Short Choke
Short choke — the rear strangle finished palm-to-palm with the free elbow driven behind the shoulder. Taken when the RNC figure-four cannot be closed.
Adapted from InGrappling, Short Choke. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
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The short choke is the rear strangle that uses the same over-shoulder arm as the rear naked choke and finishes it with a shorter connection. The strangle arm comes across the front of the neck. The hands then meet palm to palm rather than closing the figure-four, and the free arm’s elbow drives down behind the opponent’s shoulder onto the back. The finish pulls across in the direction the choking elbow points while the chest drives forward into the opponent’s spine.
”Short” names the grip. The RNC’s figure-four asks the choking hand to travel all the way to the biceps of the second arm, which asks the choking arm to be deep. The short choke is what the attacker takes when that depth is unavailable: the opponent is winning the hand fight and will not let the second hand connect, or the strangle arm has crossed the throat without reaching far enough to grip the biceps. Settling for the shorter connection keeps the strangle arm where it already sits instead of spending the position on a fight for depth.
The trade is force for availability. A completed RNC closes a tight loop around the neck and finishes cleanly on the carotids. The short choke crushes. With the forearm across the front of the throat and both arms squeezing, a substantial airway component arrives alongside the vascular compression — this is part of how the technique works, and it is why the choke is uncomfortable well before it is finished.
Elevated RiskShort Choke is an elevated risk technique. The short choke is a mixed-mechanism strangle. The forearm crosses the front of the neck, so the finish compresses the airway and the carotids together rather than isolating the carotids the way a well-seated RNC does. The airway component makes the choke painful and frightening early; the vascular component still arrives and still ends in unconsciousness. Sustained tracheal pressure carries a real injury risk of its own — the trachea and the hyoid do not tolerate crushing force the way the sides of the neck tolerate compression. Serious injury can occur fast — the crush lands as soon as both arms close, and there is no comfortable phase to read before the vascular compression follows.
If you are new to this technique: read this section before anything else. Understanding the danger is part of understanding the technique.
The person applying the technique is responsible for releasing immediately.
Communicate before drilling. Know your partner's experience level with this position.