The knee on neck choke is a submission hold that relates to the knee on belly position. Instead of using your knee on the sternum of the opponent, it is instead held on their neck. With this said, it is often used as a submission which is effectively a blood choke by shutting down the carotid artery. This differs from the knee on belly which is used as a controlled position.
Throughout the many years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s history, this choke was thought of in fairly obscure terms, up until the death of George Floyd. Here, the law enforcer Derek Chauvin used the knee on neck on Floyd which ended up killing him.
So, how does the knee on neck choke work?
Although the choke is considered taboo these days, it is still legal in BJJ under all rulesets. Remember, the idea of BJJ is ultimately to submit the opponent. Of course, there is a huge difference between doing this in a controlled environment such as a gym or competition, compared to a police officer abusing their power on the streets.
With this out the way, the knee on neck works by putting the opponent’s body on the floor. This can be with their belly towards the ground, or facing up. Then, you place your knee onto the carotid artery and press down. Due to the gravitational pressure of the knee combined with your body weight, the result stops blood from traveling to the brain. Usually, a blood choke takes roughly 3 seconds until the subject is rendered unconscious.
How common is the knee on neck choke in BJJ?
In all honesty, this choke is very rare as it relies on a level of control that is hard to obtain during a match. For instance, you would have to nullify the opponent’s arms which would mean they were unable to defend properly. This could be done by trapping the one arm with your other leg, or by pulling their collar up in the gi.
As a result, you could claim that this move lacks significant control that is found with other submissions. In terms of its success-rate, it isn’t really taught because it is considered low-percentage. For instance, in a regular class it’s not commonly taught whatsoever. Because of this, it’s incredibly rare to see, especially at competition level.
In recent years, the only name of note to successfully use this move is Cyborg Abreu. It should be noted that he also used this as a submission on opponents who had far less skill than himself, as he is considered an elite competitor, who is one of the best in the world.
This technique can be seen in the below video, at the 1.30 minute mark.
