Why it's called the d'arce (and why in Brazil it's called the brabo)
Two names, two continents, the same family of chokes. And at least four people claiming a piece of it — without any of them being entirely wrong.
BJJ Square · Updated on 08/11/2026
Joe D'Arce was an American grappling competitor of the mid-2000s, from the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York. He did not invent the hold: he used it in competition so often that the scene ended up associating it with him. According to the most widespread account, the name came from a third party — the coach Marc Laimon, who kept seeing it work and called it that.
Who claims authorship
John Danaher says it publicly and without hedging: “*I remember the night I invented the reverse kata gatame strangle — later named after a student of mine, Joe D'Arce*”. It is a direct statement from the man involved, and should be taken as such: documented as a statement, not as a verified historical fact.
A different claim comes from Europe. Björn Dag Lagerström, a Norwegian, says he developed the same hold in Germany and used it in competition in 1996 — and stepped in personally to ask that his version be put on record.
In Brazil, finally, the luta livre line is credited with spreading the technique, in particular through Milton Vieira: with spreading it, though, not with inventing it.
Note On this point the sources contradict even themselves: the same account says “developed in the late nineties” and “first used in 1996”, and the European claimant's surname circulates misspelled in at least two variants. With what is public today, the question cannot be settled.
The brabo is another thing
Leonardo “Leo” Vieira developed the gi version — the one that uses the lapel — after watching a white belt fall into it on instinct. He took it into competition from 2000, with the peak in 2004.
The name comes from an email address. The one Vieira was using at the time started with leobrabo, and a close friend, Kit Pelligro, played on it. In Portuguese *brabo* means tough, fierce, nasty: the name works twice over, as a nickname and as a description.
Note The gi brabo (which uses the lapel) and the no-gi d'arce are two different chokes from the same family. The Brazilian habit of calling both of them “brabo” is why there is confusion everywhere today.
What we do not know
- Who said “d'arce” first. Laimon is the most quoted version, but there is no source attesting it.
- Where the pronunciation comes from. People say “darce” instead of the correct “d-ar-see”, and the mangling is attributed to Jason Miller. It is not proven.
- Whether the email anecdote is true. It has a single source, and no direct confirmation from either Pelligro or Vieira.
Why no version cancels out the others
This is the story that best explains how names work in jiu-jitsu. Whoever does a technique first, whoever refines it, whoever makes it famous and whoever names it are often four different people, on different continents, years apart — and none of the four is lying. A hold this simple, in a world this big, gets discovered more than once.
The other words you will hear at the gym, explained one by one: BJJ glossary.
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Joe D'Arce?
- An American grappling competitor from the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, active in the mid-2000s. He did not invent the hold: he used it so often in competition that it was named after him.
- What is the difference between the d'arce and the brabo?
- They are two related but distinct chokes: the brabo uses the gi lapel, the d'arce is done without. In Brazil “brabo” is used for both, and that is where the confusion comes from.
- Who invented the d'arce choke?
- There is no single answer. John Danaher claims the invention, the Norwegian Björn Dag Lagerström says he used it in competition in 1996, and Brazilian luta livre claims to have spread it.
- Why is the brabo called that?
- From Leo Vieira's email address, which started with “leobrabo”. In Portuguese brabo means tough or fierce, so the name describes the hold as well.
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