Japanese Necktie

What This Is

The Japanese Necktie is applied from the top of the turtle position — the opponent is on hands and knees and the attacker has a front headlock or head-and-arm control established. The attacker’s choking arm wraps the neck from above while the other arm threads under the opponent’s near armpit; the hands lock palm-to-palm in a gable grip behind the opponent’s neck. There is no wrist grip — the palm-to-palm lock is the connection, closing a loop that contains the opponent’s head and near arm.

The leg is the defining component. With the grip locked, the attacker steps the near leg over, placing the shin or knee against the back of the opponent’s head — or triangles the legs for a tighter frame — then falls to the side, chest glued behind the opponent’s head. The fall puts the head between two surfaces: the forearm compresses one side of the neck while the shin presses the other, and the attacker’s bodyweight completes the pressure. Without the leg, the grip is only a head-and-arm hold; the shin behind the head is what makes it the Japanese Necktie.

The submission is a hybrid: it has both a choking component (the forearm compresses the throat or carotid vessels) and a cranking component (the shin and bodyweight force the head down and forward relative to the spine). The combination is what gives the Japanese Necktie its reputation as a difficult submission to defend — the opponent cannot block either component without increasing the other.

The Japanese Necktie is distinct from the guillotine in control position and arm configuration. The guillotine typically uses the arm alone, applied from in front or to the side of the opponent. The Japanese Necktie encloses the head and near arm in the palm-to-palm loop and recruits the leg and bodyweight as finishing surfaces, which prevents the opponent from simply pulling the head free.

The technique connects to the Mexican Necktie as a sequential threat: when the opponent defends the Japanese Necktie by rising to their knees or all-fours, the grip can be kept and the attack continued as the Mexican Necktie from the same lock. See: Mexican Necktie.

Ruleset note: The Japanese Necktie includes a cranking component applied to the cervical spine. It is illegal in IBJJF formats (neck cranks prohibited at all levels). It is legal in ADCC.

Safety First

Apply slowly and in stages. Confirm the grip and the shin placement before falling to the side. Only practise the finish with experienced training partners who understand the dual-mechanism nature of this submission and have explicit early-tap agreements for both choke and neck pressure.

Training context. Not recommended — dual choke/crank mechanism; apply only with experienced partners and explicit early-tap agreements.

The Invariant in Action

The cervical spine in the Japanese Necktie is loaded in combined flexion and lateral flexion — the shin and bodyweight drive the head down and to the side simultaneously. This combined loading reaches structural limits faster than either movement alone, as the joint cannot resist multi-directional loading as effectively. The danger zone for this crank is reached with less movement than a single-plane cervical load.

The palm-to-palm lock — choking arm around the neck, other arm threaded under the near armpit, hands locked in a gable grip — is the connection that must be established before anything else. The shin against the back of the head is the second connection. A partially assembled grip (one arm only, or the hands not locked) allows the opponent to pull the head free or turn away, and a fall to the side without the shin in place presses against nothing. Both connections come before force.

The secondary anchor is the opponent’s near arm — the arm enclosed by the armpit thread. By threading the inside arm under the opponent’s near armpit before locking the hands, the palm-to-palm loop contains that arm and prevents it from being used to post or to push the attacker’s head away. The opponent’s near arm becomes part of the lock rather than a resistance tool. The secondary anchor is controlled structurally by the grip design.

Setup and Entry

From Turtle Top — Head and Arm Control

The primary entry. The opponent is on hands and knees in the turtle position. The attacker has front headlock control — one arm around the neck from above. From this position, the attacker slides their inside arm (the arm on the same side as the opponent’s near arm) down through the gap between the opponent’s upper arm and their body, and locks the hands palm-to-palm in a gable grip. The loop is now closed around the head and near arm. The attacker steps the near leg over, places the shin against the back of the opponent’s head, and falls to the side to finish.

From a Failed Guillotine Attempt

When a guillotine attempt is defended by the opponent pressing their near arm against their body to prevent the choking arm from deepening, that same pressing arm opens the armpit thread. The guillotine arm is already in place around the neck; the attacker threads the other arm under the now-available armpit and locks palm-to-palm to complete the Japanese Necktie grip. The guillotine defence creates the Japanese Necktie entry.

Finish Mechanics

With the palm-to-palm grip locked around the head and near arm:

Step the near leg over and place the shin behind the head. The attacker steps the near leg over the opponent’s head, setting the shin or knee against the back of the skull. Grapplers with the leg length can triangle the legs instead for a tighter frame. The shin is the second finishing surface — the forearm will compress one side of the neck, the shin the other.

Fall to the side, chest glued behind the head. The attacker falls or sprawls to the side of the locked grip, keeping the chest connected behind the opponent’s head throughout. The fall is not a separate action from the finish — it is the finish beginning. Any space between chest and head during the fall lets the opponent posture or pull the head free.

Let bodyweight complete it. On the mat, the head is trapped between forearm and shin with the attacker’s bodyweight settling through both. The forearm compresses one side of the neck, the shin presses the other, and the weight drives the head down and forward. The squeeze is an adjustment, not the engine — the submission is most efficient when the bodyweight does the work and the arms merely hold the structure.

Defence and Escape

Prevent the loop from closing. The primary defence is before the inside arm threads under the armpit. Keep the near arm pressed tight to the body — if the opponent cannot thread the inside arm through, the palm-to-palm lock cannot enclose the arm and only the guillotine component is present. This is the same defence used against the anaconda choke.

Block the leg or rise before the fall. The submission needs the shin behind the head and the fall to the side. Rising to the knees or all-fours before the leg steps over takes the head out of the shin’s path — though the attacker keeping the grip can continue into the Mexican Necktie, so rising must be paired with stripping the locked hands.

Tap early. The Japanese Necktie’s combined mechanisms mean there are multiple injury pathways. When the attacker has fallen to the side with the grip and shin in place, tap before the damage threshold — not at it.

Common Errors — and Why They Fail

Drilling Notes

Systematic Approach

Phase 1 — grip assembly. From turtle top, practise threading the inside arm under the armpit and locking the hands palm-to-palm in a gable grip. Confirm the loop contains the head and near arm. No pressure. Drill until the assembly is fast and reliable.

Phase 2 — leg placement. With the grip locked, practise stepping the near leg over and setting the shin against the back of the partner’s head. Find the contact point — back of the skull, not the upper back. Still no pressure.

Phase 3 — the fall. Fall slowly to the side with the chest glued behind the partner’s head, and stop the moment either surface makes contact with the neck. Partner confirms where they feel the pressure: forearm on one side, shin on the other. Tap at first sensation of either throat pressure or neck load — the bodyweight component arrives fast.

Important: Do not drill with resistance until the fall and tap timing are completely reliable for both players. This is a dual-mechanism submission requiring mature tap discipline.

Ability Level Guidance

Ruleset Context

Submission-only formats. Varies — cervical crank component may be restricted in some promotions; confirm rules.

Also Known As

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