The Bow and arrow choke is possibly one of the oldest submissions used in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has origins dating back to Judo. This involves getting a deep grip on your opponent’s collar from the back. Once the grip is established the next step is to create a 90 degree angle so you’re now looking into your opponent’s ear. From this position, you can either grip their pants or underhook their leg.
With the collar grip, you then want to pull back and close your elbow, as if pulling a lawnmower cord to finish. In many gyms, the Bow and Arrow is one of the first chokes taught on the curriculum. The reason for this is simple, it is regarded as the king of gi chokes by many.
Table of Contents
Entries into the Bow and Arrow choke
The Bow and arrow choke is attacked almost always from back control and is exclusively a Gi move. There are many ways to get to the back in BJJ such as from guard and mount. In closed guard you can take the back through the Roger Gracie method. This is when you do an arm drag with a sleeve grip, pulling your opponent’s arm across their body.
From here you have now exposed one part of their body, which their dragged arm cannot defend. The next step is to snake to the vulnerable side and then grab their far armpit or lat. After this, you can either jump to their back or drag them into your body whilst still holding the original sleeve grip. This move is good as it can also be used to hit sweeps and armbar attacks.
Another method is from the mount. This term is called the gift wrap position as it simulates wrapping your opponent up to get a reward. Here you need to get your opponent on their side which can be done by defending a failed bridge escape attempt. Another way is by feinting an Americana attack which baits them into rolling to the side. From here you need to grab their wrist and pin their elbow to their chest. Your other hand can either grab your original wrist or cup the elbow to stop their arm from escaping.
At this point, you can fall backward and insert hooks which results in achieving back control. Please note, the gift wrap position can also be done via top side control or top half guard. Similar to the gift wrap, you could also get the back via the kimura grip which is mechanically similar. For instance, having a kimura in top half guard can also be used to pin the arm and take the back in a similar fashion.
How do you use a Bow and Arrow choke?
Setting up the bow and arrow choke is quite unique compared to strangles. The main difference is that the finisher uses distance to create pressure which is usually the opposite to most chokes. For instance, with a rear naked choke the idea is to be close behind the opponent whilst finishing. The bow and arrow is different as leaning back is encouraged as it generates more tension between the collar grip and the opponent’s neck.
As the bow and arrow choke is a blood choke, only one artery is needed to be covered by the collar. Because the grip is often very tight, it is enough to create a quick finish.
Again, the bow and arrow is unique with its leg placement during the finish. For instance, the rear naked has hooks in at all times and the opponent’s body is parallel with your own. The bow and arrow differs in creating a 90 degree angle to finish. Again this is to create a tight angle with the collar grip to put further pressure on the artery.
However, legendary competitor Roger Gracie was known for using a variation of the bow and arrow. Instead of moving his hips and holding the leg or pants, he would stay behind the opponent. Whilst keeping his hooks in, he would then use his free hand to grip the other collar and then pull down. This meant his one hand would pull across the neck doing the choke and the other would pull the slack from the collar, creating a tighter grip. In recent years this has sometimes been referred to as the “Roger Choke”.
In terms of finish, both the regular bow and arrow and Roger Gracie’s alternative are both fundamentally sound. Both have been used by the world’s best and are high percentage when used at all levels. With this in mind, there is no good or bad way to finish between the two. As ever, it’s down to personal preference and the way in which your opponent tries defending.
How do you escape a Bow and Arrow choke?
One method to escape the bow and arrow is to turn into the opponent. If you can twist your body quickly enough then you can face your opponent. With this done they will most likely let go of the grip to maintain back control. If done successfully then you can go from the back to a top, closed guard position. A method that helps with this is to break the pant grip which gives you a free leg to kick into the floor and create the force to spin.
However, it is not recommended to hand fight in this situation, if the grip is already too deep then it is already futile. Having said this, if the grip isn’t fully applied then you can possibly grip your collar and pull forwards to lessen the pressure and buy time.
Alternatives to the Bow and Arrow choke
The bow and arrow choke is very common due to its rate of success. However, sometimes, people may opt for other attacks instead. Obviously in no gi, the bow and arrow isn’t available to begin with so people will typically use rear naked and short chokes from that position. Having said this, even with the gi involved, there are other lapel-based attacks that are available.
The first is a variation of the bow and arrow, which is often called ‘The Roger Gracie choke’. Named after the gi GOAT, Roger Gracie uses a different finish from the back. Here, he still gets the typical bow and arrow collar grip, however the rest of the choke is different.
Instead of switching his hips to an angle, he keeps his hooks in. Then, he uses his free hand to pull down on the free lapel. This hand doesn’t choke, but instead removes the slack from the gi and tightens it up. In turn, his choking arm becomes more powerful. This is a fundamentally solid choke that make be preferable against someone who is notoriously good at escaping the bow and arrow. Of course, using the bow and arrow is still a great option.
The second alternative is ideal for when your hooks have been removed. Here, you can do an ezekiel choke from the back. This involves putting your one arm close to the opponents neck, and your other under their armpit. From here, you then want to connect your fingers into your sleeves and force an ezekiel choke around the neck of the opponent. To do this, you should be almost sitting above your partner and then tighten your hands when necessary.
The beauty of this ezekiel is that it’s incredibly difficult to defend. This is because you effectively cut out the opponents arm by placing your own arm underneath it. Once in place, this arm can’t defend, so you’re free to apply the pressure to get the tap. Of course, it’s not wise to purposely lose your hooks, but if you do then this is a sound option.
Can you use the Bow and Arrow choke from other positions?
The answer to this is yes, albeit these moves probably aren’t as fundamentally sound. So, what is available then? Firstly, it’s possible to finish the bow and arrow choke from mount. This is often referred to as a chicken wing choke, as it looks kind of similar. When in mount, you want to get your opponent on their side.
Then, by sliding up their body, you can reach your thumb around the bottom of their head, into their collar. With this in place, you can then grab their leg and fall back to a regular bow and arrow position. Alternatively, you can even finish it from the mount.
A lower percentage bow and arrow can also be achieved in the closed guard. Often, a common attack is to go for back takes from an arm drag. However, if your opponent defends well enough then you may typically fall back into a closed guard. If this happens, then you can place your thumb in their collar whilst leaning over them. Then, as you fall back to closed guard, you can use your other arm to underhook their leg and create a tighter angle. If deep enough, this should come on quickly.
It should be noted that this entry is difficult to set up, and you should probably go for a back take first. Having said this, it is a nice option from a failed back take. Not only this but if you are bridged into closed guard from the previous mount entry, as long as your grip is good enough, then you can still finish the bow and arrow from closed guard. Because of this, the two positions can be considered relatively similar.
Summary
Overall the bow and arrow choke is a fantastic attack to use on all opponents. Because of back control, you can fully commit to attacks whilst the opponent can only defend without retaliation. Secondly, it is a high percentage move which means it will often succeed in creating a submission. It is also relatively safe to do position-wise after the initial grip fighting is won. You can then remove the hooks and create the side angle. From this position most of the time the finish is very likely at all levels.
In conclusion, the bow and arrow choke is something all BJJ practitioners should learn for both attacking and defending in the position. Without this choke, it would make finishing in the Gi much harder from the back so it is well worth learning.
