The ‘Brabo’ choke is a powerful weapon in BJJ, MMA, and Submission Grappling. And people are beginning to realize this. In fact, shortly after Paulo Thiago defeated Mike Swick at UFC 109 a reader asked me to write about the Brabo choke
(Thiago finished the fight in the second round using this very choke choke).
I’ve always had a suspicion that this attack (also known as the ‘Darce choke’) would become a more popular attack. That’s why, several years ago, I asked Marcio Feitosa to teach a photo tutorial on the Brabo choke.
Grapplers are finally catching on that the Brabo choke is a very powerful attack that you can hit from a number of different position. That’s why we’re seeing it more and more in submission grappling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA.
All this being said, I have to point out that the Brabo choke is NOT a submission that I’ve studied very deeply. Sure, I could show you the basic mechanics and a few tricks, but I’m just not your man if you want a ton of detail about this attack.
Fortunately someone else has done the heavy lifting on the Brabo Choke: Matt Kirtley has put together a really good series of articles on this attack at Aesopian.com. Here’s a list of articles that you should read if you want to make it one of your go-to moves:
- Brabo Choke Homework: Trigger Position
- Brabo Choke Homework: Progressive Grips
- Brabo Choke Homework: Crossing the Arm