North-South Choke: Top Pressure Submission

Threading the Arm for the North-South Choke

From north-south position, begin by sliding one arm under their neck and threading it toward their far shoulder. Your forearm should cross their carotid artery. The other arm goes under their near shoulder to lock a figure-four with your hands — grabbing your own wrist or bicep. Once the figure-four is locked, the key is to walk your hips around toward their shoulder, turning your body so that it is roughly parallel to theirs but facing the opposite direction. This hip walk is what makes or breaks the choke — without it, the position lacks the required angle for effective carotid compression.

The Hip Drop and Finish

With the figure-four locked and your hips walked around, drop your hips down toward the mat on the side where your choking arm is threading. This hip drop closes the gap between your forearm and their neck, compressing the carotid artery powerfully. Keep your chest heavy and use the full weight of your body. Do not rely on arm strength — the hip drop and body weight do the finishing work.

• Walk hips parallel to opponent before attempting the finish
• Drop hips toward mat on the choking arm side to compress
• Forearm crosses the carotid artery — positioning is everything

North-South Choke as a Guard Pass Threat

The north-south choke is uniquely powerful because it appears during guard passing transitions. As you pass from side control to north-south to continue toward mount, the north-south choke presents itself naturally. Many opponents who are focused purely on blocking the mount or re-guarding don't recognize the choke setup until it is too late. Integrating the north-south choke into your guard passing game makes you a multidimensional threat that creates panic in opponents trying to recover guard.