The back – How should I play between the position and the strangle? I coach always that in a no gi submission match with no striking, the back is the ultimate position. When athletes wear a gi the mount is arguably as good as the back because you have the collars to creat a strong strangle threat that combines will with arm bar threat. When punches/elbows are allowed the mount becomes a devastating position, but for no gi grappling the back is king. A natural question to ask is – what is the relationship between the position and the main submission from there – the rear strangle? In the great majority of cases focus first on solidifying the position first and strangle second. As you get more advanced, your opponents will get very adept at defending the strangle and you must then start trapping arms to get the breakthrough – my students are all very adept at this crucial skill and employ a step by step system to get the breakthrough. Understand that the higher you go, THE MORE YOU MUST START TO CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN THE POSITION AND THE STRANGLE. The moment you lock the position, YOU SHOULD BE THREATENING THE STRANGLE and in some cases where appropriate, you can even get you strangle arm set FIRST and then get the position AFTER. Look at how Garry Tonon immediately creates a strong strangle threat against the great ADCC champion Davi Ramos the second he locks in the position – this is very important against such a skilled opponent as this. The more threat you can create at the neck, The easier it will be to trap arms and sometimes even get a quick finish as your opponent defends the position instead of the submission
