YR Sports Lab
The North-South Choke gets overlooked more than it should. Because the north-south position scores no points under IBJJF rules, plenty of players treat it as a mere transition, apply a bit of pressure, and move straight on to the next thing. But the position hides an efficient blood choke: thread an arm across the neck, lock your hands, and drive down, and the finish is right there. In mixed martial arts, American fighter Jeff Monson racked up 17 career finishes with it, earning it the nickname "Monson Choke." Black belt Marcelo Garcia then carried it into modern no-gi competition, where it became one of his signature weapons. This entry breaks down the mechanics, three entry timings, the strengths and limits, common counters, and the numbers behind both men's careers.
1. Origins: an old judo pin, and two very different careers built around it
The north-south position that the choke is named for traces back to judo's ground grappling, specifically Kami-Shiho-Gatame (the upper four-quarters hold) and its variation, Kuzure Kami-Shiho-Gatame: the attacker straddles the opponent's upper body, facing toward their feet, a pin that has been part of judo competition for a long time. Jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts absorbed the position and developed a version that finishes directly with a choke, which is what is now generally called the North-South Choke.
The fighter who carried it into the cage and built a real résumé around it was American competitor Jeff Monson. A Division I wrestler at Oregon State and Illinois, Monson picked up the nickname "The Snowman" after the 1999 ADCC, when Brazilian competitors said he was "like a snowball, getting bigger and stronger" as the tournament went on, and he went on to collect FILA World Championship gold (2012, 2008, 2007), ADCC gold (2005, 1999), and a World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship open-weight gold (2007). According to a summary compiled on Wikipedia, as of 2016 Monson had racked up 17 career finishes with the North-South Choke; a technique page on the instructional platform Digitsu further notes that this count is what got the fight world calling it the "Monson Choke." His grip differs slightly from the textbook version: according to a breakdown on the jiu-jitsu blog The Patient Grappler, instead of hooking the opponent's bicep or clasping both fists together, he lets his two forearms slide across each other and lock. The advantage is that the grip finishes whether the opponent's arm ends up jammed inside the neck or gets cleared out, which makes it that much harder to escape.
The other key figure who brought this move into modern sport jiu-jitsu is Marcelo Garcia, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt known for his technical innovation. A summary of his career compiled on Wikipedia lists him as a four-time ADCC champion (2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, all at -77 kg). He used the north-south position frequently in no-gi competition as a springboard for attacks after passing the guard, and the same career summary shows that of his 55 recorded wins, roughly 4 (about 7%) came by North-South Choke. The percentage is not his highest, but it is enough to show the move holds a stable place in his overall system.
Two representative figures, two different contexts
Monson represents the technique's proof of concept in the mixed martial arts cage: 17 finishes built the "Monson Choke" nickname, showing the move holds up even under rules that allow striking.
Garcia represents its systematic use in modern sport jiu-jitsu: he turned north-south from a mere transitional position into one of the fixed finishing routes in no-gi competition. The two men come from different rulesets and different eras, and each proved the move's value in their own way. Neither invented it single-handedly; each simply sharpened it into a signature weapon.
2. Mechanics: from side control to the north-south finish
The North-South Choke usually is not launched from scratch. It is a natural extension of side control or knee-on-belly control. Instructional sources break the full movement into these stages:
| Stage | Key points |
|---|---|
| ① Clear the near-side arm | From side control, press down or clear away the opponent's near-side arm to expose one side of the neck |
| ② Pressure the head off the mat | Apply weight through knee-on-belly or side control so the opponent lifts their head slightly to breathe, opening space to thread the arm |
| ③ Transition to north-south | Square your body up, facing toward the opponent's feet, chest on chest, establishing north-south control |
| ④ Thread the arm and lock the grip | Wrap one arm around the neck and lock hands on the far side (a standard gable grip with both fists clasped, or Monson's crossed-forearm version) |
| ⑤ Drop the shoulder to finish | Sink the shoulder on the locking side into the carotid pathway while shifting your hips out past the opponent's shoulders, so they cannot turn to relieve the pressure |
The key technical point is to trap the opponent's head with the shoulder and ribcage rather than relying purely on arm strength to squeeze. The locked hands are just the pivot that fixes the angle; the real compressive force comes from your body weight sinking down at the right angle, which is why even a smaller grappler can finish a much bigger opponent with it.
3. Entry timings and setups
There are three common moments to launch the North-South Choke:
First, the instant knee-on-belly pressure forces the opponent to lift their head to breathe. Knee-on-belly is itself a position built to create breathing pressure, and the moment the opponent lifts their head slightly for air is exactly when threading the arm across is easiest.
Second, when you transition from side control head control into north-south. Starting with an overhook controlling the head from side control (similar to setting up a rear-naked choke), then squaring the body into north-south while never releasing head control, means the opponent rarely notices the threat has switched to a choke.
Third, the moment an opponent turtles or tries to stand and escape. When they turn away or try to stand up to relieve pressure, the neck and upper back are briefly exposed, which is a common window to slide into north-south and attack the choke.
4. Strengths and limitations
| Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Works in gi, no-gi and mixed martial arts rulesets alike, without needing a collar or pant-leg grip | The attacker's legs have zero control over the opponent's hips, so any space the defender finds lets them scramble back to guard or stand up |
| Flows naturally out of a guard pass, requiring no extra setup to break the opponent's posture first | A thick or short neck can blunt the leverage if the grip does not sink deep enough |
| Even though north-south itself scores no points, you can attack it mid-transition through scoring positions like knee-on-belly or side control without losing tactical ground | If the choke does not lock on the first attempt, the opponent's escape often turns into a stand-up or base recovery, forcing the attacker to reset top pressure |
5. Common counters
Defending the North-South Choke comes down to handling the arm and the space before the opponent locks the grip:
First, keep your near-side arm inside the neck before the opponent settles into north-south. Keeping the arm inside claims the space the choking arm needs early, making it much harder for the attacker to thread across cleanly.
Second, the instant you feel them transitioning to north-south, turn early toward the locking side. Turning shrinks the angle the attacker can generate force from, and lets you wedge a shoulder into the path of their choking arm.
Third, frame a palm or forearm against the attacker's hip to stop them from settling their weight. The North-South Choke needs the attacker's hips fully seated to generate pressure; framing at the hip delays, and can even collapse, that base.
The counter-attack window once you have defended successfully
Once the attacker's grip fails and you have their base pinned with a hip frame, their legs are completely undefended. That is a great moment to attack their legs, recover guard, or even try to stand up. Do not get so focused on protecting your neck that you miss the counter-attack window.
If the grip is already fully locked and you feel the carotid pressure and your vision starting to blur, do not try to muscle your way to an escape angle. Tapping early is always the better trade than gambling on one more breath.
6. Competition frequency and legality
There is no technique-level usage or success-rate data for the North-South Choke published by the IBJJF or ADCC. The verifiable numbers come mainly from the two representative figures above: Jeff Monson's 17 career finishes with the technique as of 2016, and Marcelo Garcia's roughly 4 finishes (about 7%) out of 55 recorded career wins (both figures compiled on Wikipedia, accessed 2026/08; these are individual career statistics, not official technique-level tournament data, so they reflect each fighter's own usage rather than the overall rate at which the move appears across competition).
On the rules side, most instructional sources treat the North-South Choke as legal at every belt level, with no explicit belt-restriction list the way heel hooks or knee reaps have. The north-south position itself does not score points on its own under traditional IBJJF scoring the way side control or mount does, so it is usually treated as a transition after passing the guard rather than an endpoint, which means finishing a submission directly from this "unscored" position converts a non-scoring transition into the highest-value outcome available. Most instructional sources also note that rule details shift by event and by year, so competitors should still confirm the current rulebook before stepping onto the mat.
7. Safety notes
The North-South Choke is a blood choke: the mechanism is the arm and shoulder compressing the carotid pathway to cut blood flow to the brain, not simply crushing the airway. The risk with blood chokes is that the gap between meaningful pressure and unconsciousness can be only a few seconds, so training partners need to tap in time, and the attacker also needs to stay alert to their partner's response and release the moment effective resistance stops. The vascular risk tied to neck submissions is not zero. A case report published in a neurosurgery journal documented a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner who developed a carotid artery dissection after having their neck compressed by a submission during training, followed a week later by an embolic stroke; despite endovascular stenting, the patient was left with lasting neurological deficits (PMID 29152471). That report covers the broader vascular risk of neck submissions in Brazilian jiu-jitsu training rather than the North-South Choke specifically, but since this technique shares the same carotid-compression mechanism, the same caution applies. For more on the north-south position's overall compression mechanics and defensive fundamentals, see our north-south position feature.
・Apply the locking grip gradually rather than snapping it fully tight at once, so your partner has time to react and tap
・Release immediately the moment your partner stops resisting effectively or taps the mat or your body
・Beginners should first drill "slow-motion, hold-and-check" repetitions under a coach's supervision before adding speed and resistance
・If you are the one caught, tap as soon as you know the grip is locked in rather than fighting for an escape angle
FAQ
Can white belts use the North-South Choke?
Most instructional sources treat the North-South Choke as legal at every belt level, with no explicit belt-restriction list the way heel hooks have. Rules do get revised event to event and year to year, though, so double-check the current rulebook before competing; in the gym, follow your coach's pacing.
Is the North-South Choke a blood choke or an air choke?
It is mainly a blood choke. The arm and shoulder compress the carotid pathway to cut blood flow to the brain rather than crushing the airway, though the body weight pressing down on the chest also makes breathing noticeably harder.
If the opponent jams an arm in front of their neck, can it still finish?
Jeff Monson's version was built to solve exactly this problem. Instead of hooking the bicep or clasping both fists together, he lets his two forearms slide across each other and lock, which finishes whether the opponent's arm ends up inside or gets cleared out. That is a big reason his version is so widely taught.
Why is it called the Monson Choke? Is that connected to Marcelo Garcia?
They represent two different contexts. Jeff Monson is the technique's signature figure in mixed martial arts, racking up 17 career finishes with the North-South Choke, which earned it the nickname Monson Choke in the fight world. Marcelo Garcia was the key figure who brought it into modern sport jiu-jitsu, finishing roughly 7% of his career wins with it. The two are each representative of their own arena rather than the same inventor.
What should I do if I can't escape and start running out of air?
Tap immediately, rather than waiting until your vision starts to blur. A blood choke can go from pressure to unconsciousness in a matter of seconds, so hesitating or trying to hold your breath through it is never worth it. Tap early, then drill the defensive fundamentals again next round.
References
1. Wikipedia contributors. North–south choke. en.wikipedia.org (accessed 2026/08; supports the origin in judo's Kami-Shiho-Gatame variation, Jeff Monson's 17 career finishes with the technique as of 2016, and Marcelo Garcia's roughly 4 of 55 recorded career wins (about 7%) coming by North-South Choke)
2. Wikipedia contributors. Jeff Monson. en.wikipedia.org (accessed 2026/08; supports Monson's collegiate wrestling background, the origin of his "The Snowman" nickname after the 1999 ADCC, and his FILA gold medals (2012, 2008, 2007), ADCC gold medals (2005, 1999), and World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship open-weight gold (2007))
3. Wikipedia contributors. Marcelo Garcia (grappler). en.wikipedia.org (accessed 2026/08; supports Marcelo Garcia's record as a four-time ADCC champion (2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, at -77 kg))
4. Digitsu. North South Choke in BJJ: How It Works, Setups & Stats. digitsu.com (accessed 2026/08; supports the claim that Jeff Monson's 17 finishes earned the technique the nickname "Monson Choke," and the note on Marcelo Garcia refining the technique)
5. The Patient Grappler (Christopher Samiullah). North-South Choke: Jeff Monson Style. christophersamiullah.wordpress.com (accessed 2026/08; supports the technical detail of Jeff Monson's crossed-forearm grip finishing regardless of whether the opponent's arm is inside or cleared)
6. Evolve Daily. What Is The North-South Choke In BJJ? evolve-mma.com (accessed 2026/08; supports the entry sequence of clearing the opponent's arm, wrapping the head, and transitioning into north-south)
7. Grappler HQ. North-South Choke: Mechanics, Finishes & Defense. grapplerhq.com (accessed 2026/08; supports the mechanics of sinking the shoulder into the neck and shifting the hips to consolidate control, and the three defensive counters of keeping the near arm inside, turning early, and framing at the hip; this source also notes that specific rule details should be confirmed against the current rulebook)
8. Demartini Z Jr, Rodrigues Freire M, Lages RO, et al. (2017). Internal Carotid Artery Dissection in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. J Cerebrovasc Endovasc Neurosurg;19(2):111-116. PubMed PMID 29152471 (supports the case report of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner developing a carotid artery dissection from neck compression during training, followed by an embolic stroke a week later)