Issue 060

March 2010

Peter Irving is a professional welterweight fighter and Fighters Only’s resident fight expert. With a record of 10-6-1, Irving has fought in Europe and the USA, and currently holds the Strike & Submit European title. 

3 MINUTE CLINIC

The Angle

The standard defense for the classic closed-guard guillotine involves posting the head on the mat and ‘tripoding’ up. Here Pete has lain to the side a little to prevent Rob from posting his head.

The Grip 

Whatever grip you employ the squeeze must be tight, with the elbows pulled in to the sides. 

The Legs

Whether using closed guard or placing the hooks on the hips, the aim is to push the hips away, increasing the stretch on the neck, therefore enabling a stronger crush.  

The guillotine choke is a simple windpipe crush executed by using the hands or forearm to apply pressure on the throat, closing the trachea to prevent inhalation. Many set ups and variations of the guillotine exist, and the choke can be applied from the mount, standing or half guard. Here we see the classic guillotine from closed guard.   

The Snap-Down

Step 1: Pete and Rob are tied up in an over-under position. Step 2: Pete grips over Rob’s ear with his overhooking arm. Step 3: Pete pulls on Rob’s head, stepping back a little and guiding it down underneath his sternum. If Pete snaps him down without creating the space he will pull him beneath his armpit, allowing Rob to perform a duck-under and take his back. From here, Peter has two options:  

The Classic Guillotine

Step 1: Still controlling Rob’s posture with the hand on the back of his head, Pete reaches underneath Rob’s chin, positioning his forearm against Rob’s throat. Step 1 (reverse): Note that Pete’s elbow is tight against his side, keeping the window closed against a potential duck-under escape. 

Step 2: Once Pete has closed his grip he can allow Rob’s head to come underneath the armpit. 

Step 3: Pete jumps to guard, locking his legs around Rob. Note that Pete pulls Rob down, rather than jumping up to him where Rob could slam him from a greater height. 

Step 4: As Pete lands he squeezes his legs, stretching Rob out and tightening the hold on the neck.  Grip: The grip employed for the classic guillotine. The top hand pulls the blade of the forearm up into the opponent’s throat.

OR

Standing Finish with Ten-Finger Grip

Step 1: Instead of feeding the arm through for the classic guillotine, Pete places both hands directly under Rob’s chin, allowing him to maintain control of Rob’s head in the center, minimizing Rob’s escape options. This also makes hand fighting more difficult.  

Step 2: Pete lays his head to one side and squeezes Rob up into his chest, keeping his elbows tight to his sides. It is important that Pete does not look forward with his chin up as he is at risk of being headbutted – as Rob struggles to escape he will attempt to pull his head up and back out of the grip, likely hitting Peter in the jaw as he rises. Grip: The ten-finger grip is sometimes known as the concha (shell). With both hands together, the thumb knuckles create a pinch on the trachea while the pad of the thumb crushes the chin beneath the tongue.