Baiting the triangle aka "The King's Gambit"

2 years ago
82

Sacrificing a piece in chess is known as a gambit.

The idea of a gambit is to sacrifice a piece in order to gain structural or positional advantage over your opponent.
Check this competition footage of my favorite triangle choke counter.

I always had a good triangle choke defense.
One of my favorite tactics in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition, is to bait the triangle, wear my opponent down and then slowly pass.
Even if the pass itself would fail, I can still wear my opponent down and use it as a triangle choke escape. This triangle choke pass is mechanically the same as the basic double under pass.

In this match you see me take the opponent's collar with my right hand and leaving my left arm low on purpose, knowing fully well my opponent has the option of going for the triangle. Do note that my head stays upright (straight neck).

When my opponent goes for the triangle, he gains POSITIONAL advantage. But I gain STRUCTURAL advantage.
My opponent's spine and neck are completely bend (broken posture) while my spine and neck stay straight (strong posture).
It's very hard (and unhealthy for your spine) to generate strenght with a broken posture (compare it to squatting with a bend spine).

Although my opponent has the triangle, he is unable to generate strenght cause of his posture and thus unable to finish the choke.
Meanwhile, I keep my weight forward and structure intact. I force my opponent to carry my weight, slowly grinding, breaking his structure even more. The more he resists, the more tired he gets. Until he has to concede the pass or turtle and expose his back (the truck).

My opponent did a good job of bending my neck (pulling my head done). I fix my posture by raising my butt above my shoulders. This makes my neck straight again.

This exact system, and other things, is fully explained in great detail in my BJJ Fanatics Instructional "The Hidden and Essential Mechanics of Pressure Passing". My personal favorite from the whole "The Mirroring Principle" series.

https://bjjfanatics.com/collections/all/products/the-mirroring-principle-the-kings-gambit-by-wim-deputter

***Update*** I made a +5h Instructional completely dedicated to the Topic of The Triangle Choke and The King's Gambit on BJJ Fanatics. It even has a chapter on how to beat it.
Check it out here: https://bjjfanatics.com/collections/all/products/the-mirroring-principle-the-kings-gambit-by-wim-deputter

As always, questions are most welcome and greatly appreciated.

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