Inspired by the recent rash of Guillotine Choke related woes suffered by the two members the Team Koscheck on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, Ed Perdomo felt the need to start this arch of MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week with a crash course in properly defending the standing Guillotine Choke that was the beginning of the end for Amir Khillah (7-4) and Marc Stevens (12-5) (twice). Here, Ed will display first how to defend the choke itself and then how to counter it with a high crotch single leg takedown.
Bob Berard has caught Ed in a tight spot. Bob has managed to lock in a Guillotine Choke while Ed was looking for the takedown. The first thing Ed does to prevent a swift end to the fight is prevent Bob from getting his hips under the technique. As long as he can prevent Bob from getting his hips close to his body, Ed can prevent him from finishing the choke. He does this by bracing his inside hand (the hand on the same side as the choke) against Bob’s thigh and standing up (LEFT) rather than allowing Bob to pull guard.
The next thing Ed must do to defend against the choke is throw his outside arm over Bob’s shoulder (RIGHT). This alleviates the pressure of the choke by breaking the isolation of his neck by Bob’s arms and forcing Bob to fight against his body weight to apply the necessary torque to finish the technique.
From here, Ed will bide his time while he looks for the takedown. As long as Bob continues to try to crank the choke or force his hips into Ed against his bracing arm, he will be wasting his strength and loosening the choke hold (LEFT). Ed will time Bob as he lifts and resets in an attempt to pull guard or finish the choke standing.
Once he feels the choke begin to weaken, Ed waits until Bob moves to reset for another lift and drops for a high crotch with his inside arm as soon as Bob begins to release the pressure (RIGHT). This uses Bob’s own momentum against him and allows Ed to both unbalance him and set up the slam he will use to make Bob pay for fighting for the choke.
Having secured the high crotch, Ed drive into Bob’s hips and sets his base for the lift (LEFT).
Ed will position his hips under Bob’s and stand as if doing a squat as he pushes his inside arm through Bob’s legs to turn him. It is very important that Ed drive deeply into Bob’s hips to disrupt his balance and use his legs for the lift, otherwise Ed will be using his back alone to lift Bob’s entire weight and will more than likely cause himself serious injury. (RIGHT)
Ed then loads Bob’s hips in front of his shoulder and falls forward onto his opposite shoulder (LEFT). Ed will tuck his inside shoulder under Bob’s chin to prevent him from landing correctly and then he will drive that shoulder into Bob and thus Bob’s head violently into the mat with all his weight behind it.
Ed finishes the technique in side mount (Right). From this position, he will continue to control Bob and look to set up a submission if Bob is still conscious following the slam.
Recap:
- DON’T PANIC! When your opponent locks in the Guillotine, block his/her hips to prevent them from pulling guard.
- Throw your outside hand over your opponent’s outside shoulder in order to relieve pressure on your neck.
- Allow your opponent to waste their energy and loosen their own hold by attempting to force the hold.
- Time your opponent as he/she pulls up and releases in an attempt to force the move. Drop levels and shoot your inside arm under his/her leg for a high crotch when your opponent releases to reset their choke attempt.
- Drive deep into your opponent’s hips to disrupt their balance and pick them up with your legs as if doing a squat.
- Lift your opponent’s hips to your shoulder and turn your other shoulder into their collar bone under the chin.
- Drive the back of your opponent’s head and shoulders into the mat, keeping your shoulder under their chin to prevent them from adjusting to lessen the impact.
- Establish a solid side mount position and finish your opponent if he/she is still conscious.
Next week, Ed Perdomo will cover how to finish the opponent if he/she manages to survive the slam. As always, MMA Gospel will present the next three techniques in a chain that flows off of each previous maneuver, building a more complete attack than simply teaching a multitude of random moves.
*Ed Perdomo is a 4th degree black belt in the Korean grappling art of Hapkido and is head instructor of the Hapkido Institute in Morris, IL.
