Cross Collar
Choke
The Roger Gracie special. Cross your grips, pull your elbows together, and put world champions to sleep.
Cross The Grips.
Squeeze The Elbows.
The Cross Collar Choke is called the “X-Choke” because your arms form an X over their neck. Deep grips + elbows together = blood stops flowing to the brain.
First Grip Deep
Your dominant hand enters the opposite collar—palm up, thumb inside. Go DEEP. Your fingers should feel the back of their neck. This grip is everything.
Second Grip Under
Your other hand goes to the other collar, sliding UNDER your first arm. Same depth—fingers touch the back of the neck. Now your arms form the X.
Elbows Together
Pull your elbows down and together. Your wrists press against the carotid arteries. Lean forward. Blood stops. They tap or sleep in seconds.
2 Positions.
Same X.
The cross collar works from mount and closed guard. The grip is identical—only your position changes.
From
Mount
Roger Gracie’s weapon. Secure mount, use your head as a post for balance, get the first grip during their escape attempt. Second grip under. Elbows together. Finish.
From Closed
Guard
You’re on your back, they’re in your guard. Get both cross grips deep, pull them down to your chest, close your elbows. Their posture breaks, blood stops.
Knee Slide
Pass
Set the first grip during the pass. As you complete the knee slide, the second grip is waiting. Finish before they even realize they’ve been passed.
The
X
Grip
Your arms cross over their neck. Deep grips are everything—if your fingers can touch behind their neck, you’re deep enough. Shallow grips mean no finish.
-
Cross Grip
Right hand grips LEFT collar. Left hand grips RIGHT collar. This is why it’s called “cross” collar—you’re crossing to opposite sides.
-
Go Deep
Your fingers need to reach the back of their neck. A good test: can your fingers from both hands touch each other behind their neck? If yes, you’re deep enough.
-
Elbows Down
Pull your elbows toward your hips. This drives your wrists into their carotid arteries. Lean forward for more pressure. Be patient—count to 20.
3 Mistakes
That Kill Your Cross Collar
Shallow Grips
If your fingers aren’t behind their neck, you don’t have enough leverage. The choke will feel like a crank, they’ll defend easily, and your grips will burn out.
Elbows Wide
If your elbows stay out, there’s no pressure on the arteries. The magic happens when elbows come TOGETHER and DOWN. Think “close the gap.”
Rushing The Finish
Blood chokes need TIME. If you have good grips and connection, hold for a 20-count before adjusting. Patience finishes more chokes than strength.
4 Setup
Opportunities
The cross collar works best when they’re focused on something else. Here’s when to strike.
During Escape Attempts
From mount, when they bridge to escape, their collar opens up. Sneak the first grip in while they’re focused on escaping.
After Scissor Sweep
You already have collar control from guard. Sweep to mount—now finish what you started.
Guard Pull With Grip
Get the first grip standing, pull guard with it. You’re already halfway to the choke.
Failed Armbar Defense
They defended your armbar from guard? Keep the collar grip, get the second one, finish the choke instead.
Related Techniques
Document Your
Fundamentals
Track your progress. Log your submissions. Build your fundamental game with structured templates designed for serious grapplers.
Get The Journal- 90+ Pages
- Technique Library
- Training Logs
- Competition Prep