What is the Cross Collar Choke?
The cross collar choke uses opposing collar grips to strangle from guard or mount. It teaches grip depth, posture breaking, and the patience to re-grip before committing to the finish — core skills for every gi player.
Setup
- Establish cross-collar grips — one palm up, one palm down — with knuckles behind the neck.
- Break posture by pulling with legs and collar simultaneously.
- Re-grip deeper whenever the opponent recovers posture.
Execution
- Pull elbows to ribs and expand your back.
- Bring wrists toward your core while keeping knuckles buried in the collar.
- Finish with a steady squeeze — collar chokes fail when grips are shallow.
Finishing
- From mount, pin a wrist to the mat before attacking the second grip.
- From guard, use knee pull and collar drag to maintain broken posture.
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Safety Note
Shallow collar grips can crank the jaw and neck. Re-grip deep behind the neck before finishing, and release immediately on tap.
Primary Targets
- Neck
Key Concepts
- Break posture before every re-grip.
- Four fingers in, thumb out — never grab the sleeve cuff instead of the collar.
- Threaten cross-collar early to set up sweeps and arm attacks.
Primary Entries
- Closed guard with collar-and-sleeve control.
- Mount after achieving high chest-to-chest contact.
- Collar drag setups that expose the second grip.
Defenses & Counters
- Expect posture recovery and two-on-one grip breaks — re-break posture before chasing the finish.
- Watch for stacks from inside guard that flatten your shoulders; keep legs active and re-grip deep.
- If they hide an arm across the collar, threaten triangle or sweep instead of forcing shallow grips.
Follow-Ups
- Scissor sweep when they post a hand to defend the collar.
- Triangle if an arm tucks across to block the second grip.
- Bow and arrow when you retain deep collar control onto the back.
- Scissor sweep when they post to defend the choke.
- Triangle when they hide one arm to block the collar grip.
- Bow and arrow when you pass and retain collar control.
Training Drills
- Posture break to deep re-grip repetitions from closed guard.
- Mount cross-collar with one-arm pinned progression.
- Grip-strength endurance rounds with collar-only sparring rules.
Related Techniques
Deepen your study with complementary positions and attacks.
Summary
Deep grips and broken posture make the cross collar choke work. Re-grip relentlessly, pull with your back, and treat shallow collar holds as setup — not finish.