the choke outward.
3. Not using the legs to limit the opponent from posturing up.
4. And attempting the choke when the opponent's posture is up
On mount position, it is a different story though. I personally find the full mount a very hard position to maintain especially with wild stallions constantly bridging making you reset your cross collar choke set up over and over again.To understand the choke better, I started dissecting the ideal effects of the cross collar choke to an opponent.
What Happens in a Blood Choke?
The first time I saw the vagus nerve (alive and in flesh) was in an operating table during a medical mission. The tumor was so deep that it reached areas enough for the vagal nerve and the other larger vessels to be visible. If I remember it correctly it was a tumor that has pathologically progressed for a long time. Known as Cranial Nerve 10, it is the longest cranial nerve that runs down your stomach. In this particular case, I saw the vagal nerve covered in sheath together with the carotid artery and the jugular vein. For a cross choke to sink in deep, it is important to hit this spot. It creates both a block on your opponent's carotid artery while initiating vagal stimulation at the same time.
One of the no-nos in physical assessment is to palpate both sides of the neck. Overly sensitive vagal nerve could shut someone down! Causing irregular heart beat, it creates vasovagal reflex or the feeling of being light headed, then lights out. If you’ve heard of the case of atwelve fourteen year old who accidentally killed his cousin with a rear naked choke, this is the the perfect example of a well placed blood choke. Ischemia can happen fast if the choke has been sinked in for too long and basically it kills the neurons fast. Within 3 minutes without oxygen, the brain could experience irreparable neurologic damages and even death. You may want to check out the Gracie Breakdown for this particular case.
One of the no-nos in physical assessment is to palpate both sides of the neck. Overly sensitive vagal nerve could shut someone down! Causing irregular heart beat, it creates vasovagal reflex or the feeling of being light headed, then lights out. If you’ve heard of the case of a
Stimulation of the vagal nerve signals a decrease in the body’s heart rate. In addition to vagal stimulation, the carotid is also blocked when a choke is in place making blood supply even poorer. This acts as a double whammy for your brain to experience hypoxia. Hypoxia means that there is poor perfusion to your brain signaling a red light to all the unnecessary activities to conserve whatever oxygen is left to the brain and prioritize the most important functions necessary for survival. And from there it’s either tap or sleep!
How to Properly Sink Your Simple Choke
Roger Gracie is the best model for cross chokes. Simple yet high percentage and it works for high level competition, Roger reiterated these points finishing opponents on top using cross chokes. It’s a simple yet effective choke but there are key points that you need to address. Watch this.
The radial bone plays 80% of the work when it comes to the cross choke. This will be the part of your arm that will be blocking opponent’s carotid arteries and doing all the necessary vagal stimulation. Different practitioners may have unique approaches to finishing the choke. For instance, there are those that bump the neck with their wrist to tighten the choke. On my part though, I prefer a radial bone to do the job.
The other remaining part of the cross collar choke that you will need to address is the second arm across to block the other side of the neck. Again, there are so many variants on how you can block the other side. Some actually use the thumb in while there are also those that grab by the material with their thumb outside the collar. The next video will show another way to finish the cross choke by using four fingers in to create a natural movement for the biceps to do a curling motion.
Since I prefer to choke with the second hand completely out of the collar, I inch closer to the neck by using the forearm to make the opponent look the other way and expose the neck. Roger prefers to call it the Gillette while some would call this move shaving.
Lastly, the position of the arm is important in shrinking the space for the neck.. Elbows should be kept to the rib to maintain a tight cross choke choke. Let Kron tell you more about how Japanese cross chokes differ from that performed by Helio.
Fast forward 1:40 mark onwards to listen to insightful use of cross chokes and the closed guard
