Rear-naked Choke

The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ("gi") or training uniform.

The choke has two variations: in one version, the attacker's arm encircles the opponent's neck and then grabs their own biceps on the other arm (see below for details); in the second version, the attacker clasps their hands together instead after encircling the opponent's neck. Recent studies have shown that the rear-naked choke takes an average of 8.9 seconds to render an opponent unconscious regardless of the grip that is used.

"Figure four" or "short" variation

This variant is considered to be a "''blood choke''" because it restricts blood flow to the brain via the carotid arteries in a few seconds. The following is a description of this technique using the right arm:

#The attacker's right arm encircles the opponent's neck, with the opponent's trachea at the crook of the elbow.
#The attacker's right hand then grasps their own upper left arm iceps
#The left hand is placed behind (or occasionally on top of) the opponent's head. A more effective form of the choke can be applied by placing the palm of the left hand against the attacker's own shoulder rather than behind the opponent's head. This greatly reduces the escape possibilities.
#The elbows are then brought together such that lateral pressure, from the biceps and radius bone, is applied to the neck on both sides.

When applied properly, unconsciousness occurs in less than 10 seconds and recovery from the choke is just as quick.

"Body lock" or "hooks" variation

The placement of the legs usually falls into two categories. The first is a body lock. The attacker places one of their legs across the stomach or lower chest of the victim. They then place their other leg over their own shin, creating a figure-four with their legs. This allows them to limit movement and stay close to the back of their victim. This technique was used by Anderson Silva against Dan Henderson and by Jim Miller against Melvin Guillard. The other common technique is known as using " hooks". In this version the attacker places their legs inside of the victim's legs. They then move their legs out, placing their shin behind the victim's knees, essentially using their shins and feet as hooks to control the victim's legs. This variation leaves the attacker open to the possibility of leglocks from their opponent, as they are attacking the choke.

"Clasping hands" variation

This variation (also known as Palm to Palm) has the supporting hand clasp the hand of the choking arm, allowing more pressure to be applied to the neck, but losing some of the control of the head. This alters the choke somewhat so that it is more likely to be applied as an airway-restricting choke or mixed blood and air choke, which results in more pain but a slower choke-out. As such, this technique is less frequently used at advanced levels in Judo. Nonetheless, it has seen some successful applications in mixed martial arts competition: for instance, it was used by Fedor Emelianenko, a heavyweight champion in PRIDE, to defeat Kazuyuki Fujita at the ''PRIDE 26'' event in 2003. Fujita tapped out about five seconds after the choke was applied. He used it again to defeat former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds. Sylvia tapped out immediately once the choke was sunk in and after the fight described it as being very painful. It was also used by Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Matt Hughes to defeat Frank Trigg in their second fight which was adapted from a hand-on-biceps version of the rear naked choke.
Anderson Silva also used the clasping hands variation when he defeated Dan Henderson in the UFC. Joe Lauzon used this choke in his fight against Melvin Guillard, initially using the standard version, then switching to a palm to palm.

Judo

In Judo, the rear naked choke is known as Hadaka-jime (): "naked choke", one of the 36 constriction techniques of Kodokan Judo in the Shime-waza list.

Technique

The main characteristic of Hadaka-Jime when compared with other Judo chokes is that it does not require the use of the opponent's clothing, namely their gi lapel, to create the choking tourniquet. It digs the blade of the wrist into the carotid sinus similar to the hand clasp method and uses a lever motion helped by the underhand. It is faster to apply requiring less strength than the figure four/mixed-martial arts version but is more difficult to learn. It is not an air choke but a carotid

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