How to Defend the Rear Naked Choke

The rear naked choke is the most reliable submission in grappling and the most common way you will get tapped at every belt level. Defending it well requires understanding three layered phases of defence. Stop the back take in the first place. Strip the seatbelt grip if they get the back. Defend the choking arm if they finish the seatbelt. This guide covers every stage with the techniques that actually work in live rolling.

Phase 1: Stop the Back Take

The best rear naked choke defence is never giving up your back. Most beginners give up the back by exposing it during scrambles, while turning to escape mount, or while shrimping out of side control with poor framing.

Three habits prevent most back exposures.

• Always turn into your opponent during a scramble, never away from them
• If you must turn away, keep your elbows tight to your body so they cannot get a body lock or seatbelt
• If you start to lose mount or side control, recover guard rather than turning to your knees and giving them the back

Phase 2: Strip the Seatbelt

Once your opponent has back control with both hooks in and a seatbelt grip (one arm over your shoulder, one under your armpit, hands clasped), the rear naked choke is the next step. Defending here means getting the seatbelt off before they release it to start the choke.

1. Both hands need to fight the choking arm. Specifically, the arm coming over your shoulder, not the one under your armpit
2. Use both hands to pull that arm down across your chest
3. While you pull the arm down, work your hips towards the side of the choking arm
4. Push your head into the crook of their elbow to deny the choking arm a path under your chin
5. Once you create space, peel the choking arm over your head and turn into the position

Phase 3: The Choke Is Locked

If your opponent has the choking arm under your chin and is reaching for the figure four lock with their other hand, you have very little time. Two priorities apply.

• Tuck your chin · Drop your chin into your chest as hard as you can. This denies the choking arm full depth on the artery side of your neck
• Both hands fight the arm · Grab the choking arm with both hands and try to peel it down. Do not try to defend their other arm or push their head. Both hands on the choking arm, always

If you cannot get the arm off and the choke is in deep with the figure four locked, tap. A rear naked choke can put you out in five to seven seconds and there is no honour in being unconscious.

Common Mistakes

• Defending with one hand · Both hands on the choking arm, every time
• Trying to push their head off · Their head is not the choke. The arm is. Ignore the head
• Tucking too late · Chin tucks the moment you feel an arm near your neck, not after they have it locked
• Panic flailing · Calm, controlled defence is much more effective than thrashing
• Forgetting to escape · If you successfully strip the seatbelt and turn into them, follow through and recover guard rather than rolling back into the same back take

Drilling RNC Defence

Have a partner take your back with one hook in or both. Practise stripping the seatbelt grip and escaping. Add resistance gradually until they actively try to lock the choke while you defend. Most BJJ academies do not drill back defence enough. Doing it on your own time will dramatically improve your survival rate against higher belts.

Tap before you go out, every time. The skill of defending the RNC is built across hundreds of attempts where you fight as long as you can and tap when it is locked. Do not try to be a hero on a choke that takes seconds to render you unconscious.

When to Tap

If the choke is locked, your opponent is squeezing, and you have already failed to peel the arm off, tap. The risk of going unconscious from a tight RNC is higher than from any other submission, and unconsciousness can do real damage. There is no shame in tapping to a higher belt’s choke and learning from it.