Chokehold
From Freepedia
A chokehold is a hold designed to quickly render the opponent unconscious in order to subdue them or win a fight. The hold is usually performed by encircling the opponent's neck with an arm or piece of cloth (for example, a judogi) and applying pressure, or by grabbing the collar with both hands and applying pressure with the wrists or forearms. It can also be applied with the legs (e.g. the triangle choke) or with a blunt weapon such as a truncheon. The pressure is applied to the front sides of the neck rather than directly to the front (tracheal) area; thus, a chokehold is sometimes called a lateral vascular restraint.
Chokeholds are commonly done in certain martial arts such as Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts. In Judo, they are known as shime-waza (絞技, strangulation technique).
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Anatomy of a chokehold
A few chokeholds (such as one version of Judo's hadaka jime) work by constricting the opponent's trachea, which restricts the air supply and causes pain and possibly physical damage but may not result in unconsciousness quickly. The more efficient chokeholds, the "blood chokes", do not attempt to cut off the opponent's air supply; rather, they work by cutting off the blood supply to the brain by compressing the carotid arteries on either side of the neck. Some maintain that the blood supply is cut off due to compression of the jugular veins; this compression prevents blood from leaving the head, and thus obstructs blood flow to the brain. This is deemed more likely by some than occlusion of the carotid artery, which is located deeper in the neck, is somewhat protected by the sternocleidomastoid and other neck muscles, and is in any case a major artery with heavy walls and is not particularly amenable to occlusion, especially when compared to a vein at the same location. In either case, unconsciousness is caused by interruption of blood flow to the brain.
A blood choke, when properly applied, allows the opponent to continue breathing normally even as they pass out and so reduces the likelihood of permanent damage. This quickly renders an opponent unconscious, normally under 10 seconds1 of application of the chokehold, at which point the hold should be released immediately. The opponent should regain consciousness within 20 seconds1.
It should be noted that an incorrectly-applied chokehold can cause serious damage such as crushing the trachea, and thus can potentially be lethal. Even a correctly-applied chokehold will cause brain damage or death if held for too long. For these reasons, outside of life threatening situations, chokeholds should only be practiced under the direct supervision of a qualified individual, such as an instructor or referee in Judo or MMA.
Types of chokeholds
Examples of chokeholds include rear naked choke, triangle choke and guillotine choke. These are very common in Judo and other grappling arts.
Another common choke is the "straight choke", where the lapels are used. It is best if you use this while sitting face-to-face on top of your partner. You grasp his right lapel with your left hand and his left lapel with your right hand. Then you pull with your left hand and use the right hand to bring the lapel across the throat and push to tighten it. Another variation of it is if you are sitting with his back to you. Then you reach in front of your victim and grab his right lapel with your left hand and his left lapel with your right hand and pull down the right lapel while you pull his left lapel across his neck with your right hand. (Reverse if you are left-handed.) Your partner should signal you to release the hold by tapping out before he loses conciousness.
The "Cross choke" can be done from any position facing your opponent. You slide fingers of both hands into your opponents shirt collar so only thunbs are exposed. Then you grasp the collars and pull him towards you while extending your elbows outward.
