Many people freak out when they’re being choked. When they’re in a triangle and they feel their opponent’s legs tightening around them, they immediately get desperate and start wildly pushing, pulling, or — if they’re particularly new or don’t understand the rules of BJJ — punching and kicking (I’ve actually seen this happen).
But what can you do to learn to relax when you get caught in a choke… and no, I’m going to give you that obnoxious, “Don’t get caught in it” answer.
The first and most obvious way to relax in when caught in a choke, according to Professor Nick “Chewy” Albin, is practice, practice, practice. Professor Chewy tells viewers in his latest video that his instructor had him start in the triangle position for a month. This helped him calm down.
The other way to learn to calm down — and this might not be so obvious — is to look around your gym. Look at how many of your fellow students get caught in the same chokes as you. Are they getting out of them? Probably… at least some of them are … and if they can get out of these chokes, so can you.
Check out the rest of Professor Nick Albin’s video below, and see how you can learn to calm down when you get caught in a choke.
