In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there are a handful of submissions that you can do whilst standing up. One of the most common submissions is the guillotine choke. Although this is often used from the ground, it’s also normal to see this being done from the feet.
Not only is the standing guillotine used in BJJ, but it’s also seen a lot in MMA too. Sometimes this is referred to as a power guillotine. This article will explain how to finish a standing guillotine and how to defend it. Read on for more information.
Table of Contents
How do you choke someone with a standing guillotine?
Guillotine choke entries
The standing guillotine is typically entered in two ways. The first is the counter to a double leg takedown, and the second is by using a wrestling snapdown to access the throat.
So, imagine your opponent shoots for a double leg. If they’re too slow and obvious, you can possibly wrap your arm around the back of their neck which will create a front headlock position. This alone won’t be enough to finish the choke and is where many white belts go wrong.
In short, a lot of people don’t solidify their grips in time and end up cranking the neck rather than choking which is why people escape. Anyway, you will need to connect your hands as quickly as possible, if not the opponent can start to grip fight, and defend.
Ideally, you should use the headlock wrist to finish the choke with your other hand solidifying the grip. This means that one arm chokes, whilst the other arm acts as a block to defend your opponent’s escape.
The second entry is more proactive and involves doing a snapdown. Here, your opponent should have a low head and bad posture. With one hand, grab the back of their head and push it towards the ground (this is usually done from a collar tie), and then stuff the head into the front headlock position. At this point, you’ll normally end up in the same position as previously mentioned.
Sometimes, people also jump into guillotines too. Again, this requires the opponent to have bad posture and that their head is below yours when you make the jump. Generally speaking, the jumping entry is fairly low percentage but the likes of Jeff Glover and Geo Martinez have both used it well over the years in competition.
Finishing the standing guillotine
The first call of any guillotine is to sort out your grips. Without good grips, you won’t submit your opponent as you can’t sink the choke in. As mentioned, your secondary arm should grab your choking wrist to tighten the choke and make sure the opponent can’t peel your fingers off.
After this, you’ll want to bring your arms inwards whilst lifting up which will tighten the guillotine choke. To finish, you should then exhale which widens your chest and adds pressure to the neck, whilst also pushing your hips up which will serve the same purpose.
You can also fall back into a guard if needed, however in MMA, this can be risky as if the guillotine fails then you would end up in a bottom position which is dangerous where striking is concerned.
Remember, there are all sorts of ways to finish a guillotine and you have to find what’s best for you. Some people will use high elbow guillotines to make it hard to push the elbows off as a defense, whilst others will use an arm-in guillotine variation where the supporting arm blocks defensive counters.
There’s even the ninja choke and other stuff which is worth looking into. Regardless, the fundamentals of establishing solid grips remains the same as most newbies make the mistake of rushing the headlock and not choking as a result.
How do you defend a standing guillotine?
If you’ve read the previous section then you’ll understand the importance of grip fighting. In short, if the opponent has you in a one armed guillotine then it means their hand can get peeled off by your fingers. Remember, if you’re getting choked then this is a race against time. You may be choked unconscious within 5 seconds but can escape in 2 seconds.
Therefore, the odds are in your favor. Just makes sure you get your calculations correct! Often, grip fighting means using your one hand to grab the opponents grip, whilst using your other to strip their grip (as long as it’s poorly set up, otherwise you will have to tap out)
One issue with escaping the standing guillotine is that you can’t pass the legs as you would on the ground. In other words, people often escape guillotines on the floor by jumping over the legs and easing the pressure on their neck. This isn’t the case on the feet, as there’s no guard to pass and you can’t cut the angle as easily. Having said this, there are other ways to escape.
Once again, this requires quick thinking and you shouldn’t wait long for the choke to set in before trying to escape. As soon as the opponent gets you in a headlock, before they’ve connected hands, you should try to posture up as if performing a dead life.
Of course, this helps if you have strong shoulders but if done correctly, it will push the opponent’s arm too high to choke you. From here, you can actually turn defense to offense and start double leg takedowns or get round to the back. Like most things in BJJ, this defense relies on timing.
Using the standing guillotine in MMA
In MMA, the standing guillotine is more prevalent in comparison to sports BJJ. There are a couple of reasons for this. In BJJ, most of the time is spent on the ground, whereas in MMA there’s more time standing.
Why the standing guillotine is common in MMA
Also, people will shoot for takedowns much more in MMA as guard pulling is a daft idea. Obviously, taking someone down will land you in an advantageous position to land strikes, whereas pulling guard to the bottom is the opposite.
Therefore, people will naturally shoot for takedowns more in MMA which uses wrestling more than Judo as there’s no gi involved. Because of this, it means statistically more guillotines will be attempted. This is one reason why you will see them a lot.
Furthermore, in MMA the cage is your friend when attempting a standing guillotine. Imagine trying a standing without a wall behind you. Often, you would end up being taken down. However, in MMA you can walk back into the cage which is a physical block from being taken down. As a result, this makes finishing standing guillotines much easier.
Using MMA gloves with a guillotine
MMA gloves have pros and cons when doing guillotines. On the one hand, they can make it more difficult to slip under the neck in the earlier stages. On the other, once your grip is locked, the gloves can act as friction to stop people’s heads from escaping.
However, one issue with this is that it also provides material for people to grab at to start peeling your fingers off. Although small digit manipulation is illegal in MMA and BJJ, it still goes on. The padding of the glove allows for people to peel the finger off easier than a lone finger.
Therefore, when training or fighting, it’s worth noting that MMA gloves add a different dimension to the standing guillotine and guillotine chokes in general. This is something to think about when both attacking and defending guillotines.
Conclusion
The standing guillotine choke is something that every grappler and fighter should learn. It’s good for MMA, BJJ, and self defense. However, it should also be noted that guillotine chokes are not always easy to learn.
Too often, people see them in the UFC and believe they can be easily replicated. Whilst guillotines can be done against newer opponents, they are actually very technical submissions and require a lot of intricate grip details and body positioning. This means there’s more to it than just squeezing at the neck. Anyway, try out the standing guillotine next time you’re in class and see where it takes you!
