Rear Naked Choke Explained: Meaning, History, and Defense.
History, Meaning, and What Actually Matters in Training
The rear naked choke is one of the most effective and widely used techniques in grappling and self-defense.
It’s applied from behind, with one arm wrapping around the neck and the second arm reinforcing the position, usually locking behind the head or shoulder. When it’s done correctly, it compresses the carotid arteries on either side of the neck, which restricts blood flow to the brain. That’s what makes it work so quickly.
It’s worth saying this clearly: this is primarily a blood choke, not a windpipe crush. And when people use the term “rear naked choke,” they’re almost always talking about the full, two-arm structure—not just an arm around the neck, but a properly secured position with control and pressure.
You’ll see this technique everywhere. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, law enforcement training, and systems like Krav Maga all use it. The context changes, but the mechanics don’t.
Where the name comes from
The technique is old. The name is not.
In Judo, this choke is called hadaka jime, which translates to “naked choke.” The word “naked” doesn’t mean skin-to-skin. It means you’re not using the uniform. No collar, no sleeve, just your arms.
This was formalized in the 1880s under Jigoro Kano as part of Kodokan Judo’s strangulation techniques. But it didn’t start there. It comes from older Japanese jujutsu systems, where choking from the back already existed, just without consistent naming or structure.
Judo organized it. It standardized it. Then it spread.
From there, it made its way into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the early 20th century, and eventually into modern grappling and MMA. Somewhere along that path, the English phrase “rear naked choke” showed up. “Naked choke” comes directly from the Japanese. “Rear” was added later to clarify the position.
As far as I can tell, we don’t have a clean “first time it was printed” moment, but the best estimate is that it started showing up in the 1980s and 90s as no-gi grappling and MMA grew, and became standard in the early 2000s through UFC commentary and instructionals.
So the technique has been around for well over a hundred years. The name most people use today hasn’t.
How the choke actually works
The details here matter. The rear naked choke isn’t about squeezing as hard as you can. It’s about getting a few key details right.
You need to be behind the person. You need your choking arm placed deep and correctly across the neck. And you need your second arm to reinforce the position and remove space.
When those things are in place, the choke works quickly and reliably. When they’re not, it doesn’t.
Most failed attempts come from trying to rush the finish before the position is secure. People grab, squeeze, and hope. But without alignment and structure, it’s not going to land the way it should.
From a safety standpoint, this is also one of the fastest submissions in grappling. When it’s applied correctly, things can change quickly. That’s why it needs to be trained with control. Tap early. Release immediately. Treat it with respect.
Defending the rear naked choke
This is the part most people care about—and the part that gets misunderstood.
There’s a hard truth here.
If a rear naked choke is fully locked in, you’re already in a very bad position.
The arm is deep. The second arm is connected. The attacker is behind you. At that point, your options are limited and your timeline is short.
That’s not a Krav Maga thing. That’s not a BJJ thing. That’s just reality.
Where real defenses happen
Most effective defenses don’t happen at the end. They happen earlier.
When the arm is first coming around your neck, you still have time. You can fight the hands, adjust your position, and prevent the choke from being secured.
Even when the arm is partially in but not fully locked, you still have options. You can turn, drop, create space, and disrupt what’s happening.
From a self-defense perspective, that’s where most of your training should live.
Because once everything is fully locked in, you’re not really “defending” anymore. You’re trying to survive a very bad position.
What about escaping a fully locked choke?
There’s a common belief that once it’s locked, it’s over.
That’s mostly true—but not completely.
And this is where the approach from Eli Knight is useful.
Here’s the reference we use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFtOInZ06ug
What’s valuable about his approach is how honest it is.
He’s very clear about what he’s not going to do. He’s not trying to rip the arms apart. He’s not relying on strikes. He’s not pretending there’s a simple, strength-based solution once the choke is tight.
Instead, he changes the situation.
He shifts the angle so he’s no longer directly chest-to-back with the attacker. That reduces pressure and starts to create space. He steps in a way that creates a small pocket between their bodies and disrupts the attacker’s balance. Then he pulls the choking-side elbow inward, which weakens the structure of the hold and opens a path to turn.
From there, he takes the attacker off balance and finishes with a takedown.
The important part isn’t the exact sequence. It’s the principle.
He’s not fighting the choke directly. He’s changing the angle, the structure, and the base. Once those change, the choke becomes harder to maintain.
When we teach a rear naked choke escape in our Forge Krav Maga program, this is where we start.
How we think about this at Forge
At Forge, we try to be very straightforward about this topic.
We don’t teach late-stage escapes as magic solutions. We teach them as part of a bigger picture.
The priority is always the same. Recognize the problem early and disrupt it before it becomes fully locked in. That’s where you have the most control and the highest chance of success.
At the same time, we do expose students to what happens late. Not because it’s ideal, but because it’s real. If you’re there, you should at least understand what’s happening and how to respond intelligently.
But we’re clear about the tradeoff.
Early action is reliable. Late action is possible—but much harder.
Final thought
The rear naked choke is a good example of something we talk about a lot in training.
The technique is old. The name is newer. The mechanics haven’t changed.
What matters isn’t what you call it or where it came from. What matters is whether you understand how the situation develops, how the choke actually works, and when you can still do something about it.
Most people think about the end of the technique.
The better approach is to understand everything that happens before that.
Train early. Stay aware. And don’t wait until everything is already locked in to start solving the problem.
