Gi and no gi – the strangling medium: When it's time to strangle someone with your upper body (strangles with the legs are quite different) there are options. In no gi grappling it will generally be your arms, in particular the biceps on one side and wrist/forearm on the other with the wrist/forearm side doing most of the work. In gi grappling the preferred method will be with the opponents collar (there are other methods that are very effective). The collar has a thin edge to it that is harder and thinner than the forearm/wrist and thus does a better job of penetrating under the jaw to get to the carotid arteries. The collar mimics very well the superior strangling properties of a strong rope or sash that is the best means of strangulation you can ever use – but which of course is not an option in a Jiu jitsu match. There are a few cases where one can use naked strangles in a gi match, but in the vast majority of cases, the collar will provide a much better strangling medium than the arm/wrist. Here you can see the limits of a arm/wrist to penetrate under the jaw as Gordon Ryan strangles an opponent on his run to double gold at adcc 2019. In this case he had to perform a mandible strangle over the jaw – less efficient but still very effective. A gi collar would allow much easier penetration under the jaw in circumstances like this due to its blade like edge. Learning to use the edge of the collar will make you strangle with even greater power and precision than you do with the arms.
