The Howdy choke is a variation of the darce choke without the arm of the opponent being inside, because of this it’s sometimes referred to as an ‘armless darce’ or ‘breast stroke’ choke as it mimics those positions. This is an uncommon position in BJJ but is nonetheless solid and can be used to submit or transition to other positions.
Usually entered from top side control, it involves your opponent facing towards you from the bottom. Although some people may struggle finishing the choke, the benefits of the position are that it’s great for control and can often submit the opponent due to being a painful neck crank instead. Below we will analyse the Howdy choke in more detail.
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Entries into the Howdy choke
One of the main entries to the Howdy choke is from the top scarfhold position. Whilst here, you can pretend to step over the head of the opponent, as if going to the north south position. Obviously, if the opponent lets you then the choke isn’t available, but you will have entered a straight armlock as their nearside arm will be trapped against your hip.
With this in mind, most people will naturally push your leg away from their head to defend, which is done with their far arm. Remember, it’s the far arm that needs to come over to attack the choke, otherwise it isn’t available.
Once the far arm is over you then need to collect it and pin the opponent’s shoulder into their neck by putting your chest on top of their shoulder. This is the same position as the darce but without your arm through their armpit. Instead, your arm stays around the back of the opponent. From there, your other arm should thread around the head of the opponent and then connect with the other arm.
To finish the choke, you then connect your arms in a rear naked choke hold and squeeze, as you would with a darce. The mechanics behind the submission are that the shoulder of the opponent is being forced into their one carotid artery, whilst your arm should be tightly wrapped around the other carotid artery.
Another entry is less proactive and is based more on chance. This is when you have the opponent in regular side control and they turn into you. Naturally, a lot of people are taught to turn into you as opposed to away from you where their back is now vulnerable. Most seasoned practitioners will not turn in with their arm exposed due to fear of the darce choke, so this is where you can opt for the Howdy choke. Again, this involves quickly gluing their shoulder into their neck with your chest and then connected your arms with the rear naked grip.
Finishing the Howdy choke and other available options
Unlike the darce, the Howdy choke is less high percentage. The reason for this is it requires more specific positioning of your body which means your technique has to be perfect to create a blood choke. In other words, you may be able to finish the darce with less precision and more of a broad technique.
Acknowledging this, you need to make sure the opponent’s shoulder is firmly hitting their carotid artery otherwise the choke won’t work. If this happens, then you may need to adjust your body position in a similar way to adjusting the arm triangle. This involves going down on the opponent’s body and then back upwards to re-apply pressure into the shoulder. Whilst this should make the finish more likely, it still may not be enough as in BJJ, nothing is ever perfect.
If this happens, then you may chose to finish as a neck crank instead of choke. The good thing about this when compared to other neck cranks is that the position has great control over the opponent so even if it fails, you won’t lose the position. To finish this, you may need more brute force rather than skilled technique. This involves squeezing your arms around the head and shoulder to apply massive force on the neck. Remember, with cranks it’s ok to squeeze, but don’t get too carried away as otherwise you may burn your energy if it fails.
If the crank doesn’t finish the opponent then you still have other options, such as going for the darce. Mechanically, the Howdy choke is the darce without the arm in, so you could literally put the arm through if needed. One issue with this is that the darce has less control as you have to relieve pressure from the upper body.
As well as this, you can also use it to transition to the mount. The benefit of the Howdy position is that your opponent’s body is split into two positions. Because of this, their upper body is twisted whilst the legs are straight. As the opponent is often focused on the pain of the upper body, you can quite easily slip over into the mount position.
If this happens then you can maintain the position or even use it to set up an arm triangle. Because the mount is entered with the opponent’s arm over their side, the arm triangle is easily available. If, however they manage to free their arm during the transition then you will have to settle for mount instead.
Final Thoughts on The Howdy Choke
Although the actual Howdy choke may not be massively high percentage as a choke, it is a great way of controlling the opponent and draining their energy. Because of this, it can be used to get to mount, change into other submissions and also work as an effective neck crank. Not only this, but the possibilities for other moves from the Howdy position get even better when used in the gi.
Overall, the Howdy choke is a good move that opens up other doors. Although it’s thought to be low percentage, if you understand its mechanics and drill it enough, then eventually you will also begin hitting it as a blood choke as well. With this in mind, the Howdy choke is a great, diverse submission that can also chain into other offensive moves.
