If you add the gi to the mix of regular grappling, then you suddenly have an extensive arsenal of BJJ chokes that you can execute. There are literally dozens of them. But careful, not all of them will be effective for you. Perhaps one of your BJJ partners will favor one choke because his arms are very long. It’s difficult to perform a Darce choke if you have short arms. You should only build up your BJJ arsenal while taking note of your personal preference. In this sense, one of the most powerful chokes that you can execute is the so-called clock choke. Below you will find more information about why this choke is so powerful and how you can implement it.
How to perform the clock choke
This choke is traditionally done from the side of your opponent while he is in the turtle position. The first thing you need to do is put your hand into his collar so that you will be able to tug it. Grab the collar as near to the neck as possible. If you have done this right, then you will be able to feel the potential to choke your opponent out.
After you have done this, you will only need to do two more things. The first is to put all your weight over your opponent’s back and the second is to use your hand to pull on the collar of your opponent. This will serve to create enough pressure over your opponent’s neck in order to choke him out.
By the way, you might be wondering as to why this choke is called “clock choke”. Well, there is another detail in the execution of this choke. After you slide your hand onto your opponent’s collar and you put your weight on his back, you will be able to rotate your body with your legs so as to put additional pressure. If you do this, the pressure will become unbearable for your opponent. He will likely either tap out or go to sleep soon after. And this rotating motion of your leg goes in the form of a clock – hence the name “clock choke.
Details about the clock choke
If you do the setup from above, you will notice one thing. One of your arms will be completely taken with the pulling of the collar. But your other arm will be completely free. There must be some way in which you can use your arm to make the move more effective. Well, indeed there is.
One thing you could do is use your free arm to destabilize your opponent by taking out one of his arms. Grab him for the wrist and pull his hand back. If done properly, this will serve to ruin his base and make the choke that much more effective.
Also, you could use your arm to prevent your opponent from wiggling out from the choke. You could slide it between his hips and block his leg from moving. This will cement your choke even further and it will likely lead to a tap out. If you wish to see a great demonstration of this move in action, then you should see UFC’s Kenny Florian getting choked out in a BJJ match:
Some people really try a neat combination that really only works in theory. They will grab the collar of the opponent first and they will use the other arm to add additional pressure to the opponent’s head from the other side. They do this by shoving the elbow into his head. The combined push-pull movement will add even more pressure to the equation and choke the opponent out. Only it’s not that simple. If you do this, you will give your opponent an opponent to get out of the choke and even take your back if you’re not careful.
If you want to see a demonstration of this move, then there are many resources that you can check out online. The clock choke is, after all, one of the most popular BJJ chokes. Our personal recommendation for you is to check out Stephan Kesting’s video tutorial below.
A quick note that we will add is that this choke will demand for you to use a strong grip. So, if you haven’t done this by now – make sure to work your grip out. The stronger your grip, the easier it will be for you to execute this choke.
In conclusion
We’ll mention again the fact that there are dozens of different chokes that you can learn in BJJ. And again – not all of them will be effective for you. But we think that anyone can learn how to execute the clock choke effectively. You just need to make sure to drill it as often as possible and try and implement it in sparring. You will be surprised to learn just how powerful this choke can be.
Check also:
- Loop Choke – Versatile and Effective Submission
- Baseball Bat Choke – Effective and Highly Powerful Choke
- Bow and Arrow Choke – The Ultimate Finishing move
- Peruvian Necktie – Origin, Application and Defense
- Rear Naked Choke: The most effective Chokehold
