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How to do your first guillotine choke

The guillotine is one of the first chokes a beginner can finish, often off a sprawl. Here is the safe, step-by-step version — and the tap discipline behind it.

How-to guide Core concept

The guillotine is one of the first chokes a beginner can actually finish in live training, because it appears constantly — most often when you sprawl on a takedown attempt and end up over your partner’s head. It is a front-neck strangle from the front headlock family. This is the beginner version for reference; learn it under a coach and see the full guillotine page for the depth this overview omits.

The steps

  1. Get the front headlock. Secure a front headlock — your chest over the back of your partner’s head and neck, often after sprawling on their takedown attempt. The guillotine lives in this head-and-arm control, so get there first.
  2. Wrap the neck. Pass your choking arm around the front of the neck so the blade of your forearm sits under the throat, with your hand reaching through toward the far side. Keep your chest tight to the back of their head so they cannot posture up.
  3. Connect your hands. Clasp your hands together — palm to palm or by gripping your own wrist — to close the frame. Avoid pulling only with the choking arm; the finish comes from the whole structure, not arm strength.
  4. Create the angle and lift. Lift the blade of your forearm up into the throat while bringing your chest and hips slightly up and back, closing the elbow toward your own centre. The angle finishes the choke; pulling straight up does not.
  5. Apply slowly and release on the tap. Tighten smoothly rather than wrenching, and watch for the tap. The moment it comes, release at once — like any strangle, the guillotine is applied with control and let go instantly when your partner signals.

Drill it safely

As with every choke, the guillotine is safe to train because of tapping culture — slow application, an early tap, an instant release. It belongs among the best submissions for a beginner to learn first, and the Foundations path introduces it alongside the sprawl and front headlock it comes from.

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