Glossary /// Alias
Pinned-arm triangle escape
Also known as Triangle Choke Escape — the canonical term used on this site.
Descriptive — the arm is pinned before the legs close
Pinned-arm triangle escape is the descriptive name for trapped triangle defence, the variant in which the defender’s arm is pinned before the legs arrive — which removes the escape most triangle defence depends on.
Etymology. “Pinned-arm” marks the sequencing. In an ordinary triangle the arm is inside but still mobile; here it is fixed first, so the usual instruction to extract it describes something that is no longer available.
Mechanics. Because freeing the arm is off the table, the honest answer changes shape: stop pulling and roll. Continuing to fight for the trapped limb spends the time in which rolling still works, and the roll is the only action that changes the geometry rather than contesting it.
Cross-reference. “Self-choke triangle defence” is the alternate name. Full escape coverage on Trapped Triangle Escape.