So you want to learn the D’arce Choke. That’s great because it’s one of BJJ’s most influential submissions. You want to learn and know to use this submission if you want to call yourself a solid grappler.
Learning the D’arce Choke opens up many options for you in your BJJ game. We’ll review 7 variations of the D’arce from different positions just in this article! Hopefully, you understand that 7 more options to go for, each from a different position, is extremely beneficial.
So what will this article cover? I’m glad you asked.
The 1st part of this article will explain what it is and what’s common in all 7 variations. For instance, you’ll understand that it’s a choke that you apply using a biceps grip, which you might have never seen.
The 2nd, and longer, part of the article will review 7 different variations. For example, the 1st will be from Side Control while the rest will cover other positions, such as Turtle and Half Guard. Lastly, the 3rd part will be about tips to use this submission better.
Reading this article in order will be of great use to you in the future. You’ll learn it the right way, which will make you better than most grapplers.
Let’s dive in!
What is a D’arce Choke
This part of the article will give the basic knowledge to start learning the different variations. You’ll be surprised as to how much you can learn by investing a few minutes in reading this article. I’ve been able to learn enough to write a book about the D’arce Choke in a few hours of researching and writing (and plenty of experience, of course!)
Back to our topic, what is a D’arce Choke?
The D’arce Choke is a submission taught in BJJ and MMA that utilizes a bicep grip to inflict a lot of pressure on the opponent’s neck. Once you wrap one of your arms around your opponent’s neck, you bring your other arm and lock them (bicep grip.) Then, you finish by applying neck pressure.
It’s an excruciating choke. You’ll be able to cause so much pressure and physical pain by executing this choke. Thus, you must pay attention to your opponent when you apply the pressure at the end; once he taps, release all pressure immediately.
To conclude, the D’arce is a submission that grappling-based martial arts teach. It utilizes a bicep grip around the opponent’s neck to apply tons of pressure, forcing your opponent to tap. You can execute it from a variety of positions, such as Side Control, Full Mount, and Half Guard.
D’arce Choke Variations
Now that you’re familiar with the basics of the D’arce Choke, let’s review 7 of its variation that you want to start learning. Learning each of these will add another tool to your toolbox.
And the more tools you have, the more threatening you’ll be as a grappler. Thus, it’ll be worth it to start learning these variations one by one, which is why I encourage you to bookmark this article. Bookmarking this guide will allow you to keep this source of knowledge available, giving you an advantage in your learning process.
So without further ado, let’s dive into the 1st variation, also the most popular one, from Side Control!
#1 – D’arce Choke From Side Control
Alright. So the 1st variation we’ll cover is the D’arce Choke from Side Control. Why did I decide to list it as the first one? You might ask. In short, because it’s the most popular.
I’m a big believer in not learning what’s popular, but what’s actually working. Nevertheless, this is what’s actually working! Although your opponent might expect you to go for the D’arce when in top Side Control, you’ll still be successful using it.
There are countless options to finish the fight when you’re in top Side Control. You can go for the Loop Choke, Baseball Choke, Bread Cutter Choke, Lapel Choke, and Triangle Choke. By the way, if you want to finish more fights when in Side Control, follow this link.
- Start in Side Control
- The opponent underhooks you
- The opponent turns on his side
- Slide your right hand under his underhook
- Place your right hand’s thumb under his neck
- Move your body closer to the opponent
- Push his arm in
- Lock your hands (thumb between your index finger)
- Pull his head
- Tighten your right hand’s wrap
- Grab your left biceps
- Squeeze
- Wait for the tap
This is how you perform the standard D’arce Choke. You’ll notice how you’re capable of using it immediately after getting comfortable with it and getting your first wins—using it—under your belt.
Let’s move on to the 2nd variation, which will be from the Full Mount!
#2 – Mounted D’arce Choke
The 2nd variation we’ll cover is D’arce Choke from the Full Mount position. Typically, the D’arce Choke will be from Side Control, which is also why I’ve decided to start the 1st variation with it.
Anyways, the Mounted variant is less popular. Now is that a disadvantage? I think not. Do you want to know why? Because it’s less popular, you’re also more likely to make it work, as your opponents won’t expect you to go for it when in Mount.
They might expect you to go for the Americana, for example; but not to go for the D’arce Choke. That’s why I encourage you to learn this submission. While it might be less effective, it compensates for that by being more surprising!
Here’s how to do the Mounted D’arce:
- Start in Mount
- Wrap your left hand around the opponent’s neck
- Bring your right arm through the opponent’s armpit
- Lift the opponent’s head with your left hand
- Grab the opponent’s neck with your right arm
- Lean forward
- Place your head on the mat
- Lock your hands
- Apply pressure by squeezing your hands
- Wait for the tap
Learn more about the Mount position and how to use it properly by following this link.
#3 – D’arce From Half Guard
The Half Guard is a position you want to learn to use because it allows you endless options, both from top and bottom. As a result, you must familiarize yourself with it to call yourself a competent grappler.
Nonetheless, this variation is going to be from top Half Guard. Although it might seem that the opponent has the advantage, as he’s in bottom, you’re actually the one who’s about to finish the fight.
This is how you can finish from top Half Guard using the D’arce Choke:
- Start in top Half Guard
- Wait for the opponent to underhook you
- Open your hip
- Drive your right arm toward the opponent’s arm (with the underhook)
- Rotate your arm
- Once the opponent retreats, wrap the same arm around his head
- Slide your other hand across the opponent’s head
- Place your elbow at the back of his head
- Grab your biceps (with your right hand)
- Squeeze
- Wait for the tap
Fairly simple, isn’t it?
#4 – D’arce Choke on Turtle
The 4th variation we’ll review is from the Turtle position. Or, more precisely, on someone that’s in the Turtle position.
First of all, if you’re unfamiliar with this wonderful position, it’s time you familiarize yourself with it. So follow this link to learn more about the Turtle position and how to finish/escape from it.
Nonetheless, here’s how to perform the D’arce Choke From the Turtle position:
- Your opponent is in Turtle
- Face the opposite direction to the opponent
- Grip their neck with your far hand
- Lock your hands (figure 4 grip)
- Keep balance by staying on your toes
- Bring your far knee to their elbow
- Lean to the side
- Fall on your side (far side)
- Walk toward their legs
- Step over to mount
- Squeeze your hands
- Wait for the tap
You’ll see how fast the coach that presents this submission executes this variation in the video below. It really shouldn’t take more than a few seconds to execute flawlessly.
What’s fantastic about this variation is that if you’re unsuccessful with it (a possibility), you’re in the Mount position. Do you understand how awesome that is? Not only did you manage to force the opponent out of his Turtle, but you also finished in one of BJJ’s most dominant positions.
From the Mount, you can finish with endless options, such as with the Americana, Armbar, Bow and Arrow Choke, and Monoplata.
Learn to finish from the Full Mount position perfectly—by following this link.
#5 – D’arce Choke From Sprawl
The Sprawl position is one that’s more used in grappling, in general, than in BJJ. That’s why you can skip this section if you’ve never heard of it.
However, you never know when you’ll stumble upon this position and need to finish the fight from it. If you’re someone who wants to enrich his knowledge to a point where he’s skyrocketing his grappling abilities, not just in BJJ, definitely read this section!
- Start in the Sprawl position
- Walk to the side until perpendicular
- Place your right hand on the opponent’s neck
- Keep balance by spreading your legs and staying on your toes
- Slide your left leg in the direction of his head
- Slide your other hand under the opponent’s armpit
- Wrap your other hand around his neck
- Grab your left biceps
- Stay on your shoulder
- Walk toward his feet
- Squeeze your hands
- Wait for the tap
As you can see, most D’arce Chokes variations end with the same principle: walk toward his feet. This is a mechanism that allows you to apply tons of pressure on the opponent’s neck and force him to tap out.
And you also want to squeeze your hands while walking toward his feet. You’ll see how fast your opponent will tap when you perform both actions simultaneously.
The takeaway from this section is that you should learn as much as possible about the technique you’re learning, even if there’s a 0% chance you’ll use it.
#6 – D’arce Choke From Bottom Side Control
I’m a huge fan of this D’arce variation for one primary reason: when the opponent has Side Control over you, he has the upper hand. You have anything but the advantage in the fight. Therefore, this submission offers you a way out, which is something you want to familiarize yourself with.
That’s why I encourage you to learn this variation as soon as you’re finished reading this article. I also recommend bookmarking this article, so you have your knowledge source to come back to when you want to advance to the next variation or refresh your memory.
So here’s how you perform this D’arce Choke from bottom Side Control.
- Start at bottom Side Control
- Slide your right hand through his body and up
- Turn to the direction the opponent is facing
- Wrap your left around his neck
- Turn more until perpendicular
- Extend your right arm above his neck
- Bend your right arm
- Grab your right biceps
- Lean back
- Walk toward his feet
- Squeeze
- Wait for the tap
I know what you’re thinking. This seems too good to be true. Well, it kind of is, but in a surprisingly positive way. What I mean by that is this D’arce Choke variation works.
Thus, I encourage everyone to learn and practice it. Just see how fast it’s performed in the video above. The coach is able to move from bottom Side Control to a dominant position to finish the fight in under a few seconds.
Amazing.
If you want to learn to finish from Side Control, follow this link!
#7 – D’arce Choke From Top Butterfly Guard
The last variation we’ll cover is the D’arce Choke from top Butterfly Guard. If you’re unfamiliar with the Butterfly Guard, you want to learn to use it properly and get comfortable with it before learning this variation.
Anyways, here’s how to perform the D’arce Choke from top Butterfly Guard, a relatively inferior position:
- Your opponent is in Butterfly Guard
- Underhook the opponent (with right arm)
- Pull his head to you and down
- Lock a Kimura Grip (grab your left wrist)
- Push his head down
- Switch to a Gable Grip
- Fall to the side
- Extend your arms
- Roll through
- Grab your left biceps
- Squeeze
- Wait for the tap
You’ll eventually end up in the North-South position, which is already a dominant position in itself. I’m a fan of this variation because it allows you to go from an inferior position (top Butterfly Guard) to a highly dominant position.
Not only do you have the D’arce Choke grip in place, but you also are in a dominant position assuming the opponent escapes your lock.
But of course, such a feat is unlikely. If you want to read about Guards, including Open and Closed Guards, and how to use them properly—follow this link.
D’arce Choke Tips
This last part of the article will review 3 tips that will definitely skyrocket your D’arce Choke skills. You’ll be able to finish fights using it and do so more often.
So this part is a critical one for you to understand.
Tip #1 – Tighten your neck wrap
The 1st tip is regarding your neck wrap. Once you wrap your first arm around the opponent’s neck, you want it to be as tight as possible.
Many grapplers forget that they want their chokes to be as tight and excruciating as possible. As a result, the pressure they generate isn’t enough to get the tap.
Tighten the arm that wraps the neck.
Tip #2 – Walk toward the feet
Once you got your D’arce Lock, your next goal is to apply as much pressure as possible. You’re doing that by applying force in two different ways. The first way is obvious, which is to squeeze your hands as hard as possible.
But many grapplers forgo the 2nd way, which is to walk toward the opponent’s feet.
Once you got the D’arce Choke locked, you want to walk toward the opponent’s feet. This will allow you to apply more neck pressure, guaranteeing the tap.
Tip #3 – Learn all the variations (one by one)
The 3rd tip is less practical, but it’s one you want to understand. You want to familiarize yourself with all the variations in this instructional post. Do so—and you’ll become a much more threatening grappler.
BJJ is like Chess. The more moves you know to use properly, the better of a player you will be. The same applies to Jiu-Jitsu. If you want to become a much more competent grappler, you want to strive to learn as much as possible without forgetting to get on the mat and get some real experience.
Learning all the variations is something you want to do.
Final Words
Ending this article, there’s one takeaway I encourage you to take (at least that’s my takeaway.) Constant learning is the key to skyrocketing your grappling skills.
You’ll become a more threatening grappler by learning more variations of the same techniques. And that’s why I included 7 variations in this instructional post. I encourage you to learn all of them, but not simultaneously.
Choose one and practice until you’re comfortable executing it with your eyes shut. The more comfortable you are with a submission, the more success you’ll find with it, as you can use it without thinking about it.
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