A
chokehold,
choke,
stranglehold or, in
Judo,
shime-waza (; ) is a general term for a
grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (
choking) or blood (
strangling) from passing through the neck of an opponent. The restriction may be of one or both and depends on the hold used and the reaction of the victim. The lack of blood or air may lead to
unconsciousness or even
death if the hold is maintained. Chokeholds are used in
martial arts,
combat sports,
self-defense,
law enforcement and in
military hand to hand combat applications. They are considered superior to brute-force
manual strangling, which generally requires a large disparity in physical strength to be effective. Rather than using the fingers or arms to attempt to crush the neck, chokeholds effectively use leverage such as
figure-four holds or collar holds that use the clothes to assist in the constriction.
