The bulldog choke is an unpopular choke in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts, but it is worth your time to learn.
Unpopular moves are advantageous because they are unexpected; therefore, most people don’t take the time to learn how to defend them.
Furthermore, high-ranking students have spent so much time defending against popular moves like arm bars and Kimuras that they can break out of them reflexively. However, putting an unpopular move on an opponent requires her to stop and think of how to break out, giving you all of the time you need to put her to sleep.
In the videos below, we’re going to look at three variations of the bulldog choke from three different martial artists.
Enjoy!
Bulldog Choke/Esophagus Crusher
In this clip, ONE Championship’s Rob “Warrior of God” Lisita (formerly “Ruthless” Rob Lisita) shows fans how he used a bulldog choke to tap Takeshi Inoue back when both were fighting for Rebel FC.
Lisita emphasizes that you must grab the shoulder, keep your head up, and sprawl your hips out in order to do the choke/esophagus crusher correctly.
The No-Gi Clock-Bulldog Choke
The instructor in this video does the opposite of Lisita and puts his head on the ground. He also uses a palm-to-palm grip rather than grabbing the shoulder.
Which do you think is more effective: Lisita’s version or this version? Could both be equally effective?
Bulldog Choke (Pull Opponent’s Head)
Red and white coral belt (red and black at the time of this taping) Marcus Soares shows an interesting way to set up the bulldog choke. Rather than try to do the choke while his opponent is still in the turtle position, Master Soares cups his opponent’s chin and pulls him to the ground before applying the choke.
Apologies in advance for the poor video quality, but this is worth checking out.
Is the bulldog choke part of your grappling arsenal? Why or why not?
