I recently had the chance to chat with martial arts teacher Bjorn Friedrich. Bjorn originally released his ground-breaking instructional DVD on Brabo/darce chokes about a decade ago but the techniques remain effective and well worth studying. After being unavailable for many years, I'm happy to re-release "Position Brabo" on DVD and On Demand. - Budo Jake
BJ: Bjorn, what do you like about the Brabo/darce choke?
BF: I really like its versatility. You can get the choke from everywhere. If you are more of a top game player you can play a heavy pressure game and use the Darce Choke and if you are more of a bottom player there are a lot of sneaky ways to get it from there or from some scrambles. When I first learned the Choke I just got 2 applications but while training we found more and more. It was like a new world opened up for us and that's the reason why I did the DVD. This was 2008 or 2009 and I was so impressed about these technique that I first released youtube videos and then made the DVD.
Another reason I like this choke is because he is very deceptive. You don't put your arm around the neck first but under the armpit. This is more unassuming and your opponent doesn't defend right away. I always felt it was easier to get the Darce than a Guillotine or the Anaconda because there you put your arm around your opponents neck and that will cause an immediate defensive reaction.
The darce is kind of a trap. When you feel the danger it is already too late to react. Not always but quite often;-)
The last thing I like about the move is that you have a variety of sweeps and transitions since you are controlling not just the neck but also one arm. Especially from the bottom that makes it easier to sweep an opponent if the choke itself doesn't work or isn't tight enough. You can roll your opponent and can come back on top to adjust or switch to another move.
The darce is kind of a trap. When you feel the danger it is already too late to react. Not always but quite often;-)
The last thing I like about the move is that you have a variety of sweeps and transitions since you are controlling not just the neck but also one arm. Especially from the bottom that makes it easier to sweep an opponent if the choke itself doesn't work or isn't tight enough. You can roll your opponent and can come back on top to adjust or switch to another move.
BJ: Do you use it when sparring in the gi also?
BJ: Do you prefer to finish the choke from the top or the bottom?
BF:That depends on the setting. In Submission Wrestling I don't care I like to work top and bottom since like I said even from bottom there are good options to sweep your opponent if the choke fails.
In MMA/Self Defense training I like to stay on top and get the Choke from there. Recently I really like to mix the Darce with the Cradle which gives awesome control.
In MMA/Self Defense training I like to stay on top and get the Choke from there. Recently I really like to mix the Darce with the Cradle which gives awesome control.
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