In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you’ll often hear people talk about blood chokes and air chokes as if they’re two different things. This is because they are two different things and have different consequences in terms of attacking and defending chokes.
Here, we shall break down exactly what the difference is between blood chokes and air chokes, and ultimately try to figure out what choke is the best and most effective. In doing this, we shall also be looking at examples, as well as explaining the physiological choking mechanics behind each method and how they work.
Table of Contents
What is a blood choke?
Truth be told, practically all of the chokes taught in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are blood chokes. There’s a common misconception at times that guillotines or ezekiel chokes aren’t blood chokes, but in reality they are (or at least should be).
In short, a blood choke is when you cut off the carotid arteries and stop the blood supply getting to the brain. With not enough blood going to the brain, you will eventually pass out and go unconscious. For instance, with a triangle choke, you will cut off either side of the neck, effectively cutting out the blood from either carotid artery.
However, with a bow and arrow choke, the mechanics are slightly different. Here, you can also cut off the blood to the brain by cutting off one side artery, instead of both. If done tightly enough and with enough force, your brain will be deprived of blood, meaning that even one blocked artery is enough to render someone unconscious.
In theory, most chokes should have an element of blood deprivation about them. Even if you purposely tried not to cut off someone’s blood supply whilst choking them, this would still be a very difficult task to achieve. Therefore, the vast majority of chokes in BJJ fall under this category.
What is an air choke?
An air choke is when you deprive someone of air to their brain by stopping them from breathing properly. Usually, this is done by blocking off the trachea which is more commonly known as the windpipe. Typically, most chokes will not fall into this category and are less common than a blood choke as a result.
An example of an air choke could be a guillotine that intentionally puts pressure on the trachea, as opposed to the carotid arteries. Here, you could use your forearm as a bar to cut off the oxygen supply to the brain. If the trachea is closed for long enough, then eventually you wouldn’t be able to get air to the brain, which would result in unconsciousness.
Similarly, some ezekiel chokes can use a similar forearm bar method, as can some forms of the short choke. The issue with this is that typically it’s harder to finish compared to a blood choke as they require more brute force and time to sink in, whereas a blood choke can put people unconscious quicker and with less energy required.
Having said this, even if you did try an ezekiel choke or guillotine that was purely an air choke, there would probably be an element of blood deprivation too which would mean it was a mix of the two methods.
One very method of using an air choke is by this method shown below that was pulled off by Josh Barnett in a superfight against Dean Lister. Here, Barnett did not touch Lister’s windpipe but instead compressed the air from his stomach. As Barnett puts it, the choke is ‘akin to drowning’. It should be noted though, that this choke is very rare.
What is best, a blood choke or an air choke?
As alluded to, blood chokes are more clean and efficient from a strangulation standpoint. Often, people will tap to air chokes due to the discomfort of the trachea getting squashed, whereas they will tap to a blood choke more out of necessity rather than fear.
At the same time, air chokes should be feared for different reasons. Usually, the reason people get sore throats is when the trachea is damaged, which is a common occurrence with newer practitioners. Although very rare, there are some cases of tracheas suffering permanent damage or collapsing due to hard air chokes as they can compress the windpipe much easier than an air choke.
The result is that within the BJJ community, air chokes can sometimes be frowned upon. In many ways, they’re still a legit method, but can be seen as a dirty move as they can cause more damage compared to a blood choke. Similarly, they’re also seen as less technical and more of a goon move due to relying more on brute force rather than technique.
This doesn’t mean that air chokes are illegal either because they’re not. There’s also no way for a referee to tell what is an air and blood choke during a competition, as only the person being choked will be able to tell.
As a result, most people believe that the blood choke is superior to the air choke as not only is it more effective, but it’s also less painful to your opponent and seen as more of a humane and skilled way of choking someone.
Summary
In conclusion, the difference between the two is that the blood choke deprives the brain of oxygen by cutting off the carotid arteries, whilst an air choke does so by stopping oxygen from entering the brain by the chest or mouth.
Ultimately, the vast majority of chokes are done so by attacking the arteries, so they fall under the blood choke category. With this said, the likelihood of seeing air chokes is far rarer compared to a blood choke and most people will master blood chokes over air chokes. Nonetheless, the air choke is still a valid way of choking someone and should still be taken seriously.
Want to learn more about the triangle choke? Check out Neil Melanson’s classic book here.
