The importance of Front Headlock position: One of the main criteria I use for selecting the main submission series I focus upon when teaching is AVAILABILITY. There are certain submission options which are almost always readily available in any grappling match regardless of your opponents body type or style. For example, Kimura opportunities arise any time your opponent reaches for you – and in a sport where you have to grip people to do anything, that means it is almost always there for the taking of you want it. Ashi garami based leg locks only require you to position at least one foot inside your opponent's legs. In a sport where base is crucial athletes usually have to stand with feet apart to maintain base, so ashi garami is almost always available. However, the position which I believe is the most readily available of them all is THE FRONT HEADLOCK. Any time your head is higher than your opponent and he is in front of you – it's on! Standing, ground, top or bottom – it doesn't matter. Once you have the front head you have a bunch of very high percentage finishes – all manner of guillotine variations, all manner of kata gatame variations(Darce, Anaconda etc) and of course you can go behind your opponent any time to take his back. It is truly among the most effective positions in the sport. I put a huge emphasis on it among my students and many of them excel in its use. Here, Garry Tonon takes a fine win with a devastating high elbow guillotine finish from mount after beginning in a front headlock. Note how he has taken his opponent's head into an unnatural position that weakens his body structure and makes defense extremely difficult. Make a deep study of the front headlock and I promise you both your positional game and your submission game will jump up in level
