Buggy Choke

Also known as: Buggy · Bottom Side Triangle · Reverse Triangle from Bottom (adjacent)

The submission nobody believed until it kept working: from BOTTOM side control, throw a leg over your own trapped arm and their head, locking a triangle that strangles the person pinning you.

Submission · Strangle (blood choke) · No-gi · Difficulty 4/5 · Usually learned at Purple belt

Starts from Side Control as the bottom player → ends the match (submission).

The details that make it work

  1. Available when their head is low on your near side and your near arm can reach over their neck.
  2. Swing your same-side leg over your own wrist and their head; lock the triangle behind your knee.
  3. Crunch and squeeze — the pin becomes the choke. Flexibility helps; timing matters more.

Where it goes wrong

How opponents counter it

Is the Buggy Choke legal in competition?

Legal in all major rulesets at all levels (IBJJF, ADCC, sub-only). Rules change — always confirm against the current official rulebook for your event.

History & naming

Broke into high-level competition in the late 2010s–2020s; popularized in no-gi by athletes like Kade Ruotolo.

Same family: Strangle (blood choke)s

Related techniques

All moves from Side Control · Back to Grapplepedia