In this video I show a variation the Cross Collar Choke with the arms being completely straight. There are a lot of different ways to do a cross collar choke, and I personally use a lot of different methods. This is one of my favorite ways to do the Cross Collar Choke as it doesnt burn my grips and it’s highly effective.

Notice the head placement on the mat. Correct basing on the hairline is extremely important, both for safety AND effectiveness. This will take some getting used to as we have been conditioned to maintain weight on our butt in mount rather than our hips and abdominal muscles.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

In this video I show an Open Guard Pass that I call the Pony Pass. This is an important transition that presents itself a lot throughout various positions but I feel this is one of the easiest ways to practice the movement.

After the demonstration of the technique I included some instruction on what a good training partner will do to produce the desired space for practice. Obviously, while rolling, this will be a much smaller window but the concept applies the same.

This is part of a passing sequence that I showed from DLR and while this does not appear to be that viable, when paired with the second pass, it happens a lot more than you would think.

As you get better at this movement you will not have to place your hands on the floor (and you really should avoid doing that after you master the weight transfer and pathway with your hips).

In this video I show a transition from the North/South Choke to the Paper Cutter. I also provide a few tips on how to finish this technique.

Often when I see this move performed it crushes the windpipe. While this can be a bi product of doing the move, it should be a strangle first (blood choke). Make sure to understand that the collar is one piece of cloth and the collar grip under the shoulder has the ability to tighten the choke as well.

Make sure your hips are turned towards your opponents and your only on one cheek. The pathway around the head is very important and adds a lot to the choke. Check it out and try it both ways during drilling and you will see there is a clearly better choke.

In this video I show a really fun and dynamic pass. I’ve known this pass for awhile, and while I’ve gotten some success out of it, it is important to realize that it not something you should rely on regularly.

Once your opponent/partner gets a beat on you that you like to do this they will be very careful of allowing that top leg to stay straight. This can be a powerful thing in setting up your other passes, as the threat of this is forcing them to continually pump their legs. Make sure you use the threat of this, to set up your other passes.

With that being said, makes sure to watch the video to see the pathway that I take. There is some variance available in the pass, but make sure that you look towards the ceiling and create backwards pressure on the calf while at the same time you’re performing a wrestling shot.