POSITION: GUARD

ORIENTATION: BOTTOM

TECHNIQUE: TRIANGLE

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  1. Secure your opponent’s head with one hand and use your other hand to trap an arm or wrist. There are several variations to the set-up. Typically, if you are shooting a triangle with your right leg, use your left hand to secure your opponent’s head and your right hand to secure your opponent’s left wrist.

  2. Place one foot on your opponent’s hip as you shoot your other leg over your opponent’s arm and shoulder.

  3. Adjust the angle of your body by elevating your hips and rotating them 90 degrees so that your body and your opponent’s body make a right angle. In the perfect triangle, your body should be perpendicular to your opponent’s body.

  4. Control your opponent’s posture throughout the technique by pulling down on the head and keeping your legs heavy across your opponent’s back and shoulders.

  5. Trap your opponent’s head and one arm between your legs by crossing your ankles or lower legs. Make sure the triangle is locked on the same side as the trapped shoulder and arm.

  6. Secure the triangle by placing your foot, just above the ankle, near the bottom of your tibia/fibula, underneath your other knee to lock the triangle in place.

  7. Once the triangle is secured, clear your opponent’s trapped arm across his body to tighten the strangle. The triangle can still be finished without the arm across the body, but the strangulation is tighter with the arm in the cross body position.

  8. Squeeze your legs together to increase choking pressure.

  9. Pull the head down or grab and pull your shin (the one that’s parallel to your opponent’s shoulders) with both hands, one on each side of your opponent’s head, to finish the triangle choke.