Guillotine Choke: Complete BJJ Technique Guide

# Guillotine Choke: Complete BJJ Technique Guide

## What is the Guillotine Choke?

The Guillotine Choke is a fundamental Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique that every practitioner should master. Whether you're a white belt just starting out or an experienced grappler refining your game, understanding the mechanics and timing of this technique will elevate your BJJ.

## How to Perform the Guillotine Choke

Here's a detailed breakdown based on expert instruction:

# Guillotine Choke

All right, guys, let's talk a bit about the guillotine choke, okay? Guilotine choke

is a very powerful choke. It can happen in many different ways, but how we should

understand and start learning about the guillotine. Let's imagine we are standing

here, okay? And I will use one hand to pull his head down. And then the other

hand, I will cover his head. Exactly like that I'm going with my arm over over his

head okay I'm gonna connect my hands right connect my hands and now I can start

pulling up and actually choke him okay so this is a is a choke I'm using like the

blade of my of my arm right underneath his throw and I'm posturing strain here to

actually choke. How can this get even better? I can also use my forearm above his

neck, above his trap. This creates an extra leverage in order to to pull for the

choke. Okay? So I can use my forearm like this and I can start choking him. All

right? The question is,

what about if my opponent's taller than me and he's bigger than me? How can I

create more leverage, right? How can you create leverage with the guillotine? You

have to pull guard, right?

What is very important to talk about is that, especially beginners,

you should never jump guard. You should never jump to close guard. for white belts

is completely banned, you can actually injure your training partner. So that is an

easier way to actually do it. So once you grab around his neck, you have the

guillotine, what you can do? You can step on his foot. So the side you have your

head, you step on his foot. And then you start squatting, and then you close the

guard. Okay? Once you close guard, you're using the leverage of your legs to pull

him down that way and you're using your arms to choke on the opposite way so

basically i'm trying to extend him i'm going like i'm going like this okay

um so what does the how does the guillotine can happen and actually happens a lot

with a beginners. Sometimes

applying the pressure against his neck okay so if you think about to to actually

choke him I need to keep him in front of me so I can use my legs to stretch him

what would be a easy defense a easy way to to actually escape from the guillotine

of course there is many escapes that is many concepts, but the most important

concept is you should always jump to the opposite side of your head.

So if I got Armano here and I'm holding his head with my right arm.

He doesn't want to stay in front of my legs, so he should always jump to the

side. Last turn. Now he's on my side control.

So I don't have my legs to actually create leverage and stretch him. And then very

easily he can start pressing my head here and he end up escaping from the

guillotine. Right?

So this, come here again, Herman, we were talking about the guillotine just with the

neck, okay? But also, that is guillotine that I have his arm inside.

And some people are really good on those because sometimes they have short arms.

So basically, I can get around his neck and the other arm under the arm,

and I connect hands. Since he's in front of me, I can close guard.

Now once I close guard, I'm going to start turning my hip towards the side I have

the head, and then I can choke him from here, all right? So does exist guillotine

with the arm in, okay? Does exist a guillotine with the arm in,

all right? So that is guillotine just with the neck and guillotine with the arm in.

But of course, as a beginning, on the beginning of learning the guillotine,

is always easier you just focus on the guillotine just on the neck, all right?

Hope I was able to explain a bit about the guillotine. Of course,

we could do many different variations from it but this is how you start learning

the basic ways to do the guillotine all right see you next lesson guys

## Key Points to Remember

When drilling the Guillotine Choke, focus on these essential details:

1. **Positioning** — Your body position determines your success rate

2. **Timing** — Wait for the right moment, don't force it

3. **Grip** — Secure proper grips before committing to the technique

4. **Finish** — Follow through completely once you initiate

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many practitioners struggle with the Guillotine Choke because they:

- Rush the technique without proper setup

- Neglect the importance of base and balance

- Forget to control their opponent's reactions

- Don't drill both sides equally

## When to Use the Guillotine Choke

The Guillotine Choke works best when:

- Your opponent's weight distribution creates an opening

- You've set up the technique with proper grips

- You can commit fully to the movement

- You have a follow-up ready if the initial attempt fails

## Track Your Guillotine Choke Progress

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*This technique guide is based on instruction from Professor Henrique, covering the Guillotine Choke as part of the JitsAI Fundamentals Course.*