Overview
The high-wrist guillotine is a modern refinement of the guillotine strangle popularized by Gordon Ryan and systematically taught by John Danaher. The technique blends key mechanics from both the arm-in guillotine and the high-elbow guillotine, creating a hybrid configuration in which the attacker elevates the strangle-side wrist high on the opponent’s neck. This orientation allows the blade of the forearm to compress both carotid arteries simultaneously, producing a fast and reliable strangle.
A defining feature of the high-wrist guillotine is the role of the secondary arm. Rather than relying solely on the high-elbow configuration made famous by Marcelo Garcia, the secondary arm functions as a rotational control post—similar to the mechanics seen in the arm-in guillotine. This gives the attacker strong rotational dominance over the opponent’s torso while locking in the elevated wrist position, resulting in a guillotine that is both more controlling and more powerful than either traditional variant on its own.
Entries typically arise from front headlock exchanges, snap-downs, sprawls, and transitional scrambles in which the opponent’s head is low. By merging the control benefits of the arm-in guillotine with the finishing pressure of the high-elbow version, the high-wrist guillotine provides exceptional positional stability and finishing power. It has become a staple element of Gordon Ryan’s offensive system, appearing frequently in training footage and elite competition, and is now widely adopted in modern no-gi grappling.
Related Techniques
Arm-in guillotine, High-elbow guillotine