Baseball Bat
Choke
The sneakiest choke in BJJ. Grip like a bat, scissor your elbows, and they tap before they know what happened.
Grip Like A Bat.
Scissor Your Elbows.
The Baseball Bat Choke gets its name from how you hold the collar like a baseball bat. One hand palm-down, one palm-up, close together. When your elbows come together, the collar becomes a noose.
The Bat Grip
First hand: thumb in collar, palm down. Second hand: four fingers in collar, palm up. Both hands close together behind their neck—like gripping a bat.
Scissor The Elbows
Bring your elbows together, crossing them. This drives your forearm into their carotid. The scissoring motion is what creates the strangle.
Rotate To Finish
Drop your head toward their hip and rotate toward their head. As you spin, the choke tightens automatically. End in north-south for maximum pressure.
3 Positions.
Same Grip.
The grip is always the same. The position you attack from changes the angle and finish.
From Knee
On Belly
The classic setup. Your knee on their belly creates discomfort that opens up collar access. Get the bat grip, scissor elbows, spin to finish.
From Side
Control
Works when you need space to get the second grip. Pop up slightly to create space, secure the bat grip, then scissor and rotate to finish.
From
Bottom
The ultimate trap. As they pass your guard, establish the bat grip. Let them think they’re winning—then roll away and finish as they chase.
The
Bat
Grip
The grip makes the choke. Hands together like holding a baseball bat—one palm down, one palm up. The closer your hands, the tighter the collar wraps around their neck.
-
First Grip: Thumb In
Near side of their neck—thumb inside the collar, four fingers outside, palm facing down. Get it deep, behind their neck.
-
Second Grip: Fingers In
Other side of their neck—four fingers inside the collar, thumb outside, palm facing up. Close to your first hand.
-
Scissor And Spin
Bring elbows together (scissoring), drop your head to their hip, spin toward their head. The rotation does the work.
3 Mistakes
That Kill Your Baseball
Hands Too Far Apart
If your hands are spread across the collar, the choke is loose. Keep them close together—almost touching. Like gripping a real bat.
Forgetting To Rotate
The scissoring creates the choke, but the rotation finishes it. Don’t just squeeze—spin your body toward their head as you tighten.
Wrong Palm Orientation
One palm down (thumb in), one palm up (fingers in). If both palms face the same way, the mechanics don’t work. Check your grips.
4 Setup
Opportunities
The Baseball Bat Choke is a “sneaky” submission. Here are the best moments to set the trap.
Knee On Belly Pressure
They’re focused on escaping your knee. Use the distraction to secure both grips.
Guard Pass Counter
As they pass your guard, get the grips. Let them pass—then roll away and finish.
Half Guard Top
From top half guard, there’s space to sneak in the grips. Pop up and attack.
Mount Transition
From mount, secure the grips then dismount to knee on belly. Finish from there.
Related Techniques
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