The Anaconda choke is part of the front headlock family which means it ties in with guillotines, darce’s and similar variants such as neckties as well as cradle holds. In short, if you can get a headlock from almost any position, then there’s always the possibility of attacking the Anaconda submission. This is a similar concept to attacking the Kimura; if you learn the grip as an idea then suddenly it is available from many spots. Due to this, it’s massively important to add the Anaconda to your arsenal.
Too often in BJJ, practitioners focus on the guillotine choke or darce, without giving the Anaconda as much attention. This only makes your front headlock attacks suffer as a result, due to lacking the diversity that it brings. Below we will look at the Anaconda choke in detail, looking at its entries, finishing mechanics and how and why to use it.
Table of Contents
Entries into the Anaconda Choke
The first entry we will look at is probably the most common which is from the sprawl position against the opponent’s turtle. Similarly, this is a common entry to darce and guillotine chokes which have similar mechanics. From here, you want to get a headlock over the head of the opponent. However, from there, you want to make a rear-naked choke grip around the arm of the opponent and link both grips. In other words, you are doing a similar entry to the darce, but there is a key difference.
When attacking the darce, you have the same rear naked grip but it starts from going under the armpit of the opponent, through to their neck. The Anaconda is different due to starting at the neck and ending under the armpit.
Some people mistakenly think the two are the same and although they’re similar, there’s a big difference. The choke is roughly the same as it acts like an arm triangle. However, it finishes differently due to the inverse grip. Because of this, you will need to finish the Anaconda very differently which we shall go into detail with later. However, for now it’s important to remember to get a headlock from the turtle and thread your arm under the neck through to the armpit, then reach your bicep with this arm to make a rear naked grip.
The next entry we shall focus on is from the top half guard position. Again, this has similarities with the darce as it is also entered from here when the opponent has the underhook on you from the bottom. However, due to being slightly different, the Anaconda starts with a headlock. Imagine being in top half guard and diving in for a guillotine. Whilst this is doable, sometimes it’s more of a crank as you can’t get under their neck fully.
The good thing with the Anaconda is that you just need to get a chinstrap from here and then you can attack. With the chinstrap headlock, you can then fall to the side so you’re facing the opponent. If you try a guillotine from here, sometimes they can come up and sweep you. As you fall, the idea is to once again thread your arm under their neck and armpit to connect with your other arm.
At this point, you will once again have a position similar to a darce choke where their shoulder is trapped, pushing into their carotid artery, whilst your forearm cuts off the blood from their other carotid artery. At this point, you have now entered the Anaconda and can now start thinking of ways to submit the opponent.
Finishing the Anaconda Choke
Unlike the darce, the Anaconda’s finishing mechanics are quite different. With the darce, the idea is to put the opponent on their side which is the same as the Anaconda, but getting there and finishing is quite different.
From the turtle, you have to stay heavy on the head of the opponent to keep their posture down. From here, you then want to do a gator roll to the side of their arm. So basically, you should have a grip around their arm which connects to your head; the goal is to bring this arm inwards to take away any base that the arm offered.
When the arm is pulled in, you then want to tuck your head under the opponent and roll to this side. Remember to keep the arm grip tight to take them with you. Here, you should end facing your opponent with both you and them on your sides. At this point, you should snake upwards a little to put their head below yours and in line with your stomach.
This is because you should crush their head downwards with your stomach which adds further pressure to the choke. Simultaneously, you should try and entangle your legs together to stop them from running away. Although this isn’t essential, it helps keep contact and engage with the choke more.
Remember, you shouldn’t be squeezing your arms with all your might. Instead, you should be bringing your knees inwards and your chest downards. This puts immense pressure on the choke due to the pressure put on the neck of the opponent. Imagine a trash compactor getting tighter and tighter – that is how the Anaconda is finished. With this said, it could be argued the Anaconda is a tighter finish compared to the darce.
From the top half guard, the finish is the same. This time you don’t need to do a gator roll, instead you just need to fall into the position after securing the headlock. Once done, you are now in the finishing position. Remember to get your chest pushing into the head of the opponent whilst trying to entangle the legs. At the same time it is equally important to make sure your arm grips are tight to avoid the head escaping, without blowing your energy on a squeeze at the same time.
Problems when attempting the Anaconda roll
One of the main issues when setting up the Anaconda can be rolling under the opponent and getting them to follow you. Obviously, if you do this badly then you will just roll under the opponent and end up in a bad position. There are generally a few reasons for this. The first reason is not controlling the arm. As mentioned, this is important as it acts as a base. Without the base, the opponent will fall and roll, but if they manage to keep their arm on the ground, it becomes significantly harder and more likely to fail. With this in mind, it’s very important to remove the arm before doing the roll.
The second issue is often breaking the posture, especially against significantly larger opposition. Of course, all submissions are harder against bigger, stronger people so bare this in mind. If you try to roll and the opponent’s head pops out then they can posture up. Again, it results in the opponent staying stationary whilst you fall underneath them. In short, always make sure that your weight is on the opponent before the roll and to remove the arm whilst rolling under.
Similarly, when attempting the Anaconda from top half guard, you want to keep a good wrap around the opponent’s head whilst dropping to your side. Otherwise, they may posture up and gain a superior position. By now, you should have noted that controlling posture is very important when attacking the submission, otherwise you can lose everything.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned, it’s best to think about front headlock chokes as a system, rather than isolated moves on their own. For example, if you can pretend to attack a darce from turtle, the opponent may defend by using their hand to block their neck. Instead of giving up, the main goal here would be to switch to an Anaconda grip with your other arm and use the darce as a trap. With this said, if you can build a triple attack of darces, guillotines and Anaconda chokes then that would be the best way to attack due to having multiple threats.
In summary, the Anaconda is a fantastic choke that should be learned by all who are serious and strangles from the front. If it’s good enough for the Mendes brothers who used it throughout their careers at the highest levels, then it should be good enough for just about anyone. Not only this but when you become confident in attacking Anaconda’s you will start seeing them and hitting them from almost anywhere!
