Japanese Necktie
The Japanese Necktie — palm-to-palm lock over the neck and under the armpit, shin behind the head, finished by falling to the side.
Adapted from InGrappling, Japanese Necktie. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
FamilyFront HeadlockLevelAdvancedPerspectiveTopIntentOffensiveSafetyElevatedHubFront headlockMapView on graph →This technique has elevated risk. Make sure you've covered the prerequisites before attempting.
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The Japanese Necktie is applied from the top of the turtle position — the opponent is on hands and knees and the attacker has a front headlock or head-and-arm control established. The attacker’s choking arm wraps the neck from above while the other arm threads under the opponent’s near armpit; the hands lock palm-to-palm in a gable grip behind the opponent’s neck. There is no wrist grip — the palm-to-palm lock is the connection, closing a loop that contains the opponent’s head and near arm.
The leg is the defining component. With the grip locked, the attacker steps the near leg over, placing the shin or knee against the back of the opponent’s head — or triangles the legs for a tighter frame — then falls to the side, chest glued behind the opponent’s head. The fall puts the head between two surfaces: the forearm compresses one side of the neck while the shin presses the other, and the attacker’s bodyweight completes the pressure. Without the leg, the grip is only a head-and-arm hold; the shin behind the head is what makes it the Japanese Necktie.
The submission is a hybrid: it has both a choking component (the forearm compresses the throat or carotid vessels) and a cranking component (the shin and bodyweight force the head down and forward relative to the spine). The combination is what gives the Japanese Necktie its reputation as a difficult submission to defend — the opponent cannot block either component without increasing the other.
The Japanese Necktie is distinct from the guillotine in control position and arm configuration. The guillotine typically uses the arm alone, applied from in front or to the side of the opponent. The Japanese Necktie encloses the head and near arm in the palm-to-palm loop and recruits the leg and bodyweight as finishing surfaces, which prevents the opponent from simply pulling the head free.
The technique connects to the Mexican Necktie as a sequential threat: when the opponent defends the Japanese Necktie by rising to their knees or all-fours, the grip can be kept and the attack continued as the Mexican Necktie from the same lock. See: Mexican Necktie.
Ruleset note: The Japanese Necktie includes a cranking component applied to the cervical spine. It is illegal in IBJJF formats (neck cranks prohibited at all levels). It is legal in ADCC.