The Clock Choke, AKA Clock Strangle, is one of BJJ’s most effective submissions. It’s also a favorite of mine because of two primary factors: (1) effectiveness, and (2) simplicity.
You’ll be able to learn to use this choke immediately after finishing reading this article. I’ve deliberately and thoughtfully ordered this article the way it is. I encourage you to read it as it is without skipping a single section.
By the end of this instructional post, you’ll be able to perform the Clock Choke extremely well. Of course, there’s no replacement for real-life, on the mat, experience. Thus you want to read the article—and experiment with this choke immediately after finishing.
Anyways, my intention with this article is to make you a solid grappler that’s capable of using the Clock Choke flawlessly. And I’m confident you’ll be able to do that after reading this article (without skipping, of course.)
There’s another thing I encourage you to do. That’s to bookmark this article. We’ll review some of its most popular and effective variations that you want to know and start gaining experience with. You want to learn each variant alone, and not all of them simultaneously.
So having this article in easy access—is key. Without further Chit Chat, let’s dive into the practical stuff we’re all here for!
What Is the Clock Choke?
The 1st part of this article will discuss and define the Clock Choke, which is one of BJJ’s most influential and practical submissions. Learning it—will allow you to start getting more taps, especially if you’re currently a white or blue belt.
The Clock Choke is a submission primarily taught in BJJ. But, it’s also practiced in other grappling-based martial arts, such as MMA. You have to practice BJJ with Gi on to perform it—because it utilizes grabbing the opponent’s lapel with one arm to apply neck pressure and submit the opponent.
If you don’t own a Gi yet and want to buy the most suitable Gi for your BJJ training, follow this link!
Nonetheless, the Clock Choke is an excruciating submission. You don’t want to get caught in it because you’ll be forced to tap extremely quickly. So, how do you perform it?
The primary guideline to performing it properly is freeing the opponent’s lapel while grabbing it with your other hand after wrapping the same hand around the opponent’s neck. Then, you want to finish the choke by applying pressure using your body weight and walking in the direction of his head.
But don’t worry, we’ll dive into more details in the next section. For now, if you’re puzzled, here’s a visual aid of what this choke looks like:
Clock Choke Variations
We’re now in the most critical part of this article. You want to understand the variations I’m about to present because they’ll be the cornerstone of your learning journey. In fact, I encourage all of you to pay close attention to (1) the steps which I’ll present in each variant, and (2) all the other details in each of the sections.
I try to include as many mistakes that novice grapplers usually make with each variation, so you’ll be able to skip making them and hasten your results.
The entire point of this article is to help you attain faster results. This is why I’m writing this article. Hopefully, you can grasp the knowledge I’m sharing here with you today.
And again, I recommend bookmarking this article. You want to learn each variant on its own; that’ll quicken and shorten your learning process. The fewer techniques you learn, the faster you’ll get comfortable with the moves you are learning.
Let’s get into the 1st one.
#1 – Clock Choke From Turtle
The 1st variation will be on the Turtle Position. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s when you’re leaning on your elbow and knees, looking like a turtle (belly down.) It’s a dominant defensive position in grappling-based martial arts.
You can probably guess why it’s not popular in fighting styles such as MMA. Nevertheless, you can execute this variant of the Clock Strangle when your opponent is in Turtle.
Here’s how to perform the Clock Choke when your opponent is in Turtle.
- Your opponent is in Turtle
- Open his collar using your right hand
- Pass your left arm under his neck
- Grab his collar with your left hand
- Block his hips using your right hand
- Walk around the opponent until perpendicular
- Drop your body down
- Base yourself with your toes on the mat
- Drop your head to the mat
- Walk toward the opponent’s feet
- Wait for the tap
It’s time I present you with one of the most beautiful fights in the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s a fight you likely know about, but if you don’t, prepare to be amazed! Royce Gracie was one of the top contenders in the UFC and BJJ competitions.
He was considered unbeatable at the time. However, it came to an end when he faced Wallid Ismail, another highly competent grappler at that time. At the end of the fight, Wallid was able to execute the variation I’ve presented in this section. I want you to watch the fight to see just how effective the Clock Choke can be.
I mean, it was able to beat the #1 grappler in the world at that time.
#2 – Clock Choke From Side Control
The 2nd variation, although less popular than the previous one but still very effective, will be from the Side Control position. If you want to boost your control using the Side Control position, follow this link.
Let’s break down the steps to performing the Clock Strangle from Side Control properly:
- Start in Side Control
- Trap the opponent’s close arm by underhooking it
- Place your same hand on the mat, below his head
- Pressure the opponent’s chest with your chest
- Your opponent will naturally turn to the side
- Grab his far lapel with the hand that’s below his head
- Catch his other arm with your free hand, for more control
- Pop up on your feet
- Walk in the direction of his head
- Wait for the tap
This is a beautiful choke indeed. You’ll be able to finish from Side Control effectively when you perform this submission.
I was surprised to see how simple this variant is, especially when you learn it from a good coach. Watch the following visual aid to better understand what this variant looks like:
#3 – Back Clock Choke
The 3rd variation we’ll review will be from the back. The Back Mount position in BJJ is one of the most dominant ones that you definitely want to learn and familiarize yourself with. Follow the previous link to learn to use it properly.
What the Back Mount does best is provide you with endless options. I love finishing from this position using chokes, as you can use many in that case. For instance, you can use the Rear Naked Choke and Short Choke to captivate the opponent.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of this submission:
- Start in Back Mount
- Pull the opponent, breaking his posture
- Control the opponent’s arms
- Feed one hand under the opponent’s chin (wrapping it)
- Grab the opponent’s lapel with the same hand
- Grip the other side of his lapel with your other hand
- Roll with the opponent, using hip leverage
- Finish by walking in the direction of his head
- Wait for the tap
This variation isn’t used as often since it complicates matters. You essentially set up the choke when you’re in Back Mount, which is tricky. And then, you have to execute a fairly complicated move, which is a shoulder roll when you have two forces working against you; gravity and the opponent’s weight.
So it’s indeed more difficult.
#4 – Clock Choke From Closed Guard
The last variation we’ll review will be from the Closed Guard position. It’s one of these positions you want to know as soon as possible, since you’ll spend plenty of time in it throughout your BJJ journey.
You want to learn as much as possible about it; that’s to ensure you understand how to use it properly. If you want to learn more about the proper use of the Closed Guard position in BJJ, follow this link.
Here’s how to perform the Clock Choke from Closed Guard:
- Start in Closed Guard
- Grip the opponent’s collar (same side grip), palm up
- Grip the other side of his lapel with your other hand, palm down
- Push him away
- Pull his Gi so it’s tight
- Place your left leg on his hip
- Kick your right leg up while turning to the left
- Lock your legs
- Pull your left hand down
- Slide your right elbow under his chin
- Wait for the tap
Really though; you want to learn all the variations. However, it’ll be best to start with 1st and 2nd ones, as they’re the most effective and popular ones. But knowing all of them will be advantageous for the future of your BJJ journey!
Clock Choke Tips (Get More Taps)
This last part of the article will be about tips you want to implement to get more taps using this magnificent submission. It’ll be difficult to get your first taps using it, especially when you have just learned it.
However, with time and proper implementation (of the tips I’ll present next), you’ll be able to get comfortable with this submission quickly and effectively.
Let’s dive into the 1st tip.
Tip #1 – Separate the opponent’s arms
This tip applies to all the variations I’ve covered in this article. And it makes a lot of sense once you understand what it does. For the sake of the explanation, let’s take the 1st variant I’ve broke down to understand this tip.
You want to control the opponent’s arms before you free up the lapel, especially before you grab it.
Why?
Because it’ll allow you to get the Clock Choke grip easily. In a real fight, the opponent will defend himself. He won’t let you take his lapel that easily. And so taking his hands out of the equation is a critical component.
How do you do that?
You control his hands by (first) grabbing his close wrist and extending it. The grip you want to use is when your palm is facing inward; this grip will give you a lot more freedom to control his arm. Once you extend it, you want to trap it with your legs.
Secondly, you want to grip the opponent’s other wrist and apply outward pressure on it. That will disable the opponent’s ability to use his other hand to defend.
Tip #2 – Place your hips on the opponent’s back of the head to finish
The 2nd tip will be a short one, but as important to understand. Getting the tap using the Clock Strangle—might be more difficult than you think. You have to apply a lot of pressure on the opponent’s neck.
Once you wrap your arm around his neck, tightly, and grab his lapel, you want to place all your body weight on the opponent’s back of the head. Do that—and you’ll be able to advance through the next steps and get the tap more quickly.
Tip #3 – Don’t forget to walk to apply more neck pressure
A primary mistake many novice grapplers make is forgetting that the Clock Choke is named that way for a reason. Once you place your body weight on the opponent’s back of the head, the next step will be to walk toward his feet, like a clock! There’s a reason it’s named that.
So don’t forget to walk in the direction of his head while facing his feet, as it’ll give you much more neck pressure to play around with.
Tip #4 – Place your head on the mat before walking
The penultimate tip we’ll review today is to place your head on the mat before walking. This will help you remain balanced and apply more neck pressure using your body weight.
When do you want to do that? Right before you begin walking in the direction of the opponent’s head. So after you place your hips on the opponent’s neck.
Tip #5 – Learn all the variations
The last tip we’ll review today is to learn all the variations. I want to remind you of an important BJJ lesson I’ve learned the hard way: the more you learn and know, the more options you have. The more options you have, the more threatening you’ll be.
Do me a favor and never stop learning. You’ll skyrocket your grappling abilities if you learn all the variations and not just the one you like most.
Bookmark this article for easy access, as I’ve previously mentioned. This will be your incentive to continue learning!
Final Words
This article was about an excruciating, agonizing choke that you want to learn, the Clock Choke. It’ll be best to learn it as soon as possible in your BJJ journey, preferably when you’re still a white belt. But you can learn it when you’re a blue, purple, brown, and even black belt.
It’s likely, however, that you already know it if you’re past the white belt. And if you don’t, it’s time to familiarize yourself with it.
The Clock Choke, however, isn’t the most effective choke BJJ has to offer. Follow this link to skyrocket your BJJ skills by reading about BJJ’s most effective chokes you must know to call yourself a good grappler.
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Here are other articles you’d enjoy reading:
North-South Choke 101: BJJ Breakdown
BJJ 101: Brabo Choke (Perform with Precision)
Short Choke 101 – BJJ Technique Breakdown
BJJ 101: D’arce Choke (Lots of Variations)
Bow and Arrow Choke – From BJJ Beginner to Pro
BJJ 101: Ninja Choke – Complete Breakdown
BJJ 101: Helio Gracie Choke (From Closed Guard)
Ezekiel Choke 101 – Complete BJJ Guide
Baseball Choke 101 – BJJ Grappling Guide
Guillotine Choke 101 – BJJ Grappling Guide