High Elbow Guillotine

Last updated: June 17, 2026

What is the high elbow guillotine?

The high elbow guillotine is a front headlock submission. The attacker wraps an arm around the front of the opponent’s neck, then lifts the choking elbow high so it points toward the ceiling and sits above the opponent’s shoulder rather than tucked against the body. That one change in elbow position is what gives the technique its name and its bite.

Most people who look the term up heard it in fight commentary and want to know why this guillotine gets singled out. The answer is the kind of pressure it produces. A regular guillotine often works as an air choke, pressing on the windpipe. An opponent can stall that and ride it out. The high elbow position changes the math: the choking forearm sits deeper across the neck and closes the gaps, so it compresses the carotid arteries instead. That makes it a blood choke. Blood chokes end fights faster and with less raw squeezing strength. Fans see it most in no-gi grappling and MMA, where it shows up off scrambles and failed takedowns.

How the high elbow works

Picture a standard guillotine, then imagine the choking arm sliding deeper until the palm pokes out past the far side of the neck, near the opposite shoulder. The elbow rises and turns up instead of staying low and pinched in. The free hand grips the choking hand or wrist to lock the structure in place.

Two things happen with that geometry. The deeper arm wraps more of the neck, and the raised elbow removes the slack a defender normally uses to escape. With a low elbow, an opponent can often grab the elbow or the hands and pry the choke loose, or turn it into a crank that hurts but does not finish. The high elbow takes those defenses away and turns the forearm into a clean strangle. The trade is commitment, because the high elbow is an attacking position with fewer exits, so it leans toward finishing rather than controlling.

High elbow guillotine vs arm-in guillotine

The two get mixed up constantly, since both are guillotines, and both can use a raised elbow. What separates them is what sits inside the choke.

High elbow guillotine	Arm-in guillotine
Opponent’s arm stays outside the choke. Choking arm goes deep, elbow pointed up. Works mainly as a blood choke on the carotid arteries. Aggressive and built to finish, with fewer transitions once committed.	Opponent’s arm is trapped inside, alongside the neck. Needs a raised elbow to stay tight. Can finish, but is often used to control and pass. Common in MMA, since a shooting wrestler leaves an arm trapped. More positional options.

The arm-in is the control-and-grind option, common in MMA because a wrestler shooting a takedown often leaves an arm trapped. The high elbow is the faster, more aggressive finish that seals the neck on its own.

Why it’s called the Marcelotine

Marcelo Garcia, one of the most successful no-gi grapplers the sport has seen, built so much of his game around this choke that the grappling world nicknamed it the Marcelotine. He finished elite opponents with it across multiple weight classes.

Garcia’s version asked a lot of shoulder flexibility, which made it hard for many people to copy. John Danaher, the coach behind the Danaher Death Squad, later reworked the entry with a detail he calls the centerline shift, which took the flexibility requirement out and opened the choke up to more body types. Garry Tonon, one of Danaher’s longtime students, has landed high elbow guillotines in both top grappling tournaments and ONE Championship MMA bouts.

The high elbow guillotine and the Von Flue choke

Part of the reason the high elbow exists is to beat one specific defense: the Von Flue choke. The Von Flue is a counter named after former UFC fighter Jason Von Flue, who used it to put Alex Karalexis to sleep at UFC Fight Night 3 on January 16, 2006. When someone holds a guillotine from the bottom, the top player can pass toward side control and drive a shoulder down into the exposed neck, choking the attacker with their own trapped arm.

A traditional arm-in guillotine leaves room for that shoulder pressure. Lifting the elbow up and over the opponent’s shoulder closes the lane, so the defender cannot load shoulder pressure onto the neck the same way. Coaches often tell students to release a guillotine the moment the top player reaches side control, exactly because the Von Flue is waiting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the high elbow guillotine a blood choke or an air choke?

It mainly works as a blood choke that compresses the carotid arteries, which is why it tends to finish faster than a standard guillotine that presses on the windpipe.

Who invented the high elbow guillotine?

No single person invented it, but Marcelo Garcia made it famous, and John Danaher later refined the entry. Its nickname, the Marcelotine, comes from Garcia.

What is the Marcelotine?

Marcelotine is another name for the high elbow guillotine, taken from Marcelo Garcia.

Why is it called “high elbow”?

Because the defining detail is raising the choking elbow up and over the opponent’s shoulder, instead of keeping it low and tucked against the body.

Is the high elbow guillotine legal in MMA and BJJ?

Yes. It is a standard neck choke, allowed in MMA and in most BJJ and submission grappling rule sets for adult divisions.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia, “Jason Von Flue” (accessed June 2026).
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Von_Flue
2. BJJ World, “High Elbow Guillotine Details From The Danaher Death Squad,” a breakdown of the positioning details John Danaher added to the choke (accessed June 2026).
   https://bjj-world.com/high-elbow-guillotine-choke/
3. Digitsu, “Von Flue Choke Breakdown (BJJ)” (accessed June 2026).
   https://digitsu.com/t/von-flue-choke
4. Grapplearts, “The Ultimate Guide to the Guillotine Choke in BJJ” (accessed June 2026).
   https://www.grapplearts.com/guillotine-choke/
5. BJJ Fanatics, “Arm in Guillotine vs High Elbow Guillotine (Marcelotine),” which compares the two variations side by side (accessed June 2026).
   https://bjjfanatics.com/blogs/news/arm-in-guillotine-vs-high-elbow-guillotine-marcelotine
6. FightScience, “The Complete Guide to the Guillotine Choke” (accessed June 2026).
   https://fightscience.com/guides/guillotine-choke-guide
7. Evolve University, “3 Guillotine Choke Variations To Surprise Your Opponent” (accessed June 2026).
   https://evolve-university.com/blog/3-guillotine-choke-variations-to-surprise-your-opponent/

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