In Jiu-jitsu, there are several techniques that you’re likely to learn early on, no matter where you train. One of them is the cross choke from closed guard.

And it’s effective at all levels.

But there’s a problem. Almost everyone learns it. That increases the chance that the threat will be recognized and addressed early.

For that reason, some make the choice to focus their attention elsewhere…

S Mount with Finishes

The S Mount is an incredible control position. Many use it merely to transition to an armbar, but the possibilities go beyond that. Big Guy BJJ shows us that it is also a great spot to put extra pressure on the diaphragm.

When rolling with larger opponents, the S Mount might be the best option, because attempting to hold mount can be difficult when they have large bellies. S Mount takes the…

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I love knowing how to make someones bones break or make them go to sleep =] 

For a really long time, I was not confident with my submissions. I couldn't control my partners enough to catch them in submissions. So my gameplan in competitions had always been to score, score and score.

Now, I've been catching more people in submissions and they seem to work. My game has started to change. But am still not confident with my chokes. I've got the bow-and-arrow down but not the cross choke and triangle choke.

Last night at training, I caught a teammate in a cross choke. He didn't tap. So I kept adjusting and adjusting. Then I noticed he was making a gargling noise and his eyes rolled up. He passed out. I panicked. I called for help and my teammates sat him up and pulled his arms back to expand his chest. Then he started breathing again.

 That probably happened because:

he didn't tap because of pride (which is unlikely because, for me, he is one of the most professional athletes on the team)

with the adjustments I made, it was a quick choke; or

I used strength and choked him too hard.

I have a feeling it was the latter. It's probably because I feel insecure about my chokes so I must have overdone it. It all happened so fast. I can't exactly recall. Frankly, I've repressed the memory into my subconscious. That's why I can no longer recall what exactly happened.

Truthfully, for a split second, a small part of me was happy because my choke worked. Maybe 1% of me. But the 99% of me feels so guilty. And the fact that a part of me, even for that split second, felt happy makes me even more guilty!! I couldn't sleep well last night. The worst of it was, I didn't know how to respond to the situation. I had to call for help. What if noone else had bee there?! It would have been a scary outcome. The thought makes me shudder.

Big round house kick to the head for me. =( Add a spinning side kick. Someone needs to knock me out so I'll stop feeling guilty.

I'm posting this article I read online on how to revive a teammate from a chokehold. Click on the title for the link.