If you can't do that then you have to rely on having and keeping your chin down. Along with this you then will want to reach up with hand of the same side that he is bringing his hand and arm across from and snag any fingers you can. Once you have snagged a couple of fingers and peeled them off the back of your head and forward then you can reach them and that hand with your opposite hand and maybe get an arm bar or at least restrict his ability to apply maximum pressure. Getting his hand turned up and then bending fingers back can work or getting that hand and arm up and over to the opposite side of your head will also keep the choke from being applied. Most people make the mistake of reaching up to grab fingers that are on the top or back of your skull with the wrong hand and can't reach it because of your adversary's forearm, elbow and bicep being in the way and you can't reach over or around them to the back or top of your head and his other hand there.
One of the drills I do with fighters is I have them sit on the mat with a partner sitting behind him and their hooks in. They practice feeling their opponents hand and arm going into position and intercepting it and getting it over to the opposite side of their head. Later they practice this with their eyes closed because you really have to rely on your sense of feel and knowing when you are vulnerable to this choke and your opponent starting to apply it. That's when it is easiest to defend against is early on.
When a rear naked is locked in there aren't any practical methods of escape that can be used in a competition. However, there are a few that are completely illegal in a sport competition that are effective on the street, but there is never a guarantee. And I do not recommend using these against your friends when you are screwing around already with potentially critical techniques.
A thumb strike "eye gouge" can be enough if it lands solidly in the eye socket. Similarly reaching back over your shoulders with both hands and using a "tiger claw" or "eagle claw" type of grip on both sides of their face may offer you access to their eyes. When sufficient force is applied they will release their choke. It is also possible (and I do mean p o s s i b l e) to grip onto an ear, when reaching back, and rip it down and forward in an attempt to remove it from their head.
Depending on the "choker", any of these techniques can be enough to change their focus on the choke and allow you the opportunity to turn the fight. But as I said before there is no buarantee as to how they will react, and you have VERY, VERY, little time to make your defense. If you hesitate you are basically done once the choke is actually in place.
The rear naked choke is known as one of the tougher choke holds. In most situations, I would tell you to just tap out, but that may not be an option in a real street fight. To defend from a RNC what you really need to do, is not get into one. What you should do, is NEVER let your opponent get behind you. Especially not on your back while you are on the floor.
If someone is trying to get you into one, tuck your chin down, and pull your shoulders up. Also KEEP MOVING. If the hold is locked on, what you might just have to do is pull the choker's pinky.
All these escapes that Harvey mentions DONT work because i promise you if i get the rear naked choke on you, then you will not get me off you and you will be asleep in 5-6 seconds. Good luck with that.
The trick is not to get caught in that situation and if you do the trick is to tuck your chin and breath naturally and as calmly as possible. then rely on the genuine training escapes taught during grappling sessions. Even then it is highly unlikely you will get out. You just dont have time otherwise no one would ever get caught in these chokes. Every MMA fighter on the planet would know how to escape but they just dont because there is no fool proof method other than to avoid being caught.
There really is not much you can do. I mean if he has a good, solid grip on you, right at your throat it's just a matter of time.
Cecil Ryu Martial Arts is correct!
Those are things you dont need to worry about are you okay.
There are lots of escapes from choke holds. And, they are all over youtube.
Well for the most part we don't get stuck there. And I know it sounds dumb because you are thinking, 'well what if I do get stuck there?'. Here's the thing, if you use proper defensive technique it's difficult to get into a perfectly locked choke. So I would it is defensible and I would resist getting in there to begin with, but cause getting out once everything sunk in is hard to escape from and it sucks.
My escapes really depends on the position. I have sometimes just twisted my back to the ground so that he is no longer really on a rear mount and turned my head and survived it and I have just unlocked his grip on his arm and slipped through. But both of the time they were close to fully sinking it in, but they weren't able due to my defense. And that's usually the case they don't fully sink and I escape or they do fully sink and I tap. But I know there are higher level bjj guys here so maybe they'll have better methods I didn't know about.
You would learn this if you enrolled in a martial arts class.
Part of the problem is that the rear naked choke is VERY effective. However, it is not unbreakable. Also, many easy escapes would require that you hurt the attacker in order to pull it off. THAT is why we don't always practice "with aliveness", because "aliveness" done at the wrong time can cripple or kill people.
Unfortunately, I don't know if your friends can fall safely, so I'm not going to give out any tips on this one. If you want to learn to escape this and practice it in a manner where neither you or your partner stand a high chance of being hurt, take a martial arts or self defense class.
When a rear naked choke is actually locked in tight, are there any effective ways of escaping? Me and some friends have been practising this chokehold (safely) on each other and so far have not been able to find any effective ways of escaping this technique.
The tight grip on the neck restricts movement of the head, and we usually hold on to our shoulders or our triceps, so moving the attacker's arms while they are locked in doesn't really work. I've also found that taking a few quick steps back and moving my shoulders back is effective in taking the opponent off their feet, which pretty much destroys the opponent's control over the situation.
Not only this, in a locked rear naked choke, there is little time in which to actually try and escape, before you are unconscious.
Any ideas?
Well, the first way is to not get into the position. Simplest way. It's kind of like saying, "how do you escape a triangle?" You can't.
Tuck your chin so they can't gain access to your neck. Then create the space by putting your arm through the gap to the other side of your face (like you're talking on the phone). Knocking them off their feet works. If your opponent has taken your back in that choke, you would want to lean towards the way their finger is pointing onto your back, scoot your butt on a shrimp and onto your knees.
