Opposite-Side Triangle
Opposite triangle (hantai sankaku) — the figure-four locked on the reversed side; a trapping position and armlock platform.
Adapted from the original page. Grappling.Games did not write this. Sources.
FamilyTriangle systemLevelAdvancedPerspectiveBottomIntentOffensiveSafetyElevatedHubTriangle systemMapView on graph →This technique has elevated risk. Make sure you've covered the prerequisites before attempting.
Manage injuries →Position map Connects to 4 positions across 3 relationshipsOpen in the map →1234←Enters from
The opposite triangle — hantai sankaku in Japanese — is the reversed-lock triangle in the five-triangle classification standard in modern no-gi. The trapped head-and-arm configuration is identical to the front triangle. What differs is the figure-four itself: it is locked on the reversed side, with the top, choking knee on the wrong side relative to the trapped arm.
The reversed lock is rarely chosen. It arises when the attacker locks the triangle on the side that is available rather than the side that is correct — usually mid-scramble or mid-entanglement, when the legs close on whichever configuration the exchange offers and the figure-four lands with the choking knee on the same side as the trapped arm.
The consequence is the point. With the lock reversed, the choking leg’s calf does not cross the carotid line — the compression that closes a front triangle (strangle both sides simultaneously) is unavailable from this configuration, and squeezing harder does not fix a geometric problem.
The configuration’s real value is as a trapping position and an armlock platform. The head and arm are held as firmly as in a front triangle, and the trapped arm sits directly in range of the kimura, the americana, and the straight armlock. The strangle path exists too: the front triangle is one re-lock away — swapping the choking leg to the correct side converts the trap into the choke.
Elevated RiskOpposite-Side Triangle is an elevated risk technique. The opposite triangle's reversed lock weakens the strangle — the choking leg's calf sits off the carotid line — but the position is not safer for the trapped player. The primary attacks are joint locks on the trapped arm (kimura, americana, straight armlock), which damage the shoulder and elbow quickly under full extension, and a re-lock to the front triangle restores the full blood choke. Tap timing follows the same rules as everywhere else. Serious injury can occur armlocks: immediate at full extension; strangle: seconds once re-locked to the front triangle.
If you are new to this technique: read this section before anything else. Understanding the danger is part of understanding the technique.