Double Collar Tie
The double collar tie — both hands on the back of the opponent's neck — creates the clinch snap and the hip throw entry.
Adapted from InGrappling, Double Collar Tie. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
Manage injuries →Position map Connects to 15 positions across 2 relationshipsOpen in the map →12345678←Enters from
The double collar tie places both hands on the back of the opponent’s neck — one on each side, fingers overlapping or clasped at the back of the head. This bilateral grip on the neck creates maximum posture disruption potential: both hands can simultaneously pull the head down, angle it in any direction, or use the neck as a handle for the hip throw entry.
The double collar tie is most associated with the Muay Thai plum — the standing control position used to deliver knee strikes in combat sports — but in grappling it is the primary entry to the hip throw family (koshi guruma, o-goshi) and to the bilateral snap down. Both hands on the neck give a level of head control the single collar tie cannot match.
The position is inherently offensive — holding the double collar tie without acting gives the opponent time to establish underhooks and break the clinch. Like the single collar tie, the double collar is a launch position, not a holding position.
INV-03Invariant "The opponent's structural resistance must be disrupted before a submission can be reliably completed. An opponent who retains functional base, alignment, and connection to their own structure can defend most attacks mechanically rather than reactively. In standing and guard contexts this is called breaking posture; in leg entanglements it is disrupting hip position and knee line; the underlying requirement is identical."
Why it works hereThe double collar tie attacks posture directly with both hands on the back of the head. Two anchored points let the practitioner load full body weight into the snap — the elbows drive down, the hips drop slightly, and the opponent's spine bows because neck strength alone cannot oppose the bilateral lever. With the head pulled below the hipline, the opponent's structural resistance collapses; the throw or snap-down completes against an opponent who can no longer generate base. Single collar tie pressure is one-armed and recoverable; the double collar produces a posture break the opponent cannot reset from while the grip holds.
See full invariant page → The double collar tie amplifies disrupt structural resistance beyond the single collar tie. Two hands on the neck mean twice the postural leverage — the practitioner can pull the head down with full body weight via both arms simultaneously, a snap that very few opponents can resist with neck strength alone. The bilateral pull creates a bowing posture in which the opponent’s structural resistance is genuinely neutralised.
INV-ST03Invariant "Destabilisation to the hands or hips is the transition from standing to ground. Taking the opponent to their hands is a position of advantage; taking them to their hips is a takedown."