There are two levels of timing when somebody is attacking your neck from behind. There is the initial energy where they are moving into you and then the energy of them pulling you back as they apply a squeeze. If you have perfect timing you will be able to capitalize on their energy moving towards you and throw them over your shoulder, which is the technique we learned in lesson 24 of the Crossroads Martial arts Curriculum. In lesson 25 we discuss and drill what to do when you do not have perfect timing and the attacker pulls you back in an attempt to choke you. In Jiu-jitsu if we have good timing then we are blending our moment with our training partners movement, and then adding more of our own moment to take them farther than they want to go. For example, in Lesson 25 of the Crossroads Martial Arts Curriculum we are blending our energy with that of our training partner by pivoting around our partners leg to apply a foot sweep which trips them to the ground. The attacker wanted to take us backwards just far enough to choke us and we used a technique moving in that same direction to defend against the choke, off balance them and put them past their desired position and onto their back.
On the ground lesson 25 of the Crossroads Martial Curriculum covers the turtle position. We being by covering what the turtle position is, and why it is used. Once everybody understood the turtle position we discussed 3 ways to attack the neck, a clock choke, and than 2 head and arm chokes. The clock choke uses the gi to restrict blood moving the the carotid arteries, while a head and arm choke restricts blood flow by using our training partners own shoulder and our upper arm. Restricting blood flow through the carotid arteries causes the person who the technique is being applied to feel light headed and will eventually pass out.
By having the ability to end the fight on top of the turtle we take advantage of a very common way somebody will attempt to stand up when a fight goes to the ground. In previous lessons we have discussed how to improve your position by taking the back to gain additional control over your training partner. By combining attacking the neck and working to improve our position we can constantly be working to improve our situation in the match/fight no matter where in the position we find ourselves, this forces the person on the bottom of turtle to be constantly reacting to the pressure we are placing on them. If the BJJ practitioner in the turtle position is constantly defend our attacks, than they can not work to escape. This idea is the primary benefit of chaining attacks, in this situation the best defense is a good offense.