Clock Choke

Last updated: June 15, 2026

What is the clock choke?

The clock choke is a collar strangle that finishes an opponent who has turned to their knees in the turtle. The top player feeds a hand into the far collar, controls the trapped arm, drops weight onto the upper back, then circles toward the opponent’s head. That circular path is where the name comes from. As the attacker travels around, the gripped collar tightens across the neck like a closing noose.

It belongs to the family of lapel chokes that BJJ inherited from judo. The turtle is one of the hardest positions to open without a clear plan, and the clock choke gives the top player a direct answer. Instead of prying the shell apart, it attacks the neck through the collar that is already sitting there. A clean finish puts the opponent to sleep in seconds, which is why coaches teach it as a high-percentage response to a stubborn turtle.

How the clock choke works

A good clock choke is a blood choke, not a throat crank. The collar grip and the attacker’s bodyweight close down the carotid arteries on the sides of the neck rather than crushing the windpipe at the front. Cut blood flow to the brain and the opponent loses consciousness quickly, with far less effort than a painful air choke demands.

The walking motion does two jobs at once. It feeds slack out of the collar so the strangle bites, and it drags the opponent’s posture downward so they cannot stand back up into a stable base. Most attackers also pin the far wrist or shoulder, which stops the turtled player from spinning toward the choking hand and escaping. Pressure matters more than speed here. Stay heavy, keep the collar tight, and the rotation does the rest.

How the clock choke differs from the bow and arrow choke

Newer grapplers often mix up the clock choke with the bow and arrow choke, since both attack the neck through the collar, and both trace back to the same judo root. The Kodokan lists them under okuri-eri-jime, the sliding lapel strangle. What separates them is position and finishing action.

The clock choke is finished from the turtle, with the attacker on top and circling the head, using bodyweight and a walking motion to tighten the collar. The bow and arrow choke is finished from back control, where the attacker keeps a hook in, grips the collar with one hand, and the opponent’s leg or pant with the other, then pulls both apart like drawing a bowstring.

Feature	Clock choke	Bow and arrow choke
Starting position	Turtle, attacker on top	Back control with a hook
Main grips	Far collar plus arm control	Collar plus leg or pant
Finishing action	Walking around the head, weight down	Pulling collar and leg apart
Judo origin	Okuri-eri-jime family	Okuri-eri-jime family

Both are gi strangles, and a turtled opponent who scrambles to defend one will often expose the other.

Variations of the clock choke

Most variations change the grip or the setup rather than the core idea. The “digital clock choke,” popularized by Atos head coach Andre Galvao, uses a deeper collar feed and a sharper angle to speed up the finish. No-gi players rely on a version sometimes called the clock strangle, where a forearm or an underhook replaces the lapel, since there is no collar to pull. John Danaher has taught this hookless strangle as a way to punish the turtle without a jacket.

Common misconceptions

The biggest misunderstanding is that the clock choke works by crushing the throat. A well-set version compresses the carotid arteries and becomes a blood choke, which is why a tight one ends a match in seconds instead of slowly grinding on the windpipe. Pain usually signals that the grip has slipped onto the throat, not that the choke is working.

Another myth is that the clock choke only catches beginners. It was famously used to put a member of the Gracie family to sleep back in the 1990s, and it still appears in modern black belt competition whenever an opponent turtles to stall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the clock choke a blood choke or an air choke?

Done correctly, it is a blood choke. The collar and bodyweight close the carotid arteries on the sides of the neck and cut blood to the brain. If it lands on the windpipe instead, it turns into a slower and more painful air choke.

Why is it called the clock choke?

The attacker walks their body around the opponent’s head in a circle, the same way the hand of a clock sweeps around the dial. That rotation tightens the collar and gives the technique its name.

Can you do a clock choke in no-gi?

Yes. Without a collar to grip, no-gi players swap the lapel for a forearm or an underhook across the neck. That version is often called the clock strangle.

Where does the clock choke come from?

It traces back to judo’s sliding lapel strangle, okuri-eri-jime, which sits in the Kodokan’s catalogue of choking techniques. BJJ adopted it and refined it for the turtle.

Is the clock choke legal in BJJ competition?

Yes. As a collar strangle, it is legal under the major gi rule sets, including the IBJJF, at every belt level where chokes are permitted.

---

Sources

1. Kesting, Stephan. “The Step-by-Step Clock Choke.” Grapplearts. Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.grapplearts.com/clock-choke/
2. Evolve MMA. “How To Perform The Clock Choke In BJJ.” Evolve Daily. Accessed June 2026.
   https://evolve-mma.com/blog/how-to-perform-the-clock-choke-in-bjj/
3. BJJ Heroes. “Bow and Arrow & Sliding Collar Choke.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://www.bjjheroes.com/techniques/bow-and-arrow-standard-choke-from-back
4. Smith, Andrew. “How to Do the Clock Choke in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (and Defend It).” HubPages. Accessed June 2026.
   https://discover.hubpages.com/sports/How-to-do-the-clock-choke-in-BJJ-and-defend-it
5. After The Mat. “Clock Choke: Submission Technique.” Accessed June 2026.
   https://afterthemat.com/library/jiu-jitsu/clock-choke

Related MMA Terms