Technique of the Week returns with Ben Ordonez and Ed Perdomo to follow up with a second submission option to follow the previous sweep from half guard, this time with a wrist-free version of the Colombian Necktie submission. In submission grappling, it is very important to not only have several avenues of attack at your disposal, but also to be able to adapt your submissions to any number of situations. An opponent’s limbs won’t always move the way they do in practice or instructional pieces, so sometimes a little modification is necessary. Such is the case with this technique, a modified version of the Colombian Neck Tie submission which functions much like an arm-in No Gi Ezekiel Choke.
As soon as Ed finishes his sweep, he moves to secure the finish. He notices that Ben’s arm is further away than it was last time, so he has a much higher risk of Ben escaping during the transition; thus, Ed instead decides to move to mount and secure a Wrist-Free Colombian Necktie. He begins by bridging over into mount and collects Ben’s arm along the way by wrapping it with his forearm and holding it tight to his chest (LEFT). Ed leans to the side he has control of and, with his opposite hand flat to the mat, slides it under Ben’s neck.
Ed then forces his free arm as deep under Ben’s neck as possible. He reaches across with the hand he has controlling Ben’s arm and grabs his elbow both to close the choke and to assist in getting the free arm as deep under Ben’s neck as he can (RIGHT).
Ed then finished the choke by bridging into Ben and trying to force both of his elbows to the mat (LEFT). The key elements to making this choke tight are how far under the neck Ed can get the outside arm and how much pressure he puts on Ben with his chest. If Ed can manage to get control of Ben’s wrist with his free hand, much as in a poorly set behind-the-head Americana, he can tighten the choke and the control significantly with a Colombian Neck Tie, but this is not always possible off the sweep without first resetting his hand position.
Recap:
- Bridge into mount, collecting control over your opponent’s arm by pinning it to your chest along the way.
- Feed your free hand under your opponent’s neck as deep as possible.
- Grab your free elbow with the hand controlling your opponent’s arm.
- If possible, get control of your opponent’s trapped wrist with the hand you have under their neck.
- Pressure your opponent into the mat with your chest and attempt to push both of your elbows to the mat.
As is often the case with chokes, Ed has applied the choke loosely in this demonstration both to make it easier to see the technique and to avoid injuring Ben in the process of taking the pictures. In practice, this will be a very close quarters choke where he will use his chest to force his arms more tightly closed on Ben’s throat. As an air choke, it affords the opponent a little more time to fight, so constant pressure with the chest is very important to finishing with this submission, especially if the wrist is loose.
*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.
