The rear naked choke (RNC), is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), the rear naked choke ranks as one of the most effective and essential submissions. This technique could be the most recognized submission in all of combat sports. In fact, even most people that don’t take part in martial arts themselves can identify this popular finish.
The beauty of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is that it enables you to defeat virtually anyone while controlling the amount of damage you inflict. Based entirely on effective use of leverage, you can use this submission to defeat an opponent of any size. This is the essence of BJJ. Regardless of an opponent size, strength, or abilities, if you can seize the back position and lock one in, there’s little anyone can do to keep from succumbing to its power.
We learn and experience the technique quite early in our training and most of the time it’s a bit of a lightbulb moment for beginners. Who’d have thought that wrapping your arm around someone’s neck and squeezing could be such an intricate process.
The rear-naked choke, with the proper setup, is considered very difficult to escape.
Caution: Unless executed under proper instruction, please do not attempt this chokeholds on your own!
Read also: Mastering the RNC
Craig Jones: details on finishing the rear naked choke
Understanding the Technique
The goal of the rear naked choke is actually to cut off the blood supply to the brain, not obstruct the air passage. Cutting off blood supply results in unconsciousness within five to ten seconds, while cutting off air supply might take minutes. As per usual, Danaher imparts his wisdom on the masses with explaining why he uses the term strangle rather than choke. As he explains, a strangle is the constriction of blood and a choke implies an air obstruction.
There’s quite a bit going on inside that neck, and as Danaher explains its tough to have one without a bit of the other but ultimately, we’re looking to constrict blood for the best results.
According to a scientific study, the rear-naked choke is the 6th fastest choke to render an opponent unconscious.
Step-by-Step Application
Specifically, the rear naked choke is usually applied from the back mount, which is widely considered the strongest position in BJJ. Its advantages are many, but most importantly, the person trapped in this position can’t see their opponent. That means if you get into back mount, you’re in a position to launch attacks with little fear of retribution.
Here’s a step by step breakdown of the sequence leading up to the finish:
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- Stopping Rotation: In order to begin acquiring the choke, Danaher must stop the rotation of his opponent’s body. To do this he uses wrist control on the under-hook side and his elbow as a pinching mechanism on his partner’s shoulder, shutting down rotation on the over hook side.
- Creating Space: As Danaher explains, we need to have a certain amount of space between the chin and the chest to achieve strangulation. More often than not, unless you’ve caught your opponent in transition and by surprise this area will be closed off and we’ll need to find ways to penetrate it. Danaher’s simple answer is the width of your own wrist.
- Penetrating the Space: Danaher uses the metaphor here of a knife to describe the situation were faced with. WE need to start with the absolute thinnest part of entire limb to begin getting under the chin. TO do this, Danaher constructs a flattened fist of his hand, resting his thumb knuckle on his index finger and creating a very small wedge. He starts behind the ear, using this tiny wedge and begins to dig in to the space underneath he jaw.
- Extending Fingers: Once the thumb penetrates the space, the fingers are next. Danaher allows the tiny fist he’s made to open and fans his fingers out, using them to crawl across his partner’s upper chest area.
- Securing the Wrist: As the thumb and fingers have worked their way in to the space, this leaves only the wrist to follow. Once the wrist has entered the space, Danaher now employs a technical trick to complete the process. He creates a hump in his wrist, very quickly and only for a split second, to enter the forearm in to the space. With the critical space under the chin acquired, Danaher proceeds to begin wrapping the neck.
- Wrapping the Neck: Notice how Danaher forms his hand in to a cup and reaches deep behind his partners shoulder, almost as if he’s reaching for the spine. This keeps his hand safe from being captured when his opponent begins to dig for the forearm to stop the sequence of events. Don’t forget to stay sneaky here. Danaher demonstrates the common mistake of bringing the free arm in to a region where it can be easily grabbed, again halting our progress. Danaher now begins to crawl his hands deeper, solidifying the position.
- Finishing the Strangle: Danaher advises us to use a palm down configuration of the hand and secures the opposite shoulder. To finish the strangle, Danaher places his chin over his wrist, locking it in place and then begins to squeeze with the addition of one very important detail. He rotates toward his choking arm as applies the squeeze.
From the back mount, standing directly behind a kneeling opponent with an over-and-under grip: one hand under the armpit and the other over the shoulder. Begin the choke by creating space about the width of your wrist between the opponent’s chin and chest. Your opponent will likely grab your hand and turn their chin down to stop the strangulation. If this happens, dig the knuckle of your thumb behind their ear and slowly work it over and beneath their jaw. Once the thumb penetrates, extend your fingers and walk them across until your wrist is in place. Now, you can lift and bring your elbow around to secure the choke. Finish the choke by taking your elbow over the opponent’s shoulder and rotating your body rather than squeezing with your arms. If done correctly, they should either tap out quickly or lose consciousness; you need to pay close attention and release the hold immediately when they tap or even if there is a small possibility they went unconscious, in order to avoid injury.
Everything you need to set yourself up for rear naked strangle success is right here.
The safest place to be in a fight, while standing, is in a clinch. From the clinch, your opponent’s striking power is almost entirely eliminated. Once you establish the clinch, there is a good chance that they will get desperate and try to hit you in the face. You have already learned how to establish the clinch if they attempt to knock you out while standing.
The Haymaker Punch Defense is used when a determined attacker comes at you from a distance with the objective of putting all of their bodyweight behind one fight-ending punch.
The beauty of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is that it enables you to defeat virtually anyone while controlling the amount of damage you inflict.
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Once you complete the Gracie Combatives course online, or at a Certified Training Center, you may test for your Gracie Combatives belt if you are at least 14 years of age.
Variations of the Rear Naked Choke
There are several variations of the rear naked choke, each with its nuances. Here are a few notable ones:
- Palm to Palm: This variation has the supporting hand clasp the hand of the choking arm, allowing more pressure to be applied to the neck, but losing some of the control of the head. This alters the choke somewhat so that it is more likely to be applied as an airway-restricting choke or mixed blood and air choke, which results in more pain but a slower choke-out. As such, this technique is less frequently used at advanced levels in Judo. Nonetheless, it has seen some successful applications in mixed martial arts competition: for instance, it was used by Fedor Emelianenko, a heavyweight champion in PRIDE, to defeat Kazuyuki Fujita at the PRIDE 26 event in 2003. Fujita tapped out about five seconds after the choke was applied. He used it again to defeat former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds. Sylvia tapped out immediately once the choke was sunk in, and after the fight described it as being very painful. Anderson Silva also used the clasping hands variation when he defeated Dan Henderson in the UFC.
- Figure-Four: The attacker places one of their legs across the stomach or lower chest of the victim. They then place their other leg over their shin, creating a figure-four with their legs. This allows them to limit movement and stay close to the back of their victim, also possibly immobilising the victim's arms via the attacker's legs if flexible/long enough. This technique was used by Anderson Silva against Dan Henderson and by Jim Miller against Melvin Guillard.
- Hooks: In this version, the attacker places their legs inside the victim's legs. They then move their legs out, placing their shin behind the victim's knees, essentially using their shins and feet as hooks to control the victim's legs. This variation leaves the attacker open to the possibility of leglocks from their opponent, as they are attacking the choke.
When standing, the legs can either pull the opponent down or trip them, transitioning to kneeling/sitting or lying down, or strike the opponent.
Defending Against the Rear Naked Choke
Defending against a rear naked choke is a crucial skill in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). The best defense is prevention, but that’s easier said than done. Try to avoid letting your opponent get on your back and secure the rear mount, but if they do, you have to immediately prevent them from connecting their hands. Keep your shoulders up and chin down to make it hard for them to finish the choke. If you can do this long enough, they may get bored or lose focus, creating an opening. Before the choke is locked in, your opponent’s hands will come across your throat, giving you a chance to intercept their wrist.
Some common defenses include tucking the chin to prevent the choking arm from applying pressure to the neck. However, the person applying the choke can either use their other hand to pull the defender's head backwards, revealing the neck and lock in the choke, or they can apply the choke directly to the chin, which is considered a crank and is painful and will likely force the defender to tap.
Always drive to the underhook side, then get your head and shoulders on the ground, and work on getting your hips down. Your last chance if the rear naked choke is fully locke is to grabs their wrist with one hand while the other goes behind your head. Pull the choking hand off your neck, jam it under your armpit, and hold it. If they are holding your neck with their fingers, pry them free and switch to a two-hand grip on their wrist.
As with all choke defenses, the first step is to always fight the choking arm, which will maximize the defender's chance of escaping.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The rear naked choke is arguably the most effective submission in all of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to execute. One common mistake fighters often make is grabbing the bicep when the come around, leaving the arm dangling. This exposes the arm, allowing the opponent to grab it and potentially hyperextend your elbow if you’re not careful. Instead, when you come around the neck, quickly shoot your hand directly behind their neck so you don’t expose it for your opponent to grab. Another common mistake is placing your forearm across the front of your opponent’s throat, which causes pain but doesn’t properly strangle and, therefore, put them to sleep quickly.
Hadaka-Jime: The No-Gi Variation
Hadaka-jime, or Rear Naked Choke, is a killer submission. This technique is executed without the use of the opponent's clothing. This categorizes it as a "no gi" choke. Hadaka-jime is a blood choke.
The key feature that sets Hadaka-Jime apart from other Judo chokes is that it doesn't rely on the opponent's clothing, namely their gi lapel, to create the choking tourniquet. It digs the blade of the wrist into the carotid sinus , similar to the hand clasp method and uses a lever motion, helped by the underhand. It is faster to apply, requiring less strength than the figure four/mixed-martial arts version, but it is more difficult to learn.
Hadaka Jime is also recognized as Hadaka-Jime-San in Danzan Ryu jujitsu's twenty-five techniques in the Shimete list. Danzan Ryu also recognizes the Guillotine choke as Hadaka-Jime-Ichi.
There are three main forms of Hadaka-Jime:
- Standing neck-break.
- Choke with the forearm.
- Figure-4 choke with the forearm.
In Version 1, the forearm presses against the carotid artery, cutting off blood to the head. The choke is set up in the traditional way (top left). The choke is applied, creating a garrote around the neck at the carotids (top right). In the second version, the fingers of the free hand more towards the bicep (bottom left). The hand tucks behind the neck, completing the choke (bottom right).
In these examples, the person executes the choke when the opponent is sitting. Notice that one of his legs is projected near the side of the body to provide support.
The top picture shows the hand position for the first variation. The bottom shows the hand and arm position for the second variation.
| Technique | Description | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Palm to Palm | Clasping hands for more pressure. | More pressure, less head control. |
| Figure-Four | Legs locked in a figure-four around the opponent. | Limits movement, immobilizes arms. |
| Hooks | Using shins and feet as hooks to control legs. | Controls legs, but vulnerable to leglocks. |
| Hadaka-Jime | No-Gi version using forearm pressure. | Faster application, difficult to learn. |
Historical Context
The Sleeper Hold was originated in professional wrestling by Evan Lewis in the 1880s when pro wrestling was still a legitimate contest. Lewis earned the nickname "Strangler" for his use of the hold and was an accomplished catch wrestler using the hold, defeating Ernst Roeber for the world championship before eventually losing the title to Martin Burns.
Ryron and Rener Gracie are the eldest grandsons of Grand Master Helio Gracie, the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Their father is Rorion Gracie, one of the world’s foremost experts in self-defense. In 1993, Rorion created the Ultimate Fighting Championship to showcase the supremacy of the family’s self-defense system in a realistic “no holds barred” confrontation against all comers. Rorion’s younger brother, Royce, won 3 of the first 4 UFC tournaments proving that the leverage-based techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu provided the most reliable way to defeat a larger, more athletic opponent.
Rorion introduced his sons to the art as soon as they could walk. As children, they watched him teach private classes in their garage in Southern California. But, it wasn’t until they observed their father and uncles - Royce, Rickson, and Royler - easily winning challenge matches that they began to comprehend fully the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Even more important, Ryron and Rener recognized the profound impact the family’s art had on all who studied it. The life changing transformations of Gracie University students motivated the brothers to teach the art. While constantly perfecting their physical techniques, they worked equally hard to master the powerfully effective instruction methods developed by their forbearers.