← All techniques

Mounted Guillotine

SubmissionMount chokeBelt: blue+Risk: moderateIBJJFADCCNo-GiSub-OnlyMMA

The mounted guillotine is a high-percentage submission executed from mount, using a front headlock grip to choke the opponent. It leverages the mount's positional dominance to maximize finishing pressure and limit escapes. This technique is particularly effective in both gi and no-gi, as well as MMA, due to the control it offers.

Start
Low mount with arm trap
End
Submission
Prerequisites: Front headlock mechanics · Arm-in guillotine grip · Low mount stabilization · Cross-face control

Steps

  1. 1
    Establish Low Mount with Arm Trap
    From mount, slide your knees low near their hips and use your chest to pin their upper body. Trap one of their arms across their neck by threading your arm under it and pinning it with your chest weight.
  2. 2
    Isolate the Head and Neck
    Thread your attacking arm under their chin, cupping the back of their head with a palm-up grip. Use your chest to keep their shoulder and trapped arm compressed against their jawline.
  3. 3
    Secure the Guillotine Grip
    With your free hand, reach under their trapped arm and connect to your choking hand using a high-elbow guillotine or palm-to-palm (gable) grip. Keep your choking wrist bone firmly under their throat.
  4. 4
    Adjust Your Body Angle
    Shift your body slightly to the side of your choking arm, flaring your elbow up and out to create a tight seal. Keep your hips heavy and your chest pressing down to prevent bridging escapes.
  5. 5
    Seal the Space and Drop Your Weight
    Drive your chest forward and down, compressing their head into their trapped arm. Avoid lifting your hips; instead, use your bodyweight to increase pressure.
  6. 6
    Apply the Choke
    Squeeze your arms together while pulling up with your choking arm and driving your chest down. Maintain wrist flexion to keep the pressure on the carotid arteries and trachea.
  7. 7
    Finish and Maintain Mount
    If they attempt to bridge or turn, use your grapevine hooks or windshield wiper your knees to follow their hips, maintaining mount while finishing the choke.

Key details most people miss

  • The choking wrist must be directly under the opponent’s chin—if it slides to the side, the choke loses effectiveness.
  • Flaring your choking-side elbow up and out creates a tighter seal and prevents the opponent from posturing out.
  • Using your chest to compress their trapped arm into their neck increases the choking pressure and prevents them from turning in.
  • Do not lift your hips—keep weight low to prevent escapes and maximize pressure.

Common mistakes

  • If you allow your choking arm to drift across the face, the opponent can survive or turn into you.
  • If you lift your hips instead of driving your chest down, the opponent can bridge and escape the mount.
  • Failing to trap the arm allows the opponent to frame and create space, making the choke easy to defend.
  • If your grip is too shallow, the choke becomes a crank and is unlikely to finish against experienced opponents.

Counters & responses

They try: Opponent bridges explosively to off-balance you
You do: Widen your knees, grapevine their legs, and drop your chest to absorb the force while maintaining the choke.
They try: Opponent frames against your hips to create space
You do: Switch to a high mount, walk your knees up, and re-tighten the guillotine grip before reapplying pressure.
They try: Opponent turns belly-down to escape mount
You do: Follow their movement, transition to a mounted guillotine with hooks in (mount-to-back), or finish from technical mount.
They try: Opponent hand-fights and peels your choking hand
You do: Switch to the arm-in guillotine variation or transition to an armbar on the trapped arm.

Drill prescription

5 rounds × 3 minutes; 50% resistance; each round, alternate top and bottom. Goal: 4 clean mounted guillotine finishes per round, maintaining mount throughout the finish.

How the masters teach it

Videos are still being curated for this technique. AI suggests these instructors:
Marcelo Garcia — Emphasizes the high-elbow guillotine from mount, using chest pressure and arm isolation for maximum finishing leverage.John Danaher — Focuses on systematic arm trapping and angle adjustment to prevent escapes and ensure a high-percentage finish.Gordon Ryan — Utilizes mount maintenance and grapevine control to finish the guillotine while nullifying explosive escapes.Lachlan Giles — Highlights the importance of wrist position and elbow flare for tightness, and transitions to back attacks if the choke fails.
#mount#submission#choke#no-gi#gi-legal#mma-applicable#arm-trap#front-headlock#short-limbed-friendly#pressure-based