BJJ North-South Choke: A Complete Guide

One of the fundamental principles within Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is to develop techniques for securing pins against your opponent. The positions aid in controlling the opponent's mobility and thus provide a time buffer to figure out your offensive strategy.

Transitioning to alternatives stays really relevant as you progress in the early steps of BJJ, such that pins-like knees on the belly and north-south will be very useful.

This article will focus on the north-south choke, a dangerous and powerful strangle that can pin the opponent in place with pressure on the torso. 

The north-south position is where the fighters stay on top of the opponent. The fighter places the torso over the upper body of the opponent, and this step ensures that the opponent is pinned at their particular place.

The fighter stays in the perpendicular position, as the name suggests the two BJJ grapplers are in the opposite direction. The legs are on the outer side of both fighters whereas their heads are slightly in the middle.

The fighter places the hands and the arms to wrap around and over the face; the grip is held at the back of the neck. The pressure is maintained after placing the torso over the chest of the opponent. This is the important step used to pin the fighter in place.

Basically, the north-south choke is a neck attack applied in a relatively different manner. The arms are wrapped around the face, which makes breathing difficult for the opponent. In addition, the pressure over the torso will disrupt the airflow, making breathing difficult for the opponent.

North-south choke is usually used in the Nogi tournaments; this is due to the fact that the application of this choke with jiu jitsu gi makes it more challenging. The north-south is a position where you lie on top of the opponent, your head facing towards their feet, and then drop your upper body, particularly around the midsection, onto their chest. A variation to side control has you stepping over so that you line up parallel with your opponent rather than perpendicular.

By learning the north-south position in more detail, the fighter will have many opportunities to submit, plus some transitions that only an expert BJJ fighter can pull off, such as sleeve control into side mount, technical mount, or back attacks.

In addition, a powerful north-south position fills another dimension in your top game, where typical side control escapes would not work here. 

One of the concerns with being in north-south is that your opponent's legs are unattended and can move around quite freely. This presents a danger of getting back-taken, which is notably due to an unusually flexible adversary.

This is why many grapplers consider North-South a position to go between on a much higher level in BJJ tournaments.

It's true that the north-south is classified as a transitional position, but there are still plenty of offensive opportunities from here. Some of these are kimura, armbar, north-south choke, and some more chokes.

In the North-South Choke, your arm goes around the opponent's neck, starting from above his chin until it meets at the rear of the head. You then progress into North-South while keeping hold and tightening the clasp of your hand. You then apply pressure by the weight of your body, finally up to finishing.

BJJ Blood Choke mainly puts your opponent unconscious, but it works as a crank if done in a certain way. One of the all-around best moves is actually quite simple to execute if you know how. Therefore, distraction-free means how you can do this.

For many BJJ beginners, the south-north technique can seem like a distant goal. But fear not—even from the side-control position, you can start to make it work against your opponent.

Therefore, when you are in side control, if your arm is over the neck of your opponent, then it is definitely under. So, as you are clamped down with your bicep on his throat, make sure that the wrist of your weak side is right under or placed directly underneath in front of the trachea. To do this, you will need to turn your body slightly towards a more north-south orientation. If you achieve this, then congratulations, you have ideally completed the most important part of the move!

The initial step is to take the required position of the side mount, and this is the most basic step that provides the higher advantages to get at the required position. 

Bend the body towards the opponent's torso and get the grips of the hands around the arms of the fellow fighter.

The next step is to switch the arm and wrap it around the opponent's neck. The fighter maintains the balance by keeping one arm around on the mat.

Once the arm is around the neck, in a way that the hand is at the lower side of the head. Move the direction by shifting the head over the chest of the fighter. 

Move the direction of the legs that want from the ninety degrees over the 180 degrees. Simply drag the legs after moving them to the top side and change the direction of the head to parallel to the torso. 

The arm of the opponent needs to be placed in the upward direction, along with the ear. It will restrict the upper movement of the body.

As the fighter moves in the perpendicular direction, as the ribs reach the side of the opponent's head, the grip of the arm around the neck becomes stiffer and the pressure is increased over the torso, which restricts the air from moving to the trachea, and the fighter goes for a tap. 

In this article, we are going to explore the variations of the north-south choke. The art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu has techniques and submissions that are also part of different martial arts.

Most submission techniques have variations, which means a particular technique can be applied with multiple methods. For example, the north-south choke can be applied from various positions that provide the fighters with an advantage. 

It is a unique variation that would be totally unexpected for a fellow fighter. You are going to apply the submission of the kimura lock with the hold on one of the hands, and then the next move is to shift toward the execution of the north-south choke quickly. The best part is that it will provide the highest percentage of the choke application.

• As the opponent is in the sitting position and he wants to approach the lower body, at that time bend down to reach the arm of the opponent. (You can also apply the north-south choke when you are down on the mat.)

• Create the underhook over the arm and shift the body over the mat so the back is on the mat.

• As the opponent's head is off the ground or mat, you need to instantly change position.

• Leave the four-finger grip and move the body upside down.

• Wrap the arm around the neck and drop the weight over the opponent to finish the submission

It is the position most often used in BJJ Nogi, but it can also be implemented in the Gi. It is a slightly different position from the side control; unlike putting the hand or chest on the torso, the fighter puts the knee on the belly. The side of the fighter is different; it will be heading towards the fighter's legs. Now, let us explore the step-by-step guide.

• The initial step is to put the pressure of the side arm on the chest and keep the knee on the belly to pin the opponent in place.

• Move the base hand towards the head of the opponent.

• Reach the underneath part of the neck and secure the hand's grip. Make sure that the fighter's chin is locked in place.

• The armpit plays a significant role in locking the chin, which restricts the movement of the head.

• Place the hand over the belly of the fighter and apply the pressure to shift.

• Meanwhile, the fighter needs to shift the body above the head of the opponent.

• To finish the north-south choke, keep the toes over the mat and shift the pressure over the fellow fighter to restrict air flow.

It is the variation that is applied with the use of one arm that will get closer to the head for the application of the north-south choke.

• Approach the fighter when he is in the guard position.

• Reach to the opponent after keeping the torso over the fighter.

• Keep one arm over the fighter so that you can apply the further steps.

• Wrap the arm under the head of the opponent so that the palm is facing upward. Apply pressure over the mat so that the opponent will not move upwards.

• Put the pressure in the backward direction and start sliding your body.

• Keep the hand at the side of the hip so that he cannot move.

• Bend the underneath hand and get the tricep of the fighter.

• Keep the head at the side of the ribs; it will create pressure over the trachea and the entangled neck. 

It is another variation of the north-south choke that is applied with the grip of both hands. The fighter comes from any position, and then he needs to apply the pressure of the head and the torso over the opponent's upper body.

• Use any of the methods to come in the inverted position.

• Wrap the arm around the neck of the opponent.

• Come over to the upper body of the fighter and stay there while positioning your head at one of the respective sides of the chest.

• As the second arm is over the side, you need to keep that arm straight, shrug the arm by moving it upward, and bring it over the shoulder.

• Keep on applying pressure to restrict the movement of the fighter.

• As you have freed the arm, move your hand close to your hand and secure it with a tight grip.

• Keep holding your hands until the opponent taps for submission.

North-south choke is not easy; the fighter needs to use the proper safety measures in the execution. When the human is choked either in an air choke or a blood choke, it makes them impatient.

The choked opponent will become deprived of oxygen, or they might lead to an unconscious state. That is why the fighter needs to apply sufficient pressure with a calculated amount of time. 

The south-north choke is the most effective choke that is also used in various martial arts; this choke is the most effective and provides the highest percentage. South north choke is the part of the judo as well where it has multiple variations known as:

• Kuzure kami shiho gatame

• Osaekomi-waza

It is also a technique that is used to put the opponent at ninety degrees to one eighty degrees.

The fighter and the opponent stay in the inverted position, creating a 180-degree angle. The fighter grips the opponent from the top position and keeps the torso in contact with the opponent’s chest.

Pressure is applied to the ribcage, and the head is placed as close to the opponent's head as possible so that there is little or no space. The fighter encircles the arm around the opponent's neck and reaches the back of the head.

When it comes to the application of the chokes, there are multiple chokes that are divided into the blood choke and the air choke. Some fighters are exceptionally skilled. Some of the grapplers become proficient in the peculiar choke that becomes their identity. Jiu-jitsu fighters have a remarkable skill set that they have acquired a particular skill after continuous practice, and after its perfection, that technique has been added to a weapon in their arsenal. A lot of BJJ players have shown proficiency in north-south choke. 

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art based on techniques that are not dependent on the fighter's strength and power. Instead, the sport works on the application of the correct angle and the choke.

The fighters use various methods to pin the opponent in place. Chokes are applied to block the passage of air or restrict the flow of blood temporarily, and pining is applied to prevent the opponent's escape.

The north-south choke requires using angles and creating the proper leverage. Many fighters have ended fights with the application of the north-south choke in BJJ bouts and MMA tournaments.