This article will allow you to master the Ezekiel Choke, AKA Sleeve Choke, quicker than you ever thought possible. It’ll also teach you to execute its variations flawlessly and effortlessly. But it comes with a price.
You have to invest a lot of effort into practicing the Ezekiel Choke and its variations if you want to master it quickly. It’ll be another tool you have in your toolbox. And having more tools is always the better choice, although you don’t have to use everything you know.
I’ve deliberately ordered this article the way it is, as that’s the best way of learning BJJ submissions effectively. Thus I encourage you to read the article the way it is and not skip a section.
You can, if you want, skip a section if you’re already familiar with the information I present. However, I always try to include ninja tips and common mistakes novice grapplers make in each of the sections. So it’ll be worth reading, even if you think you know the information.
We’ll begin with its variations and continue with a step-by-step breakdown of one of the variations. The one I’ll cover deeply is going to be the one I recommend learning most, as it’s the most effective.
So enough chatter; let’s dive into the practical things you came here for.
Ezekiel Choke Variations
This part of the article will review variations of the Ezekiel Choke submission. You want to familiarize yourself with all of them, as knowing more is always better than knowing less.
There’s one mindset shift you want to implement into your BJJ journey’s future: always strive to learn more; to familiarize yourself with as many entries, submissions, guard passes, and techniques as possible.
Now it’ll be best to stick with a few techniques that you’re striving to master. The opposite will be when you want to practice all the variations you come across and master them; that’ll be ineffective.
I think that’s enough introduction: let’s dive into the core part of this article.
#1 – Mounted Ezekiel Choke
The Full Mount position is exceptionally dominant, allowing you to perform many submissions, such as the Guillotine Choke and Americana. Follow this link if you want to learn to finish from the Mount position perfectly.
Anyways, you typically perform the Ezekiel Choke from the Mount position, as gravity works with you. If you perform it correctly, the opponent will have nothing to do but wait for the pressure to come and prepare for the inevitable tap.
So here’s how you perform the Mounted Ezekiel Choke:
- Start in Full Mount
- Pin the opponent’s hands to his chest
- Tighten your chest to his hands
- Slide your chest back
- Hook the opponent’s head
- Grab your Gi (wrist area)
- Pressure your free hand on his neck
- Place your belly on the opponent’s head
- Apply pressure using your body weight
- Wait for the tap
I encourage you to learn this variation first, as it’s the simplest one. You want to perform the steps smoothly and quickly. Doing so will help you make this wonderful choke work more often, allowing you to win frequently using it.
The key point here is control. Most novice grapplers miss the point of control, as they don’t stay tight enough and, finally, allow their opponents to sweep them.
Ensure you stay as tight as possible and use your body to rock yourself in place.
#2 – Ezekiel Choke From Side Control
Side Control is yet another dominant position in BJJ. It’s when you’re perpendicular to the opponent and control his head, hips, and arms. The more body parts you control, the better.
Anyways, you can perform the Ezekiel Choke from Side Control and finish the fight from there. Although the most common variation is from the Mount, it’s entirely possible and practical to do so from the side.
Before we dive into the steps, if you want to learn to finish from Side Control more often and win more fights, follow this link.
- Start in Side Control
- Pummel your hand under the opponent’s hand
- Grab the opponent’s biceps
- Push his arm down, isolating it
- Hook the opponent’s head with your other hand
- Grab the sleeve with the same hand
- The other hand slides under the chin
- Tighten your lock
- Bring your elbow up
- Apply pressure using your body weight
- Wait for the tap
Easy as that. It’s similar to the previous variation but is simply from a different position. You can learn this technique in no time and start choking your way to victory more often.
A common mistake novice grapplers make here is they leave a lot of space open in their hold. As a result, their choke will be deemed ineffective, as not enough pressure will be on the opponent’s neck.
So make sure to stay as tight as possible and get that variation ready. Practice it at your own time and pace; this article will go nowhere. Bookmark it for easy access!
#3 – Ezekiel Choke From Guard
The next variation we’ll discuss (you saw it coming, didn’t you?) is from the Guard position. If you’re unfamiliar with the Closed or Open Guard positions, follow each link to read about them. Familiarizing yourself with them is more critical than learning this choke, as fantastic and practical as it is.
So let’s see how to perform the Ezekiel Choke from the Guard position:
- Start in Closed Guard
- Grab the opponent’s lapel (neck area)
- Hook your second hand around his head
- Grab your sleeve with the same hand
- Tighten your hand lock
- Lean back to Open Guard
- Twist your hips
- Pull your elbow back
- Apply more pressure
- Wait for the tap
Hooking your second hand without leaning to the side and going for the same movement as the Kimura Sweep will be difficult. You want to lean forward and almost throw your arm across his neck.
This has to be quick, as the opponent will do anything to evade this hook. A ninja tip here is to break the opponent’s posture toward you using your legs.
A key component of the Closed Guard that you want to utilize is using your legs to break the opponent’s posture. I review more ninja tips for the Closed Guard in the comprehensive guide I wrote about it, which you can read by following this link.
#4 – No-Gi Ezekiel Choke
The Gi is a fundamental part of the Ezekiel Choke, AKA the Sleeve Choke. So you might wonder how performing it without grabbing your sleeve is possible. This is why I decided to include an entire variation to the No-Gi Ezekiel.
Let’s see how this is done:
- Start in Mount
- Stay close to the opponent
- Hook your right hand around the opponent’s head
- Slide your body to the left
- Pressure his neck with your left hand
- Grab your left biceps with your right hand
- Hide your fingers under your armpit
- Tighten the choke
- Apply more pressure
- Wait for the tap
You want to reach as deep as possible with your initial hook. This will help you get a tighter grip, making it harder for the opponent to escape.
Another tip here is to perform the 5th step before the 6th. Although it’s an obvious tip, novice grapplers tend to perform this the opposite way. As a result, they won’t perform it properly and will mess up the execution.
This is everything you need to know about this variation. If you don’t own a Gi already, follow this link to see which Gi’s are best for BJJ and MMA!
So these were all the variations I encourage you to learn. You should learn them one by one and not simultaneously. That will allow you to build muscle memory quicker and progress faster in your BJJ journey.
Bookmark this article always to have the instructions for each variation available.
And now, let’s dive into the second part of the article.
How to Ezekiel Choke (Step-By-Step)
This part of the article will take the first variation and break it down into its fundamentals. It’ll go deeper into the details so that you can optimize your execution.
I’m a big fan of learning as many variations and techniques as possible—but mastering just a few. The 1st variant is the one I recommend learning and mastering the most, and that’s why I’m breaking it down.
I’ve decided it’ll be best for you to familiarize yourself with all the variations before going into greater detail.
But you’re ready now. The goal of this part is to allow you to optimize your use of the 1st variant, the Mounted Ezekiel Choke.
So without further ado, let’s dive in!
Step #1 – Start in Full Mount
The 1st step is to start in Full Mount. We’ve already covered this position: but in short, it’s when you’re on top of the opponent and are either sitting on his hips or chest (low/high mount.)
This is the first position you must attain to perform this variation. Attaining it, however, can be quite difficult. You can enter this dominant position in many different ways.
However, my favorite is sweeping the opponent from Closed or Open Guard. If you want to learn about these sweeps, follow the link.
Step #2 – Pin the opponent’s hands to his chest
The 2nd step is to pin the opponent’s hands to his chest. Now this isn’t a mandatory step you must do to perform the Ezekiel Choke. You might have been confused when I decided to list it as one of the core steps.
Nonetheless, it solves the biggest problem you’ll encounter when wanting to perform this deadly choke: the opponent’s hand. Your training partner can block your hands using his hands. As a result, you want to isolate his hands before proceeding.
This is what this step is about; it’s about isolating the opponent’s hands.
While it’s not mandatory, I encourage you not to skip it. But you can ignore it if you think it’s unnecessary in your situation.
Step #3 – Tighten your chest to his hands
This step is also about isolating the opponent’s hands, not the choke. But the same story applies here. You want to tighten your chest to his hands to ensure your partner can’t move his hands.
If he can, you’ll have a difficult time finishing the choke.
Step #4 – Slide your chest back
The last step of the isolation is to slide your chest back. What you did here is trapping the opponent’s hands. This has solved the biggest problem all novice grapplers will encounter.
So you want to remain grateful for these 3 steps. While they’re not mandatory, they’re your biggest friend, and you should appreciate them.
Let’s move into the practical steps right now.
Step #5 – Hook the opponent’s head
The first practical Ezekiel Choke step is to hook the opponent’s head.
You’ll see why this step is mandatory in the 6th move. For now, know that you want this hook to be as tight as possible. Wrap your arm around the opponent’s head (let’s say right arm), and don’t leave any space.
The more space there is, the less tight the choke will be, and the easier time the opponent will have to escape your hold.
Don’t leave any space between your arm and his head to skyrocket your success rate.
Step #6 – Grab your Gi (wrist area)
The following move is to grab your Gi in the wrist area with your right hand (the same hand that hooked his head.) What this does is set up your Ezekiel Choke.
While you don’t want to be flashy, you don’t want to be too stealthy about it. Simply perform these steps smoothly and quickly without showing too much or too little of what you’re doing.
The famous sentence applies perfectly here: Slow is Smooth – and Smooth is Fast. I know it’s a cliche, but it applies flawlessly here.
If you’re too stealthy when performing this variation, the opponent will have too much time to react. However, if you’re too quick and flashy, he’ll know exactly what you’re up to and counter it quickly.
When you experiment with this variation, try to find the balance.
Step #7 – Pressure your free hand on his neck
The next step is the real deal. The opponent will feel high amounts of pressure when you do it. He might even tap out if he’s inexperienced in BJJ.
You want to place your free hand (left in this case) on his neck. You want to pressure it down to ensure the opponent feels your wrath.
Step #8 – Place your belly on the opponent’s head
This is the last practical step in this variation. By now, your right hand is around your partner’s head, and your left is on his neck.
Your next step is to place your belly on the opponent’s head while applying as much pressure as possible on his neck.
The opponent WILL tap out here, so remain cautious of that.
Step #9 – Apply pressure using your body weight
Apply more pressure if the opponent doesn’t tap out. A helpful tip here is to use your body weight to apply more pressure. Focus on your body and imagine it pressuring the opponent’s neck.
The opponent must tap out here, or he’ll lose consciousness.
Step #10 – Wait for the tap
I always include this step in my breakdowns, as it’s critical to understand. The opponent will likely not want to fall asleep. Therefore, he’ll tap out.
Once the opponent taps out (which you know he will, likely in the 8th step), you must release all pressure immediately. Please don’t keep the pressure on and hurt your partners.
Even if you’re fighting against someone you dislike, this is not what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is here to teach us. BJJ is all about partnership and comradeship. You have the same goals as all your opponents and partners. Thus, you should expect them to keep you healthy and for them to expect the same.
Release all pressure once the opponent taps.
Final Words
There isn’t a better way to finish this article than to emphasize the importance of learning in BJJ and all martial arts. You want to strive for as much knowledge as possible because it is, indeed, power.
The more you know, the more capable you’ll become. Not only that, but you’ll also be more eager to learn, as it’s a continuous cycle that fuels your motivation tank.
The Ezekiel Choke is just one out of many submissions you can learn and perform to finish a fight effectively. Follow this link to learn about the most effective submissions from the Mount position.
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And here are other articles you’d enjoy reading:
Kneebar Mastery – A Step-By-Step Guide (BJJ & MMA)
Mastering the Straight Arm Lock – BJJ Grappling Guide