Crucifix North-South Choke

What This Is

The north-south choke closed from a crucifix rather than from a north-south pin. The strangle is the same clamp — the head shut into the attacker’s armpit, with the armpit and chest closing one side of the neck and the biceps and forearm of the choking arm closing the other — but the arms doing the trapping belong to the legs here, and the orientation is inverted.

What that changes is the finish. From the pin, the compression comes from the attacker sinking their shoulders and hips in a straight line toward the head. From the crucifix the attacker is alongside rather than above, so the sink is not available in the same way and the closure comes from shortening the arm structure while the legs keep both of the opponent’s arms out of the exchange.

★ This is the one crucifix strangle on the site with documentation behind it — the north-south choke page names the inverted crucifix configuration itself. Three other crucifix threat edges were ruled out of the census as undocumented; this one survived because the family’s own attack page asserts it.

Safety First

⚠ Drill this at low pressure. A defender with both arms trapped cannot tap with their hands, so agree a verbal or foot tap before starting and check it every round. This is the specific risk the crucifix adds to any strangle attacked from it.

The Invariant in Action

The mechanism is the same and the delivery is not, which is why this is a separate instance rather than an entry to the same one.

The trade is explicit: the crucifix gives up the bodyweight delivery a pin provides and buys the removal of both of the defender’s arms. Whether that trade is worth making depends on how well the defender’s hands were doing.

Setup and Entry

From the Back Crucifix

The common arrival. With both of the opponent’s arms trapped — one by the legs, one by the attacker’s own arm and body — the head is already close to the attacker’s chest, and the choking arm wraps to close the head into the armpit rather than reaching for a grip.

From the Top Crucifix

The same structure taken from on top of a turtled or downed opponent. The legs hold the near arm, the attacker’s arm holds the far one, and the neck is reachable across the top. ⚠ From here the attacker is closer to the pin orientation and should consider whether the ordinary north-south choke is simply available — if the chest can get over the head, it is.

When the Pin Version Stalls

A defender who has successfully framed against a north-south choke from the pin is using their hands to do it. Transitioning to a crucifix takes those hands out of the argument, which is a legitimate reason to accept a less efficient closure.

Position Requirements

Both arms genuinely trapped. The crucifix’s whole contribution is arm isolation. A defender with one arm loose has a hand available for the clamp, and the pin version would have been better.

The head inside the armpit. Not held beside it. The armpit and chest are one of the two compression surfaces, and a head held alongside is a headlock.

The choking arm’s own bicep on the far side. The second surface belongs to the same arm, as it does in every version of this choke.

A tap channel agreed. ⚠ Not a mechanical requirement, a training one. Both of the defender’s arms are trapped.

Defence and Escape

The choke’s own defences are at North-South Choke Escape; the crucifix-specific reads follow.

Deny the head, since you cannot deny the arms. With both hands gone, head position is the entire defence. Keeping the chin tucked and the head turned away from the attacker’s chest denies the armpit the space it needs to close on.

Fight the crucifix rather than the choke. The strangle is a consequence of the position. Recovering a single arm removes the reason the attacker chose this version and usually removes the choke with it.

⚠ Tap early and by an agreed channel. A defender who cannot signal with their hands and waits for a clear vascular cue has removed both of their safety margins at once.

Common Errors

Drilling Notes

• Tap channel first. ⚠ Before any repetition, agree and test the verbal or foot tap. Non-negotiable for any crucifix submission.
• Contract, do not lean. Partner reports whether they feel the clamp shortening or the attacker’s weight arriving on one side. Ten light reps; the feedback is the drill.
• Choose the version. From a top crucifix, partner sometimes leaves the chest-over-head path open. The attacker takes the ordinary north-south choke when it is there and this one when it is not.

Ability Level Guidance

Ruleset Context

Unrestricted as a strangle. ⚠ The crucifix itself is legal everywhere, but competitors should know that a trapped-arm position removes the usual tap signal — referees and partners both rely on it.

Also Known As

Related Pages