Marcelo Garcia was no doubt one of the best grapplers to grace Jiu-Jitsu. His smooth transitions, focus on submissions and humble personality have endeared him to all.
That is what made the super-fast Robert Drysdale Brabo Choke submission finish at the 2007 ADCC all the more impressive. Not many people have managed to submit Garcia ever, let alone in his prime, and the Darce or Brabo choke that Robert used is one that was heard around the BJJ world back then.
I remember watching the match between Robert Drysdale and Marcelo Garcia from the mat side and being in awe of how quickly he dispatched Garcia with the Brabo Choke. While we all knew Drysdale to be a great submission hunter, nobody really gave him a chance to finish the GOAT Marcelo, which ended up working in Rober’s favor.
He is their full (very short) ADCC 2007 match. The choke starts at the 2:20 mark for those with limited patience:
The Brabo Choke BJJ Submission
The Brabo choke, as referred to by Brazilians, or the Darce choke, as it is more commonly known among grapplers is an arm triangle choke done from the front. Mechanically speaking it requires a head and arm control, just like any triangle, as the opponent’s own shoulder is essential for the choke.
Commonly, people look for the Brabo choke from the front headlock position, from standing, half kneeling, kneeling, and often against a turtled-up opponent. One hand goes around the head, underneath your armpit while the other goes under the opposite side armpit, trapping the opponent’s arm.
The choking pressure comes from tightening the structure by grabbing your own biceps behind the opponent’s head in a figure 4 grip. This is the distinction between the Brabo and anaconda, which has you grabbing the biceps on the opposite side, under the armpit.
For the finish itself, you can be on top or underneath an opponent. In most cases, you’ll probably have to hold on as they roll, waiting until they settle before figuring out your best positioning for the finish.
The Robert Drysdale Brabo Choke that Tapped Marcelo Garcia
The Robert Drysdale Brabo choke that finished Marcelo was a picture-perfect example of how this choke works, with several key details demonstrated by Drysdale which he goes over in this video:
- Distance Mangement: A key aspect of even thinking about setting up the Brabro choke, according to Robert Drysadle is chest-to-chest contact. The choke setup won’t work if you’re too far away.
- Whizzer Control: Another key component of chasing Darce chokes is keeping a tight overhook control, often known as the Whizzer., The deeper your arm is under the opponent’s armpit, the better the choke will be. This arm is also a lot more crucial than the one going around the head/neck.
- Posture Break: An invaluable step in the Brabo choke setup is using your arm to pull on the back of the head, bearing posture, and making enough room to position the second arm behind the neck.
- Fast Grips: Once you have your overhook arm threaded deep, nobody is going to allow you to stay there for long, so getting the biceps grip for that figure 4 configuration quickly is essential to success.
- Finishing Mechanics: The Brabo finish is a pressure choke, so instead of thinking about squeezing your arms think rather about placing your weight on top of your opponent and turning the forearm of the choking arm.
How he Used it Against Marcelo
Let’s take a second look at the match between Robert Drysdale and Marcelo Garcia to see how heart up the choke using his cornerstone principles:
- Whizzer Control: After a double leg shot by Marcelo, which Robert countered by sprawling, he inserted an overhook deep behind Marcelo’s reaching arm. Which provided the crucial initial connection.
- Fast Grips: Once he released his leg, Rober immediately laid to the mats, aiming to thread the overhook arm as deep as possible and closing a lighting fast figure four grip. Being with his back to the mats didn’t matter, as long as he got the grip in.
- Posture Break: The grips allowed Drysdale to break Marcelo’s posture as he went to the mats, completely taking away any chances he had of popping his head out of the choke.
- Distance Mangement: As Marcelo thrashed around trying to get out of the Brabo choke, Robert Drysdale did not try and finish, but rather focused on getting a a chest-to-chest connection from both bottom and top.
- Finishing Mechanics: Robert started to apply pressure from the bottom, but eventually ended up on top while managing distance. This gave him the perfect opportunity to put his body weight on top of Marcelo and twist his forearm getting that famous tap.
Many of you will be surprised to hear that Robert e doesn’t even consider it a choke. He definitely shares a a few gold nuggets in the video above that will completely change your understanding of the technique, and help you finish it faster!
Takeaways
Watch old matches. Especially focus on those that feature underdogs that manage to beat big name grapplers, like Tuotolo’s Darce against Tonon or Ffion’s armbar against Bea Mesquita. There is quite a long list, but you get my point.
While not everyone might do breakdowns of their winning moves like the Robert Drysdale Brabo Choke explanation, you can learn a ton by slowing down those matches and analyzing them. If it worked for them it will most certainly work for you gym nemesis the next time you encounter them at open mat.
Darce Choke Encyclopedia – Origins, Mechanics and Variations [2024]
