North-South Choke

A crushing shoulder choke applied from north-south position.

The north-south choke (north-south kimura choke) wraps your arm around the opponent's neck from north-south position, using your shoulder and chest pressure to close off the arteries. You drive your hip toward the choking side and walk your legs to apply maximum pressure. Made famous by Marcelo Garcia, it requires precise body positioning and is one of the highest-percentage chokes for top-pressure grapplers. It's particularly effective in no-gi where collar grips aren't available.

Position Flow