1) Insert your right arm as far down, across to your left, and back up as far as it will go in each direction.
2) Grab your right wrist with your left hand, with the palm on the back of the wrist and two fingers on either side of the bony prominence on the pinky side of the wrist. Grab with no thumb, and reach far enough around your wrist that your left fingertips touch your left radius.
3) Pull your hands up to your chin in front of his shoulder.
4) Roll your right shoulder back.
5) Push your stomach and chest forward, head up, and shoulders backward.
6) Arch your back.
7) If you are performing this from the closed guard, lie back and re-cross your ankles behind his back, straightening your legs to extend his body, applying more pressure to the neck. (If you were in closed guard, you should have begun the entire process by uncrossing your ankles and scooting your butt back so that you can reach deeply enough around his head.)
The key pressure for me in getting this technique on people successfully was one that isn't always mentioned. The pressure is to FOLD his head over your choking hand. If you do that, hand position doesn't matter as much, he'll tap.
"If you are performing this from the closed guard, lie back and re-cross your ankles behind his back, straightening your legs to extend his body, applying more pressure to the neck."
I apologize in advance, but I do not agree with extending your legs. When you extend your legs you are driving your opponents head away from you, which in essence is lengthening his neck rather then aiding in the choking process. This is also one of those things that helps the person get away.
What I believe you should do is get your legs high up on your opponent's back and then crunch your legs in. This brings him closer to you and also gives you more of an opportunity to get an actual chokes.
Than as you apply pressure with your arms you twist your body and you shoulders to the left.
This way has been effective for me and it doesn't help him escape.
when i go for the guillotine from the closed guard -- usually after a
kimura attempt -- there never seems to be enough space for me to
grip my own wrist. Anyone have any suggestion for fixing this
problem?
Be patient grasshopper. What you are looking for is what is looking:)
Anyway. I think the RIGHTEST answer lies in jascul's, RonMExico's and Twinkeltoe's posts combined:
blah blah hand positioning blah space tight blah. THEN do NOT fall back but kind of jump into him while folding his head together by pressuring on his crown with your armpit/lat. THEN crunch your legs up high and squeeze everything while folding his head even more. THEN extend the legs as your armpit still folds his head down and drives your arm into his neck with the strength of all your back.
to continue what jasculs says, I learned the two methods: extending my legs, and, on the contrary, bringing my legs towards my chest (which appears to be the best one).
I think that in the first situation there is more pressure on his neck/cervical, and in the second there is a better control of his body.
I am also interested by your opinion about the two methods guys.
Let me concur with what jasculs, jorx, and vasquinho wrote:
I only extend the legs when my choke is very deep and I am doing it to add pressure to his already extended and misaligned neck.
Because his head is pushed down by my shoulder ("4) Roll your right shoulder back."), I will extend my legs.
If my choke is NOT super-deep and I am worried about him pulling his head out, I would not proceed (no matter WHICH step I'm at). Why waste my energy if his head is going to pop out? I'm only going to tire out my "guns".
Instead, I will typically wait for him to defend and then switch to triangle. ;)
"when i go for the guillotine from the closed guard -- usually after a kimura attempt -- there never seems to be enough space for me to grip my own wrist. Anyone have any suggestion for fixing this problem?"
when you fail to get the kimura to need to open your legs and scoot your butt away to make enough room for your hand.