The Flying Triangle is perhaps the most flashy submission in all of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. With this said, it’s not exactly a move for the aging, but it’s still fundamentally sound as long as you’re athletic enough. As its title suggests, the Flying Triangle is done when someone leaps off both feat and lands a Triangle choke on their opponent. Usually, this is done when both BJJ practitioners are standing, but it can also be done from the top player when the bottom practitioner is in a seated guard position.
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How to use the Flying Triangle in the gi
Arguably, the Flying Triangle in the gi is much easier than doing the Flying Triangle in nogi. The reason for this is that the grips enable you to get a good connection before jumping. Whilst you can hit Flying Triangle chokes in no gi, this is harder due to the lack of gi grips.
So, to begin with you’ll want to establish the classic Judo stance that is often taught in BJJ. By this, we mean a grip on the sleeve with your one hand, and a grip on their collar with your other hand. This is the exact same grip sequence that you’d do as if you were going to pull into a guard.
From there, you’ll want to break the posture of the opponent. If this isn’t doable then the Flying Triangle cannot be done. In other words, you’ll need access to the opponents head and neck which isn’t possible if their posture is too high. Because of this, you may want to grab their collar and pull them towards the floor to get their head closer to the ground.
When the time is right, you’ll then want to jump the Flying Triangle. Usually, you may have a window of a second or so as the chances are the opponent will improve their posture at some point. When this window opens, you’ll want to jump with your leading leg, which should be on the side of the collar grip.
This will be the main leg that needs to go behind the neck of the opponent. Remember, this move should only be attempted by those with superior athleticism. Then, as you jump the Triangle, make sure you’re still dragging the opponent down to the floor. At this point, you should still be grabbing their other arm to make sure they can’t bring it in to block the Triangle.
Usually, you’ll then hit the floor with your back. Hopefully this is a gentle entry to the floor where you can then lock up and adjust the Triangle as you would from the floor.
How to use the Flying Triangle in no gi
As mentioned, using the Flying Triangle in no gi is harder than the gi – but not impossible. In fact, during a UFC fight Jimmy Flick has once landed a Flying Triangle on his opponent which shows it can even be done in MMA, provided the circumstances make it possible.
To do the no gi Flying Triangle, you’ll basically want to replicate the gi version with different grips. Obviously, you can’t grip the gi but you can get no gi grips instead. For this, you’ll most likely want to start with a collar tie. Again, this is a fairly standard technique and position used in BJJ.
From the collar tie, you’ll again want to break the opponents posture which means doing a snap down. With this done, when the opponents head is low – you can then jump the Flying Triangle. This time, the lead leg that jumps should be on the same side as the grip on the head.
Whilst doing this, your other hand should be gripping the opponents wrist on the other side of their body. Like the initial sleeve grip in the gi, the point of this is to block any defenses your opponent may make by bringing their other arm inside. Once you’ve got your legs connected, you can start to finish the Triangle as you normally would.
On a side note, the Flying Triangle can also be used as a counter against a single leg takedown if you’re smart enough.
Problems with the Flying Triangle
As touched upon, the Flying Triangle can win a match in seconds, but it’s also high risk in many ways. Firstly, if your entry is wrong then it can put you in a bad position. For instance, if it’s done too slowly or when the opponent has good posture, then you’ll simply fall over whilst making the move look very awkward. This could lead to a quick guard pass from the opponent which obviously isn’t good.
However, there are bigger problems rather than competition rules. In fact, the Flying Triangle is actually a pretty dangerous move as far as they go in BJJ. There’s many videos online showing botched Flying Triangles where someone may even land the Triangle correctly, only to fall back and hit their head off the floor. This can lead to a concussion or in extreme cases a broken neck.
With this said, you have to seriously ask whether it’s worth this when attempting this submission. Having said this, there’s still lots that go into the technique and if you drill it well then this will lessen the chance of injury. Still, you should always acknowledge the chance of injuries when doing flying submissions. Usually, this submission is attempted by smaller people too which makes sense in terms of speed and agility.
Conclusion
The Flying Triangle is one of BJJ’s best looking moves and is made to go on highlight reels. The issue is that they require great athleticism, timing and can also be quite dangerous both strategically and physically for those who are trying them.
Still, if you’re looking for a cool move that can instantly end a BJJ match then it’s worth learning. The good thing about the Flying Triangle is that it also ties in nicely to learning other flying submissions such as the Omoplata or Armbar.
Furthermore, it will naturally make you more athletic which is never a bad thing. Lastly, it will also sharpen your own defenses and make you more alert to other people trying flying moves on yourself.
