There is no shortage of sneaky moves that can put your
opponent in unexpected positions, so it’s impossible to really list them all.
But here are a few really specific situations that have put even the most
experienced practitioners in some bad spots. There is no doubt that many
of you will have more to add to this list! But here are three to start:
- Loop
Choke from half-guard.
The loop choke is a long-time favorite for a lot of athletes
especially starting at blue belt. You’ll very often find them using the loop
choke as their go-to emergency move. It can be applied from many positions, but
the sneakiest version is when you’re playing half-guard. You get your
cross-collar grip and loosen your half-guard to give your opponent a false
sense of security. When they commit to the pass, the often dip their head too
low, allowing you to loop their collar around their necks and throwing yourself
under them, tightening the choke.
Often when you see someone attempt this in the black belt
division, both athletes will keep rolling together, usually until they are out
of bounds. This is because one of the escapes is to roll with the choke quicker
than your attacking opponent. Marcelino Freitas is one example of an athlete
who loves doing this attack and has had some crazy rolls (literally) in
competitions. They can be found on YouTube.
- Ezekiel
Choke against deep half-guard.
In late 2014, Renzo Gracie revealed some dirty little
secrets at his seminar at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo. He told the story of how he
grew up around the man who invented the half guard, Gordo, and his uncle,
Rilion, who was known to have a killer guard. Being around two such dangerous
guard players, Renzo admitted that it was hard to really survive when rolling.
But over time, he had become immune to these guards and found one simple
solution to avoiding deep half-guard problems.
The answer to this dilemma was the use of an Ezekiel choke
over your opponent's head when they try to tuck their heads beneath your base to
enter the deep-half guard. Renzo called it “putting the bag over the head”. He
gripped the inside of his sleeve and wrapped his forearm around his opponent’s
head to apply pressure for the tap. You’d be surprised how simple it really is
to get the catch. The beauty of this technique is also that it can be applied
for a bunch of other positions – like escaping from north-south.
- Lapel
Choke from armbar.
In a recent popular instructional video from Jits Magazine,
Nova Uniao professor Cesar Rezek demonstrated what may be one of the sneakiest
and easiest techniques to pull off on your opponent. It is a lapel choke for
when your opponent is trying to escape your armbar attempt.
In the traditional armbar, you usually have one leg over
your opponent’s face. To escape, they must remove that leg from their face and
make their way backwards over that same leg. At this moment, you can pull your
lapel around their neck. To make the explanation simpler, below is the link for
this very awesome technique.
http://jitsmagazine.com/video/sneak-choke-from-armbar-position-cesar-rezek
