Blood, Air and Cranks

A blood choke shuts off the supply of blood to the brain.  An air choke shuts off the supply of air to the lungs.  A neck crank twists the spine out of alignment.

Funny thing about an air choke is that some folks can survive on very little air for boggling amounts of time.  The disturbing thing about neck cranks is that some people can tolerate a lot of pain.  In both these cases, it’s definitely possible to get someone to tap but if they are determined enough, angry enough or stupid enough – they might just keep fighting anyway.

The beauty of the blood choke is that, if properly applied, the lights go out no matter what.  If they are crazy enough to not tap – if it matters that much to them – they’ll pass out regardless.  If they are so foolish, assuming you don’t want to do lasting damage to them, let go when they do pass out.

What’s happening in a “blood” choke?  Pressure is applied to both of the carotid arteries on the side of the neck, causing the nervous system to shut down.  Effective stuff.  We trained the side choke today (AKA arm triangle).  We went first from stand up with no resistance then took it to the ground, learned the move again with no resistance and then finally started giving each other a little bit of flack in order to gain a better understanding of how to apply the move in a live situation.

Know the difference between a blood choke, air choke and a neck crank – your partner’s will appreciate it and learn from you.