Darce Choke Variations Explained

Last updated on 14.04.2020 by

Darce choke is one of the most dangerous submissions in the whole BJJ arsenal. It is good for both gi and no-gi battle, and highly applicable in the world of mixed martial arts. In Portuguese, it means an inverted arm triangle (triângulo de braço invertido). It is also called “Brabo choke”.
For example, Tyron Woodley was unable to turn the lights out on Darren Till at UFC 228, because of the
Brit kept getting up despite devastating blows. “The Chosen One” attempted Darce choke when Till
turtled and successfully defended his 170-pound strap.

Darce Choke – Where Does The Name Come From?

The origin of the name is unknown. The guy who made Darce choke famous was Joe D’Arce, a Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie, who successfully forced his opponents to surrender multiple
times with this wonderful technique.
Joe learned this magical move from the famous Renzo Gracie Academy coach John Danaher.

History Of The Darce Choke

D’Arce choke originates from Luta Livre Esportiva competitor Björn Dag Lagerström. He created this
submission accidentally. But it also became famous throughout BJJ black belt Milton Vieira. He intended to pursue an MMA career in the 2000s, joined the Brazilian Top Team, and brought some entertaining jiu-jitsu moves into the world of MMA – no-gi Brabo choke and anaconda choke.
The first clean Darce choke in UFC was seen in the fight between Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove and Alan
Belcher at UFC 69. Belcher was battering Grove throughout the bout but the Hawaiian star saw an
opportunity and shocked the world, earning the Performance of the Night award.

How to Do A Darce choke?

It’s a blood choke that covers both carotid arteries and puts the opponent to sleep if done properly. To execute it, push your arm underneath the opponent’s arm and neck. Then, to force your foe to
surrender, catch the upper forearm of your other arm and press tight. Unless the rival stops you from
putting the arm under his neck, the match is over.
It is one of the most applicable chokes in any bout, as you can do it from many various positions. If you
master Darce choke, a very defensive opponent might have a hard time against you.

Top Half Guard Darce Choke

Top half guard is probably the most suitable position for setting Darce choke. You can use the moment
when the opponent has a weak under-hook to your advantage.
As soon as the foe under-hooks you, try to shoot the Whizzer arm through the underside space of the
head. If you clasp onto the back of the neck, you will stop the rival from rolling out of the submission.
Bring your free arm to the top of the head and connect it with your Whizzer arm, grabbing your Whizzer
arm driving your weight down on the shoulder. Compress the arm to finish the submission. Check the
video for more precise Darce choke instructions.

Top Side Control Darce Choke

This is an advanced version of Darce choke. When you end up in the side control, the opponent will
probably try to dig the trapped elbow in and bump out. If you’re on the opponent’s right side, you must
peel his left arm of his body, because he could tuck the elbow against the ribs and stop the attempt.
So you must take care of his elbow in the first place. To do that, switch your hips and put your knee
under his arm (follow and slide in). The path is cleared, so the submission game can kick-off.
Keep your hips as close as possible. Reach with your right arm under all the way across, grabbing your
far side knee and putting it in the line with your head. It brings the opponent on the side.
Now let go of your knee, grab the forearm of your right arm with your left hand and sprawl your hips
down to finish the submission.
Check the instructional video below.

Check this amazing battle between Chris Weidman and Tom Lawlor at UFC 139, where “The All-
American” put Tom Lawlor to sleep via this world-class technique.

Bottom Side Control Darce Choke

Do you know what makes Darce choke such a great submission? An ability to do it even from a bad position. It is applicable in both gi and no-gi competition. Let’s assume the opponent keeps you in a side control from your left (check the video below). Begin by securing a strong over-hook with your right hand. Pummel your left arm underneath putting in on the opponent’s ribcage.
Slide-out of the bad position holding the under-hook and moving your body clockwise. As you’re nearing
north-south position, your right-hand starts to slide and grabs the rear side of the foe’s neck.
Keep moving your legs in the same direction and grab the triceps of your left arm with your right hand.
Lift your hips up and squeeze to finish the submission.
Note: it doesn’t matter whether the opponent pushes his shoulder into you or not, good technique
saves your day and wins the fight.

Darce Choke From Turtle

You can go for it when the opponent is turtled but he’s facing towards you. First, put your left arm in,
then go for a headlock putting your right arm under his chest and wrapping it around the opponent’s
neck.
Drop to the side while your right arm remains under his neck, pressing his left shoulder with your chest.
Lock the choke on his neck and keep rolling clockwise.
Try to grab his right leg with your left leg, this move will stop him from escaping. Squeeze and put your
hips in to finish the Darce choke and force your rival to tap out.
See the video:

Tony Ferguson was on a losing end of the scorecards against Mike del Rio at UFC 166, but he was able to
win the bout via this amazing technique.

Summary

Longer arms are the advantage because you’ll easily wrap your arms about the foe’s neck, but if the
technique is good, even the shorter fighter can give it a try. Darce choke is a great way to outsmart a
defensive grappler, but also one of the best counters against side control experts.
You can literally give it a shot from any position, in a gi or no-gi competition, which puts it on the list of
the most applicable BJJ techniques.

1 thought on “Darce Choke Variations Explained”

Comments are closed.