Bread Cutter Choke

According to Chewjitsu, you want a little bit of slack in the collar initially, then position the hinge of your grip directly over the opponent's Adam's apple rather than going too deep, which can result in just cutting down on the neck.

Chewjitsu recommends getting up on your toes to transfer your weight onto the opponent's neck, and if they're defending, place your forehead over the top of your grip and drive forward—this uses your head to counterbalance their defense.

Garrett Goldsberry suggests waiting for the opponent to attempt a back escape or forcing it yourself with a hip switch, then stepping over and swimming back in to maintain position.

As your opponent starts to escape, block them and sneak your hand through to get your palms in the back of the collar, then lock them in shoulder to shoulder as they come back towards you, according to Garrett Goldsberry.

The Bread Cutter Choke is a gi-based submission applied from side control where the attacker reaches across the opponent's neck to grip the far collar, then drives the blade edge of the forearm across the throat while dropping body weight to create a cutting compression against the trachea and carotid arteries. The technique derives its name from the slicing motion of the forearm across the neck — the sharp ulnar edge of the forearm acts like a bread knife, pressing into the soft tissue of the throat while the collar grip anchors one side and the body weight provides the downward force.

The Bread Cutter Choke emerged as a named technique in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition during the late 2000s and early 2010s, though forearm-across-throat chokes from side control have existed in judo newaza for decades. The technique was popularised in instructional material by high-level BJJ practitioners including Saulo Ribeiro (in Jiu-Jitsu University, 2008), who presents it as a fundamental side control attack.

IBJJF: legal — Legal at all belt levels, gi and no-gi — chokes are the safest submission cat…; IJF: legal — Legal (shime-waza) — strangulation techniques are one of three permitted subm…; ADCC: restricted — N/A (no-gi competition only — technique requires gi); Unified MMA: restricted — N/A (technique requires gi — not applicable in MMA); FIAS Sport Sambo: banned — All chokes prohibited in Sport Sambo; FIAS Combat Sambo: legal — Legal

Danger rating 8/10. Dual-mechanism choke (blood choke via carotid compression + windpipe choke via tracheal pressure) — the tracheal pressure component makes this particularly uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. The direct forearm-to-throat contact can cause tracheal bruising or cartilage damage if applied explosively. Onset of unconsciousness from the blood choke component is typically 4-8 seconds once fully locked.

The standard setup chain: Establish side control → Maintain heavy cross-face pressure to flatten the opponent → Reach the far hand across the neck to grip the far collar (four fingers deep inside) → Settle the forearm blade edge across the throat → Drop the shoulder and chest weight onto the forearm → Opponent taps from carotid/tracheal compression → If defended → Transition to kimura (if they push the choking arm) or step-over choke (if they turn away).

Standard counters include: Tuck the chin — blocking the forearm from crossing the throat by pressing the chin down / Strip the collar grip — using the far hand to peel the attacker's fingers out of the collar before the choke is set / Turn to the side — presenting the side of the neck instead of the front reduces the forearm's ability to compress the… / Frame against the shoulder — creating a frame with the arms against the attacker's choking shoulder prevents the body….

Common variants: Standard Bread Cutter (cross-face hand reaches to far collar, forearm drops acro…); Paper Cutter (reverse grip) (same mechanic but with the hand gripping palm-up instead …); Near-side Bread Cutter (gripping the near collar instead of the far collar, apply…); Bread Cutter from mount (transitioning from mount to a side position while maintai…); Bread Cutter to armbar (if the opponent pushes on the choking arm to defend, tran…).

Widely used in IBJJF Gi competition at black belt level. The technique's combination of positional safety and submission threat makes it a staple of competition-oriented BJJ.

Top errors to watch for: Gripping the near collar instead of the far collar — the near collar does not provide the correct angle for the forea… / Shallow collar grip — if only two fingers are inside the collar, the grip will slip under pressure; four fingers must… / Trying to squeeze with arm strength — the Bread Cutter finishes with body weight dropping through the forearm, not wi… / Lifting the hips while attacking — raising the hips creates space that allows the opponent to hip escape; the hips mu….

The Bread Cutter Choke is also known as Bureddo Kattā Chōku, Bread Slicer Choke, Paper Cutter Choke, Collar Pressure Choke, Cutter Choke.