BOW AND ARROW CHOKE

The bow-and-arrow choke is the gi-only equivalent of the mata leão and the most-used back-finish in IBJJF competition. Named for the body posture of the attacker, who pulls one collar like a bowstring while a foot or leg posts as the bow itself, the technique uses the opponent's own collar against their carotid arteries and produces a finish that is mechanically irresistible once the grip and angle are established.

From back control the attacker reaches over the opponent's shoulder and grips the collar deeply on the same side, palm down. The opposite hand controls the opponent's same-side wrist or sleeve to prevent the defensive arm from intervening. The attacker then rotates 90 degrees away from the gripping side, releases the bottom hook, and pulls the collar across the throat as the trapped wrist is pulled in the opposite direction. The choke is finished by a combination of the collar tension across the carotid and the trapped arm preventing the opponent from turning out of the angle.

In IBJJF competition the bow-and-arrow has been the most consistent gi back finish of the last fifteen years, with Marcelo Garcia, Roger Gracie, and Bernardo Faria all carrying titles on the strength of it. Modern competitors including Tainan Dalpra and Mica Galvao continue to use it as the primary follow-up to any successful back take in the gi. The technique's defensive answers are similar to those for the mata leão — two hands on the choking arm, chin tuck, peel the grip — but the leverage of the collar makes the defense substantially harder than against a no-gi rear naked.