Also known as: Darce · D'Arce · Brabo Choke (no-gi) · Screw Choke · Darce Choke
An arm-in front strangle where your choking arm threads UNDER their near arm and across the neck, locking figure-four on your own bicep. Their own shoulder becomes half of the choke.
Submission · Strangle (blood choke) · Gi & No-gi · Difficulty 3/5 · Usually learned at Blue belt
Starts from Front Headlock as the attacker (on the head) → ends the match (submission).
The details that make it work
Thread deep: your choking hand should reach their far shoulder blade before you lock the figure-four.
The finish is chest pressure walking TOWARD their hips while the lock stays tight — you choke with your torso.
Also hit from top half guard and side control when they turn in; the front headlock is just the canonical entry.
Where it goes wrong
Locking shallow at the skull and squeezing the face instead of the carotids.
Staying square instead of sprawling your legs back through the finish.
How opponents counter it
Posture the trapped arm through and re-guard
Roll through toward the loose side before the lock sets
Is the D’Arce 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
Named for Joe D’Arce, a Renzo Gracie black belt who popularized it in US competition — the technique itself came through Luta Livre lineages as the "brabo" choke.