How does the triangle choke work?

Question

i see it done and it seems devastating but i cant figure how its choking you out, can some one explain to me how it works

Answer 1

It seals the carotid artery by using the legs of the person applying the choke on one side, and the trapped arm of the person whom the choke is being applied to on the other side.

When the blood supply to the brain is cut off, the body shuts down... you go to sleep.

Answer 2

What it is: The guy getting choked out has one arm and his neck inside the attacker's legs.  The attacker has one leg wrapped around the defender's head with the thigh against the neck and the calf around the back of the head.  With the other leg he catches the arm inside the gap (his legs make a "figure 4" around the top of the opponnent) and locks the foot of the "wrapping leg" behind the knee joint and locks them together.  The lock is important because it is too powerful to be broken by most people before they pass out.  

Why it works: In cage fighting the guy getting choked has no attack (not with any real power) because one arm is locked in with the head, and the other is unable to generate much striking power.  In a street fight there are no rules, so it's less likely to work, but that's another post... At any rate, the legs constrict the carotid (sp) artery keeping blood from flowing to the brain because the shoulder of the "inside arm" is against one side of the neck, and the leg is against the other side. Plus all the pressure makes it nearly impossible to breathe.  When you combin that with the choke victim's head getting pulled down, this makes it even quicker (think of pinching a hose then bending it...water can't get through).  Blood can't get to the brain, and the brain shuts down.  If you keep the choke for more than a few minutes, the victim will die, or at least suffer from severe brain injury because of oxygen starvation.  It's a nasty choke and uncomfortable as h**l too - you're in pain because of the neck crank part, but you're helpless because of the lock.  That's why it's so devastating.  Once it's in...Game Over.

Hope that helps.

(Try it with someone who knows grappling...make sure you trust them and they let you out of the lock as soon as you tap.  It's surprising how fast you start to go dizzy and black out.)

Answer 3

last guy said it best

pulling down the head also not only does the neck crank that hurts but it pushes the neck deeper into the leg and shoulder forcing the artery to be shut if its not already

its not a guaranteed win however (Anderson Silva vs Travis Lutter [i believe it was Lutter] Tito Ortiz vs Lyoto Machida)

both Machida and Silva were put in triangles and got out

also if you see Rampage in pride i dont remember who he fought but he picked the guy up and slammed him (last ditch effort move)