The Short Choke Is Not a Failed Rear Naked Choke

The Common Picture

When a rear naked choke attempt is defended — the defender’s chin comes down, the choking arm cannot reach the neck — grapplers often try to “settle” for the short choke by applying shoulder pressure while the arm remains at the chin level. This produces a pressure-based pain submission attempt, not a blood choke, because the arm position is wrong for the short choke’s geometry even though it is the right neighbourhood. The result is a position that stalls because neither the RNC nor the short choke has been properly established.

What the Mechanics Say

Strangles Require Compression on Both Sides of the Neck Simultaneously applies to the short choke as distinctly as it does to the RNC. The short choke achieves bilateral carotid compression through a different path: the choking forearm presses into the neck from below the chin (rather than from behind it), with the bicep providing the second compression point on the far side. This geometry requires the forearm to be positioned specifically below the mandible and across the carotid, not simply pressed against the chin from above. It is a blood choke with its own specific contact geometry.

Force Angle Determines Leverage, Not Size identifies the adjustment required. The short choke’s finishing angle is different from the RNC’s finishing angle — the forearm orientation relative to the carotid structures changes when the approach is from below the chin rather than around the back of the neck. A practitioner who applies the short choke with RNC-style finishing mechanics (extending the body backward, squeezing at RNC contact points) will not find the correct bilateral compression because the force angle is wrong for the different geometry.

The Secondary Anchor Must Be Controlled or Removed names the chin tuck as the secondary anchor that makes both the RNC and the short choke interruptible. When the defender tucks the chin effectively, the RNC is blocked. The short choke addresses this anchor differently — rather than fighting over the chin, it works under the chin to achieve the bilateral contact the RNC cannot find. This is a mechancial workaround for the anchor, not a weaker alternative that accepts the anchor’s effectiveness.

Where the Gap Appears

Grapplers who attempt the short choke as a fallback without adjusting their finishing mechanics produce a sustained pressure position that fatigues their own arm without achieving the bilateral compression needed for a blood choke effect. Experienced defenders who understand that the position is not blood-choking them can wait it out. Grapplers who have learned the short choke’s specific geometry find it completes quickly and independently from RNC attempts.

How to Address It

Drill the short choke as a standalone technique from its own starting position, not as a transition from a failed RNC. Identify the specific forearm contact point below the mandible, confirm bilateral contact geometry, and practice the finish from there. Once the technique is competent as a standalone, integrate it as a deliberate alternative when the RNC is blocked — not as a fallback but as a planned second threat.

Related

This belief connects to strangle both sides simultaneously, force angle, and control the secondary anchor. See the short choke, rear naked choke, and harness pages for how both finishing options integrate with the back position.