The development of the Darce choke, like many submissions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has a complex history with multiple contributors. While John Danaher played a significant role in its development and popularization, the evidence suggests he was one of several independent discoverers rather than its sole inventor.
The first documented use of what would become known as the Darce choke came from Norwegian grappler Björn Dag Lagerström, who discovered it while practicing the Anaconda choke in 1996. He successfully used this technique to submit multiple opponents at a tournament in Germany that same year.
The technique gained further prominence when Brazilian grappler Milton Vieira brought it to Brazilian Top Team in 2000, where he taught it to teammates including Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, who successfully implemented it in high-profile MMA matches.
Danaher’s connection to the technique emerged through a parallel development path. According to a recent BJJ Fanatics clip, he developed his version by studying wrestling front headlock techniques, particularly those used by Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. Danaher recognized that wrestlers were using palm-to-palm grips for strangles, and he experimented with applying figure-four grips instead – a common modification in jiu-jitsu.
The name “Darce” comes from Joe D’Arce, who learned the technique from Danaher around 2001-2002 at Renzo Gracie’s academy. D’Arce himself has confirmed this timeline, noting that he learned it from Danaher when recovering from a shoulder injury that prevented him from taking the back. The technique gained its current name after Marc Laimon saw D’Arce using it effectively and began referring to it as “the Darce.”
“I’ve been using the choke known as the Darce for a long time, probably since 2001 or 2002. I learned the choke at Renzo’s from John Danaher. It played well into my game because at the time, I had an injured shoulder so rolling to take the back wasn’t an option for me on one side. In 2003 or 2004, after a kickboxing sparring session at Bellmore Kickboxing on Long Island, I rolled a bit with Jason Mayhem Miller. In the training session, I had some success with the choke. Jason really liked the move and upon his return to Vegas, he showed the technique to his BJJ coach at the time, Marc Laimon. Laimon took a liking to the choke and referred to the move as the Darce. Laimon was coaching a lot of MMA fighters at the time so slowly the move started to become known as the Darce choke.”
In the clip, Danaher describes his development process
: “I came up with the idea of D’arce on this side which was taught to my students Joe D’Arce and he became famous as the guy who used D’arce first in competition.” However, he also acknowledges parallel development elsewhere, particularly regarding the related Anaconda choke, stating, “Brazilian Top Team did the same thing at roughly the same time.”
Rather than a single invention, the Darce choke appears to be a case of convergent evolution in martial arts, where multiple practitioners independently developed similar techniques by exploring the mechanics of front headlock positions. Danaher’s contribution lies not in inventing the technique from scratch, but in systematizing its application, developing detailed mechanical principles for its execution, and successfully transmitting this knowledge to students like Joe D’Arce who helped popularize it in competition.
The history of the Darce choke demonstrates how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques often evolve through multiple contributors building upon each other’s discoveries, rather than through single inventors. While Danaher played a crucial role in developing and systematizing the technique, calling him its inventor would oversimplify its rich developmental history.
