Setting a strangle: A big part of our approach to strangulation is TO GET AT LEAST FIFTY PERCENT OF THE STRANGLE SET BEFORE YOU EVEN CONNECT YOUR hands/arms. Whenever you go to employ a rear strangle without the gi your two arms work in unison. One is the actual STRANGLE ARM that encircles your opponent's neck. The other is a SUPPORT ARM which solidifies and supports the strangle arm usually via figure four grip or palm to palm grip. Our contention is that your opponent should already be feeling the effects of a strangle from just the one strangle arm encircling the neck – quite often the one handed strangle proves to be enough by itself and there is no need to lock hands/arms – we just finish one handed in the position of this photograph. At championship level however, it is usually necessary to bring the support arm into play to create stronger pressure. Make sure that before you do there is sufficient initial pressure from the strangle arm that the addition of the support arm FINISHES the strangle rather than INITIATES it. Failure to set the strangle hand properly is rarely atoned for by the addition of the support arm. Develop the skill of sinking the strangle arm first and then applying the support hand as A MEANS OF FINISHING A JOB ALREADY STARTED BY THE STRANGLE ARM rather than as the cause of the strangle. Here you can see my partner is already under pressure of strangulation before I have even released the other hand – finishing from here will be easy. There are other approaches to rear strangles (strangling over the mandible for example), but this is always the preferred method.
