Pad Lock

Also known as: Paddylock · Paddy Lock · Liverpool Lynch (colloquial)

Emerging technique: this move is in circulation but its mechanics and naming are still settling — what’s documented here follows the most common public descriptions, not a verified canonical source.

An emerging name for a front-headlock hybrid strangle closely related to (and by some accounts identical to) the Pad Thai — a D’Arce-grip choke finished with a leg thrown over the opponent’s head and back.

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

Starts from Front Headlock as the attacker (on the head) → ends the match (submission).

The details that make it work

1. As popularly documented: the mechanics mirror the Pad Thai — the community has not settled on whether these are two names for one technique or two variations of the same idea.
2. What is consistent across descriptions: an arm-in front strangle grip plus a Peruvian-style leg clamp that defeats the sprawl.

Where it goes wrong

• Publishing confident mechanics for a move whose definition is still forming — check primary footage before teaching it.

How opponents counter it

• Same as the Pad Thai: kill the initial strangle grip and the hybrid never begins

Is the Pad Lock 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

Name in circulation from 2020s MMA; attribution and canonical definition contested. Documented as popularly described — help us verify sources.

Same family: Strangle (blood choke)s

• Guillotine Choke — from Front Headlock
• D’Arce Choke — from Front Headlock
• Anaconda Choke — from Front Headlock
• Ninja Choke — from Front Headlock
• Peruvian Necktie — from Front Headlock
• Pad Thai — from Front Headlock
• Loop Choke — from Front Headlock
• Clock Choke — from Turtle
• Triangle Choke — from Closed Guard
• Cross Collar Choke — from Closed Guard
• Arm Triangle Choke — from Side Control
• Paper Cutter Choke — from Side Control
• Von Flue Choke — from Side Control
• Buggy Choke — from Side Control
• North-South Choke — from North-South
• Baseball Bat Choke — from Knee on Belly
• Rear Naked Choke — from Back Control
• Bow and Arrow Choke — from Back Control
• Crucifix Choke — from Crucifix

Related techniques

• Pad Thai
• D’Arce Choke
• Peruvian Necktie
• Ninja Choke

All moves from Front Headlock · Back to Grapplepedia