Tips for the cross collar choke / Juji Jime

Having trouble finishing off that strangle? Here is some advice to help you get the tap/put them to sleep.

First watch this video of Roger Gracie demonstrating the technique. He's one of the greatest Jiu Jitsu competitors of all time, and has won many, many fights with the cross collar choke.

At around 2:38, he explains that there is no need to flare your elbows out, just use your wrists. He mimics the action in the air, and it's absolutely correct. But I feel it's a little too subtle as a demonstration and it's something people often get wrong, so I decided to go over the mechanics in more detail here.

The Wrist Mechanics

Fig. 1 - BAD

Fig.1 - Here the palms of my hands turn outward and my wrists are bent the wrong way, following the curvature of my opponent's neck. The elbows are flared which puts a little pressure on the throat, but hardly any on the arteries/veins I want to hit. It's very hard to finish, and faggotry ensues.

Fig. 2 -BETTER

Fig. 2 - Here I've straightened my wrists and rotated them towards me. I have not moved my hands closer together, yet there is much less space for the neck to live in. With correct positioning and leverage I can put them to sleep.

Fig. 3 - MURDER

Fig. 3 - My hands are in exactly the same position as before. They have not moved closer together. Yet there is now very little space, and I don't even have my elbows flared yet. all I've done is bend my wrists towards the neck and turned my hands towards myself. That's it.

Once you get that working, you'll find the hardest part is setting it up. There are other details too, which we might look at later.