- Open Note Grappling
- Posts
- Better Tactics For Choking People Unconscious
Better Tactics For Choking People Unconscious
A Study Of Gerald Meerschaert’s Rear Naked Chokes
William
March 22nd, 2024
Better Tactics For Choking People
A Study Of Gerald Meerschaert’s Rear Naked Chokes
First Things First
Gerald Meerschaert just collected his 10th submission win in the UFC. That gives him as many submissions at middleweight as ADCC world champions Demian Maia and Rodolfo Vieira…combined.
Because Meerschaert is so good at choking people unconscious we’re going to take a closer look at how he gets his wins so we can learn his tactics.
Hey y’all,
Welcome to Open Note Grappling, the newsletter that helps you follow the top stories and techniques from BJJ, MMA, and the wider world of combat sports! If this is your first time here, click here to check out the rest of my work. Leave your email below to get the next post sent straight to your inbox!
Table of Contents
Gerald Meerschaert
My favorite people to watch in MMA are the ones who do things differently. The oddballs that shouldn’t get their slightly dysfunctional games to work, but do, and often get ridiculous highlight reel finishes out of it. Meerschart is a perfect example of that.
When you look at the unassuming middleweight you see a respectable journeyman’s record of 36-17. Then you take a second glance and notice 28 of those 36 wins are submissions and suddenly he commands closer study.
Meerschaert only has finish wins in the UFC. Of those 11 finishes 9 are chokes. The guy is a god damn boa constrictor.
On one hand he isn’t particularly fast. But that doesn’t mean he ever stops advancing. Meerschaert is constantly coming forward, sliding up your spine to get to your neck and finish you. Because he’s not so fast and everyone knows his plans we’re left to wonder, why can’t more people stop him?
Control, Movement, And Misdirection
The rear naked choke is the most effective submission in MMA and grappling. You have direct access to your opponent’s neck and you’re behind them, making you difficult to defend and counter.
At the same time stalling while defending back mount in MMA can be downright pretty simple. You can just hold on to the gloves and wait for the round to end. This puts a premium on good hand fighting in MMA. You will not reliably finish chokes in MMA with average hand fighting.
On the flip side, you don’t have to fight what isn’t there. Meerschaert does an exceptional job occupying his opponent’s attention and getting them to remove their hands from defense in the first place. Let’s take a look at how he gets it done.
Gerald Meerschaert vs Oskar Piechota  | Meerschaert throws Piechota face first to the floor and hits him from behind. Piechota is forced to put his hands on the mat to build a base and try to get up. Hands on the mat = no hands for defense. Meerschaert strangles Piechota in seconds after securing the rear naked choke. |
We can take two important lessons from this. One, it’s easiest to get a submission in transition. Two, you can force someone to try to transition by initiating a pass, pin, or positional advancement. In this case, throwing them to the floor. Add in a few punches for an added distraction and the submission presents itself.
Subscribe to Premium Notebook to read the rest.
Become a paying subscriber of Premium Notebook to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.
Already a paying subscriber? Sign In