How To Teach a Triangle Choke to Kids
That's a weird title...
“Gather around kids. Let me show you how to take the life of a man with your legs wrapped around their head….Oss!”
Little weird that statement, but it’s true. Chokes are dangerous. Today I’m going to show you exactly how to teach a Triangle choke to kids. Before I do that let’s talk about safety. If you’re reading this you probably have a pretty good idea how dangerous Jiu-Jitsu is. Make sure that if you’re teaching children that you give them rules for when they are allowed to use Jiu-Jitsu outside of the Academy. Here is how I approach it when teaching my students.
You are allowed to use Jiu-Jitsu outside of the academy if you feel like you are in physical danger. You don’t have to wait for someone to touch you first. Attack first if you think someone is going to hurt you.
Never let anyone touch you in a way that you don’t like. That includes adults. If you don’t like the way someone is touching you immediately defend yourself. ( I make a caveat about parents on this rule, ie “la chancla”).
Never show techniques to friends or family members. Do not “play” with them. This includes school friends, cousins, sisters, or brothers. You can hurt them by mistake.
You are allowed to work technique with your parents.
Jiu-Jitsu is dangerous so we need to be instructing in a manner that keeps our kids safe.
Okay, let’s get down to brass tack. There are a ton of setups for Triangle chokes. That is not important when teaching this choke. At least not at first. Start off by showing the Trap Triangle position. This is the legs wrapped around the neck and one arm on the inside. Once you show this position go step by step on how to finish a Triangle choke.
“Grab your partners arm and pull it across your hip and give it to your other hand. Hold their wrist like you would when riding a bike.” (Make sure to show your hands riding a bike and make them do it also)
“Next squeeze your knees and pull your ankles to your face. This will bring your partner to you.” (Remember kids are not allowed to pull on the head)
“With your other hand grab your shin. Then take your foot off and put it in their hip. Now we are going to do two things at the same time! Wiggle Walk and Toes to the Nose.”
This is for the instructor: Wiggle Walk is shoulder walking backwards to break down your partners posture. Toes to the Nose makes your student pull their leg straight behind their partners neck.
“Lock your Triangle tightly. Squeeze and hug your knee. Wait for the tap.”
End game is more important than setup when teaching Triangle chokes to kids. If you add setup first it will be too much for them to remember. On the other hand, if a child understands the Trap Triangle they can start seeing it from many places. Once they have a firm understanding of it then show a setup.
Lastly, before even showing them the Trap Triangle show them how to properly lock their legs. Do it without a partner so they can clearly see your shin go under your knee. Then have them lay back and do it also. Call it out in a count and have fun with it when doing it. Start counting off slow then increase the speed. By the end of your counting it should be super fast but mostly to get the kids to laugh and have fun. This way they are paying attention.
If you have any questions about this or any technique please ask. I’ll answer you right away. If your question is big enough I can create a post for it.
HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!!