The triangle choke is a very effective move used in the MMA world which ultimately strangles the opponent by encircling the opponent’s neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle. This causes the blood flow to be restricted to the carotid arteries, therefore causing the opponent to quickly tap out. If he doesn’t tap out quickly the loss of blood to his brain will ultimately make him pass out.

The triangle choke is one of the most common  submission holds that is applied in the full guard position. It is best when this submission is ussed early in the fight because as the fight progresses both you and your opponent become more sweaty and more slippery  therefore it will be harder to apply the triangle choke.

To properly execute a triangle choke you need to get your opponent in the open guard using collar and sleeve control and you mush place a foot on his hip and shoulder, chances are your opponent will try to counter this by coming under your leg with his left arm, that is when you arch your hips and throw your leg over your ankle securing the triangle choke and to make it more effective pull your opponents arm across your stomach as this applies more pressure and makes them tap out even faster.

Here are a few videos to demonstrate how to use a Triangle Choke to make your opponent tap out.

MMA Instructor Stoffer Shows His Version of MMA Triangle Choke

Jorge Gurgel  demonstrates a triangle choke set-up on current UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3271896125850455644

Human Weapo Designs Shows Effective Execution of Triangle Choke

Gracie Academy Performing a Triangle choke

Usually the starting point of grappling action in MMA matches, the guard is often overlooked by fans and even fighters, but a fighter using proper technique can prove the position dangerous.

Ortiz inside the butterfly guard of Griffin

The goal of the top fighter in the guard is to utilize ground-and-pound striking while aiming to improve their position. The top fighter also has the option of opening the guard and going for submission attempts.

The goal of the bottom fighter in the guard is most commonly to attempt various submissions off of their back or to escape using sweep techniques to return the fight to their feet. However, there are a few effective strikes from the bottom as well.

There are two basic forms of the guard: the closed guard and the open guard. In the closed guard the bottom fighter has their legs wrapped around the top fighter’s back, as well as their arms in cases. The aim of the closed guard is for the bottom fighter to keep the top fighter’s body as close to theirs as possible, limiting range in order to prevent devastating strikes and set up submission attempts.

In the open guard the bottom fighter uses his legs to control the opponent with the goal being to keep the opponent further away rather than close, because the bottom fighter becomes more vulnerable to strikes. The open guard can be used by the bottom fighter to set up submissions, but is most commonly used to create a sweep in order to return the fight to the feet or transition to the top position.

Alan Belcher trapped in Jason Day's rubber guard at UFC 83. Day lands 10 elbow strikes and 17 unanswered punches

There are various forms of the open guard such as the butterfly guard, the rubber guard, the x-guard, the spider guard, De la Riva guard and 50-50 guard. Arguably the most common in MMA are the butterfly and rubber guard.

The butterfly guard is a position in which the bottom fighter’s legs are hooked with their ankles inside the top fighter’s thighs. This allows for good control of the top fighter’s movements and distancing and allows for effective sweeps.

The rubber guard, created by Eddie Bravo, is gaining popularity and becoming more common in the MMA world. The bottom fighter uses a leg to trap the top opponent in their guard, opening up possibilities for submissions, sweeps and even effective striking from the bottom. Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki has developed one of the most effective rubber guards in MMA along with UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

The main goal of the top fighter in the guard is to advance his position. However, striking can be effective. Tito Ortiz is among one of the most effective strikers from the guard in MMA, in great part due to his devastating elbows. Elbows, hammer fists, closed fist strikes, and even Royce Gracie style palm strikes can cause damage from the guard.

Mousasi KO's Jacare via up-kick

Fighters inside an opponents open guard also have the option of standing in the guard to attempt various leg locks, such as knee bars, heel hooks and achilles locks. However, this can make them vulnerable to commonly the most devastating strike from the bottom guard.

Up-kicks have proven to be extremely effective in MMA and are a good tool for fighters on their back. Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi knocked out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in dramatic fashion with a single upkick in the final round of the Dream middleweight grand prix at Dream 6 on September 23, 2008.

The bottom fighter has a clear advantage in the submission game from the guard. The most common submissions pulled off from guard are the guillotine, arm bar, triangle choke and kimura. Other popular submissions are the omoplata and gogoplata, but these techniques are most often used as a sweep to simply transition to the top or a standing position. However, they can be very effective when used from the rubber guard.

The top fighter must aim to improve his position above all else while in the guard. A ground-and-pound fighter must move out of harms way against a submission specialist rather than being contempt to strike from the guard. Mark Coleman learned this lesson not once, but twice when he was submitted from within WAMMA and former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko‘s guard during Pride FC competition in 2004 and then again in 2006.

Mark Kerr, star of UFC 14 and 15, perfected it. It’s a move that sneaks up on you, grabs you and leaves you panting for breath as you watch your hand tap the mat through blurry, unfocused eyes. Now, it’s time that you learn it: the gator roll choke.

Pretty intense, huh? The gator roll choke is really more like a dynamic arm triangle choke; you wait until your opponent makes a move to take you down, you avoid actually being taken down, and flip him over like you’re wrestling an alligator. Once his arm has been secured against his throat and your hands are clasped, you tighten your hold and cut off his blood flow. It takes an average person four seconds to pass out from having the blood flow to his or her brain cut off. Your opponent will be tapping out faster than the Pittsburgh Pirates getting eliminated from playoff contention (about 10 seconds after the season begins).

You might think that the gator roll cuts off air flow, but that is not the case. The average person can survive without air for 40 seconds. If this submission technique cut off air flow, it would be a long battle and the opponent would probably be able to escape. Cutting off blood flow, on the other hand, makes it so that the opponent loses key senses and thinking power, effectively putting your body into a ‘sleep mode.’  MMA fighters can withstand the gator roll choke for longer than four seconds of course, but if they don’t tap out soon after they WILL pass out.

This move is directly related to other arm triangle chokes such as the D’Arce choke, where your opponent is in a arm triangle choke from the front headlock position and the choking arm is thread under the near arm, in front of the opponent’s neck, and on top of the far arm; and my personal favorite, the Anaconda choke, which is essentially the same as a D’Arce but the choking arm is thread under the opponent’s neck and through the armpit as you grasp his biceps.

Don’t try this move on your dog or an unsuspecting friend, as you may cause some serious damage as well as get strange looks from pedestrians. If you want a sweet new submission move to end your fights and gain serious respect, try the gator roll.

In a bout to determine which fighter would stay relevant in the WEC Bantamweight title picture, former featherweight contender Jeff Curran’s losing streak was extended to four fights as Takeya Mizugaki won his first WEC victory with a split decision win.

Mizugaki can smile more now with his first WEC win in his pocket.

Curran starts off by catching a low kick, but Mizugaki sprawls and fights off the single-leg attempt while Curran refuses to let it go. Curran has the single-leg for over two minutes, but Mizugaki will not go down, and eventually switches Currans back against the cage before tripping Curran down. Mizugaki throws big punches and elbows, but Curran explodes off an armbar attempt and sweeps Mizugaki. Curran has the back briefly, but Mizugaki turns into Currans guard and throws strikes as the round ends.

Curran stings Mizugaki with a punch to start round two, and Mizugaki responds by throwing hard leg kicks. Curran throws high kicks, but Mizugaki plows forward and clinches. Mizugaki muscles Curran to the ground. Mizugaki postures up to strike while Curran tries to push off Mizugaki’s thighs, but ends up back in guard. Curran cranks Mizugaki in a one-arm guillotine when Mizugaki was pushing them toward the cage. The round ends with Mizugaki waiting out the choke.

Both men throw to start the final round before Mizugaki once again gets the takedown. Curran fishes for guillotines and triangles, but Mizugaki slips them all. Currans constant activity doesn’t give Mizugaki time to tee off with ground-and-pound. In the final 30 seconds, Curran finally hits the sweep and gets his legs up, locking in a tight triangle. Mizugaki desperately pulls, but Curran rolls on top, working both the arm and the triangle. Mizugaki rolls again, and despite the triangle being locked in, somehow is able to survive until the bell. The last flurry by Curran is unable to seal the deal however, as Mizugaki’s dominance in the first two rounds gives him the split decision victory. The crowd unexpectedly voices their approval of the decision.

The bout was another firm example of the scoring standards of the UFC and the WEC. Before the final minute of round three, Mizugaki was clearly winning the fight, but Currans final moves came the closest to producing a finish to the fight. Much like the Uno-Fisher fight at UFC 99, the final-minute explosion by one fighter wasn’t enough to overcome the relative monotony of the first two rounds. While this finish wasn’t nearly as controversial as Uno-Fisher, the importance of takedowns in the eyes of American judges has just been reinforced.