Back Triangle
Leg-based strangle from back control — legs lock in a triangle figure-four around the neck and near arm.
Adapted from InGrappling, Back Triangle. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
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The back triangle is a leg-based strangle applied from back control. The attacker’s legs lock in a triangle figure-four around the opponent’s neck and one arm — the same geometry as a standard guard triangle, applied from behind. The submission compresses both carotids through thigh pressure: one thigh on each side of the neck.
This submission is distinct from the rear triangle (SUB-BACK-BTRI). In the back triangle, the legs wrap around the neck and near arm while the attacker is behind the opponent in back control position. In the rear triangle, the legs wrap around the neck from a different angle — from north-south or a high back position — without the near arm being inside the triangle. They are mechanically related but structurally distinct.
The back triangle emerges from seatbelt control in a specific way: the strangle arm of the seatbelt becomes the frame for the triangle entry. It is typically used when the RNC is being defended by a sustained chin tuck that cannot be solved through direct entry — the chin tuck that blocks the forearm from the throat also positions the arm in a way that creates triangle entry geometry.
Finishing: the hips thrust forward while the triangle squeeze is applied. The thighs compress both sides of the neck. The arm inside the triangle should stay close to the neck — tightening the near-side compression. This is the same arm-in triangle principle that applies in standard guard triangles.
INV-S01Invariant "All strangles require compression on both sides of the neck simultaneously. Compression on one side only creates discomfort; compression on both sides interrupts blood flow."
Why it works hereThe back triangle delivers bilateral compression through the thighs — one on the carotid of the arm-in side, one on the carotid of the free side — with the trapped near arm pressing the near-side carotid further inward. Without the arm inside, the near thigh has the arm-and-carotid stack to compress; with the arm outside, the thigh meets only the carotid and the bilateral pressure becomes one-sided. Arm-in is the structural prerequisite for the strangle, not a refinement.
See full invariant page → The back triangle’s bilateral compression is achieved through the thighs. One thigh compresses the carotid on the arm-in side; the other thigh compresses the carotid on the free side. The arm inside the triangle increases the near-side compression by being pressed against the neck. This is why the arm-in position is critical — without the arm inside the triangle, the near-side thigh cannot compress both carotid and arm simultaneously, and the submission may be one-sided.