Brabo Choke

**Aesopian** · Posted On: 2/03/2005 11:32am

Some people (myself included) call this choke by the name "brabo choke". Others (on the West Coast, it seems) call it the "Shaolin choke", after the fighter Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro who has a lot of success with it. There is another setup for the choke that's getting called "the D'Arce" or "darce" after a Renzo Gracie black belt who is whoring it. Marc Laimon further compounded this confusion by making up "the Marce".

On account of there being an entirely different Shaolin choke with the gi, and the darce/marce people wanting seperate credit for their setup, I propose we call it the brabo. Plus "brabo" sounds cooler.

Now why is it called the brabo?

Taken from an interview with Leozinho:

Q: In the current edition of Grappling, Jacare is in demonstrating the Brabo choke and he mentioned that you used the choke a lot.

A: Yes, I used it a lot, but I don’t know why they say I created it, as I always look to develop something and look at the white belts training and I saw a white belt use it something like that, and then I think ‘man, this can happen’ and then I worked on this position and everyone started to call it the Brabo choke; Kid Peligro put the name to it, he loves to put names for position (laughs).

Q: Does the name mean anything, Brabo?

A: It’s when something is aggressive and my old email used to be Leobrabo, then when I showed it to Kid, came up with the name Brabo and it kind of stuck.

Anyway, on to the technique.

Shaolin showing the brabo from side control.

Here you can see one of the things that I think makes it so unique -- you often get it when they are doing the "right" escapes. The choke presents itself when someone is doing a correct escape from side control by reaching for your legs and trying to turn to their knees.

The brabo has also be killing half guard players lately since it uses their underhook (which is normally good for the bottom guy) against them. Here's Marcio Feitosa showing it from half guard:

Brabo choke from half guard.

Here is a little sequence that shows Mike Fowler getting one at Grapplers Quest (taken from Grapplers.com):

The guy on bottom has the underhook from some sort of half guard. You can see Fowler starting to get the wizzer that becomes that brabo choke.

Fowler has got his wizzering arm deep, reaching all the way across to grab the other side of their neck. His other arm is pressing the back of the head with his biceps.

He's now grabbing his biceps, closing the arm triangle and trapping the head and arm.

You can see him grabbing his biceps clearer here. His other hand goes to their top shoulder.

Have fun with this and let me know how it goes, and I'll post more info on it.

**Yrkoon9** · Posted On: 2/03/2005 11:35am

I cannot seem to apply it when my opponent is wearing a gi.

**JohnnyS** · Posted On: 2/03/2005 3:59pm

A friend of mine was choked unconscious with this choke in a gi-competition. I didn't really know anyone used it without a gi.

**J-Lau** · Posted On: 2/03/2005 4:04pm

Fowler is good, and is grappling proof of Lloyds system. One of the strongest guys I have ever grappled with at that weight.

**Yrkoon9** · Posted On: 2/03/2005 4:42pm

GD BJJ'ers! There they go again!

Reverse arm triangle, Shaolin, Brabo...

**JohnnyS** · Posted On: 2/03/2005 11:28pm

One good thing about this choke - or any choke where you use the skirt to choke - is that your opponent usually thinks they are safe because you've only got one hand in their lapel.

**Yrkoon9** · Posted On: 2/04/2005 12:56pm

You don't use the skirt to choke with the Brabo. It's done like an arm triangle.

Oh yes, I have something productive to say about this choke. I cannot apply it to big, huge guys with lat muscles they could use to fly with. When this happens don't try to go all the way around their neck after you go under the arm. Instead, grab their bottom lip and then drive the top of your head into their face until they cry out - dear God what is happening? That'll teach em to quit being so fucking big. Tear their fucking lips off.

**JohnnyS** · Posted On: 2/06/2005 4:37pm

Yrkoon9, when I was taught this choke it was the gi-choke variation with the skirt of the gi. Check out Aesopian's picture of "Mike Fowler going for it with the gi against Leo Marques at the Budweiser Jiu Jistu World Cup". He's got one hand in the lapel, the other hand grabbing the skirt and wrapping it behind the guy and bringing it over to choke him.

**Red Elvis** · Posted On: 2/07/2005 9:53pm

Originally Posted by Aesopian

That failing, it will at least give RedElvis something to goof around with on the nubs.

What going on here my capitalist friends? I heve herd something about my name in conjunction with Babo the nude chimp? Or was that Babooshkas nude choke? Anyway, I like to try this nude chick next time I grapple with enemy democratic shwine-hoonts! I think I will make Baboshka do this move without her skirt as I see there are wery bad stories about her choking freedom lovers unkoncious! I don't like part about fat bad breath gays either with anacondas! Bah!

"I chick you out Komrad! BWAHAHA..."
Barrabas 'Shoalin' Anakonda

:5squeeze:

**Twip** · Posted On: 2/09/2005 2:52pm

To get the brabo choke you kinda have to get them half-turned (like say by pushing their arm down across them when they reach for you), which is why it's from half-guard (top or bottom!).

The arm that goes around their neck (and kinda underhooks their arm from behind)--that hand rests on your other bicep. (You really have to snake it around their neck.)
The other hand goes in front of their face and rests on their shoulder.
Then you squeeze that little arm-triangle in.

And if you don't cinch your arms in right, it'll crank on their neck instead of choke them, so be careful.

Do bear in mind, my instructor just showed us it for a few minutes one day, so I'm no expert. I'm sure there's plenty of other stuff to know about it.