Some techniques just require a bit more tweaking than others…
For example, when I was a whitebelt the armbar was fairly easy to learn. The triangle choke, on the other hand, was relatively easy to apply, but hard to finish, (which was very frustrating).
It took a lot of experimentation, coaching and adjusting before I was able to successfully choke out even cooperating, non-resisting partners with the triangle.
So does that mean that the armbar is superior to the triangle? Not at all! It just means that you might need a bit more help, some gentle nudges, and some good coaching to move up the learning curve with it.
The triangle choke is an incredibly lethal weapon when it’s being used by an expert. Once you’re trapped in a fully adjusted triangle you don’t have many options: either tap out, go to sleep, or have your head explode!
So what differentiates the expert’s triangle choke from that of a newbie? After all, superficially the two chokes may look quite similar…
The devil is in the details. It’s the hard-to-see little adjustments that gradually destroy posture, remove excess space, and tighten the noose around the opponent’s neck.
Here’s a wonderful segment by Elliott Bayev taken from Spider Guard Masterclass showing you exactly what the high level adjustments are that’ll give you a black belt triangle choke. And in typical Elliott fashion, not only does he show you what you need to do, but also why and when you need to do it (which really helps with retaining the information).
Check it out: it’ll be the best 8 1/2 minutes you’ll spend on your Jiu-Jitsu all day!
The video clip above is a small excerpt from Grapplearts’ Spider Guard Masterclass, the most detailed, comprehensive study of the Spider Guard ever produced.
