Peruvian Necktie

What This Is

The Peruvian Necktie attacks from the front headlock with a two-handed grip trapping the opponent’s head and near arm, and both legs thrown over the opponent to drive the head down into that grip. Where the guillotine uses the choking arm alone, the Peruvian Necktie locks the hands — S-grip or gable — under the chin around the head and near arm, then throws the head-side leg over the back of the opponent’s head, follows with the second leg over their back, and sits back.

The sit-back is the finish. Sitting close to the opponent’s head, the attacker extends the hips: the legs fold the opponent’s head down and deeper into the locked grip while the arms extend and the elbows pinch together. There is no roll — the opponent stays folded underneath as the attacker reclines, and the compression comes from the head being driven down between the legs and the grip.

The Peruvian Necktie is most commonly used from turtle top or as a counter to a wrestling shot, where the opponent’s head is down and their back is horizontal and accessible. It is mechanically distinct from the guillotine because the head-and-arm grip and the legs change the compression geometry: the opponent’s head is loaded downward into the choke by the attacker’s whole lower body rather than held by arm strength alone.

Safety First

Tap at the first sensation of neck pressure — the flexion component means waiting for the choke’s urgency is waiting too long. The attacker should apply the hip extension gradually and treat the tap as instant. Both attacker and defender should understand that this is not a pure strangle.

The Invariant in Action

The legs drive the opponent’s head downward, deeper into the locked grip. This downward drive from the legs meets the closing loop of the hands and forearms — the head is folded into the compression rather than pulled against it. The Peruvian Necktie is not a guillotine with legs resting on top: the leg-and-hip drive is the force that seats the choke, and the arms finish what the legs feed them.

The head-side leg must lie across the back of the opponent’s head — hamstring or calf on the skull, not floating above it — for the sit-back to fold the head down. The leg placement is not incidental positioning; it is the surface through which the hip extension reaches the neck. If the legs go over without the head-side leg finding the head, the sit-back drives the back instead and the choke never seats.

The Grip

The Peruvian Necktie grip is a two-handed lock trapping the head and the near arm:

The hands: From the front headlock, one arm wraps the neck and the other passes over the opponent’s near arm; the hands lock under the chin — an S-grip or a gable grip — so that the loop contains both the head and the near arm. The near arm trapped inside the grip cannot post or frame, and the lock must be secure before either leg moves.

The head-side leg: The first leg over is the leg beside the opponent’s head. It swings over the back of the opponent’s head and neck, the hamstring or calf lying across the back of the skull. This is the defining placement — this leg is what will fold the head down when the attacker sits back.

The second leg: The other leg follows, over the opponent’s back. With both legs over — one on the head, one on the back — the opponent is framed between the attacker’s legs and the locked grip, and the sit-back is available.

The Finish

The finish is the sit-back:

Sit back close to the head. The attacker sits back beside the opponent’s head — not away from it. Proximity is the mechanic: the closer the hips are to the head, the more directly the legs fold the head down as the body reclines.

Extend the hips. As the attacker reclines, the hips extend and the legs drive the opponent’s head down and deeper into the locked grip. The lower body supplies the force; the head has nowhere to go but into the loop.

Extend the arms and pinch the elbows. The arms extend as the elbows squeeze together, closing the loop the legs are feeding the head into. The compression completes between the folding head and the tightening grip. Applied gradually, the choke arrives with the flexion load — tap timing is on the first pressure, not the last.

Setup and Entry

From Turtle Top (Primary Entry)

The most common entry. From turtle top, the opponent’s back is horizontal and the head is at a workable height. The two-handed grip around head and near arm is locked first; then the head-side leg swings over the back of the head, the second leg follows over the back, and the attacker sits back close to the head. The turtle posture provides exactly the head-down, back-horizontal shape the technique requires.

From Front Headlock Ground

When the opponent in the front headlock ground position has their head down and upper back exposed, the same sequence applies from the established grip. The opponent must have their head low and back accessible — the entry disappears when the opponent is more upright in the front headlock.

When the Opponent Shoots or Ducks

When an opponent shoots a single or double leg takedown, their head goes down and their back flattens. The front headlock catches the head, the hands lock around head and near arm, and the head-side leg swings over the lowered head. This is the classic competitive entry — the shot creates the exact head and back position the Peruvian Necktie requires, and the sit-back lands as the opponent’s momentum stalls.

Position Requirements

• Two-handed head-and-arm grip — Mandatory starting grip. The hands lock (S-grip or gable) under the chin around the head and near arm; the Peruvian Necktie is a front headlock variant, not a standalone position.
• Opponent’s head down, back accessible and relatively horizontal — The head-side leg must reach over the back of the head and the second leg over the back. An upright opponent provides neither surface.
• Turtle Top or equivalent — The most reliable context. Other contexts (shot counter, front headlock ground) are secondary but viable.

Defence and Escape

Priority 1 — Do not allow the front headlock: The Peruvian Necktie cannot begin without the head-and-arm control. Preventing the neck control is the primary defence — the same defence used against guillotines and D’arce applies here.

Priority 2 — Tuck the chin and fight the lock: If the front headlock is established, tucking the chin and pulling the trapped arm back makes the under-the-chin hand lock harder to close. The grip must contain both head and near arm — denying either half delays everything that follows.

Priority 3 — Block the head-side leg: The first leg over is the leg that attacks the back of the head, and it is the one to stop. Posturing the head up, or using the free arm to block the leg’s swing, keeps the folding surface off the skull. Without the head-side leg, the sit-back drives the back instead of the neck and the attack reverts to a manageable grip-fighting problem.

Priority 4 — Posture before the sit-back completes: If both legs are over and the grip is locked, the window is the moment before the hips extend. Driving the head up and the base forward into the attacker resists the fold. Once the sit-back completes and the head is folded into the grip, escape options are gone — tap at the first pressure.

Common Errors

Drilling Notes

Ability Level Guidance

Ruleset Context

The Peruvian Necktie is unrestricted across all standard no-gi rulesets.

Also Known As

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