Learning the BJJ basics at BDMMA!

The guillotine choke is a very common occurrence in BJJ and MMA. The general premise of the move is one fighter (from bottom guard, standing, etc.) wraps one arm across the throat of their opponent. From there, they take the boney part of their wrist, and place it on the wind pipe, while gripping the part of the hand just below the pinky with their off hand. Once this is applied, and they have their body in a position where they can’t escape, they then crunch down, causing the opponents head to press down, driving their wind pipe into the wrist, forcing a submission.

At BDMMA, the guillotine is taught to the students in the beginning of their BJJ training. Another important factor to the guillotine is knowing how to defend it. If you watch any UFC fighter, they almost always attempt a guillotine at one point or another in the fight. When fighters shoot for a takedown, or have their head down in closed guard, is when you tend to see the submission the most. Given how common it is, it makes defending it that much more important.

Many talented fighters at the professional level are big fans of this choke, for instance, former WEC Lightweight champion, Ben Henderson, seems to be in love with it. With eight of his thirteen victories coming by submission, Bendo has won by guillotine four of those times (against Ricardo Tirloni, Anthony Njokuani, Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone.) Some fighters make such a living off of the choke; they even receive their nicknames from it! Current UFC fighter Cody McKenzie won 10 straight fights with it! He used it so much, during his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, it was dubbed “The McKenzie-tine.”

At the start of your MMA Training with the Black Diamond crew, you’ll learn exactly how to go about defending the submission. Coach Josh, the resident BJJ coach, does a phenomenal job of breaking down how to defend a standing guillotine after shooting in for a takedown.

Take a peek at the video below to see how Coach Josh would defend a guillotine during a fight!