Guard Guillotine
The guillotine from underneath — the guard closes, the hips elevate, and the legs supply what the sprawl supplies on top.
Adapted from InGrappling, Guard Guillotine. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
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The guard guillotine is the same strangle as its standing cousin taken from underneath, and it is a different technique in every respect except the choke itself. The attacker is on the bottom. The head is caught, the legs close around the opponent’s body, and the finish comes from elevating the hips and extending the body against a head that has nowhere to travel.
What the sprawl supplies on top, the guard supplies here. From the front headlock the attacker drives the hips back and down so the opponent’s own weight loads the neck; from guard there is no sprawl available, so the legs take that job — closing behind the back, lifting, and stretching the opponent’s spine away from the trapped head. The elbow still drives up, the blade still finds the carotid, and the depth check is unchanged.
It is separated from the front headlock guillotine because the two fail differently. On top, a failed guillotine leaves the attacker on top. From guard, a failed guillotine is a defender inside the legs with the attacker’s arms committed to their head — which is a pass waiting to happen and, if the arm is in, a Von Flue waiting to happen.
Elevated RiskGuard Guillotine is an elevated risk technique. A vascular strangle: the forearm blade loads one carotid while the elbow crook or bicep closes the other, and the hips add extension through the neck and upper spine. ⚠ The guard version adds a load the standing one does not — the legs can extend the opponent's spine while the arms hold the head, so a finish chased with the hips rather than the arms puts the cervical spine under tension as well as the vessels. Serious injury can occur Seconds once bilateral carotid compression closes. Cervical loading arrives earlier if the hips extend before the choke is seated..
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.