So, you're doing a carotid choke, not a bar arm. Your target is the veins on either side of the neck, as opposed to constricting their airway. Simplest way to get good form is to make sure your elbow is pointing the same direction as their adam's apple would be--right out in front of them. So your forearm and bicep are equally situated to compress the vein.

For testing purposes, sit on the ground with them sitting inbetween your legs both facing the same direction. Put on the choke pretty much like this, but get them to raise their arms out to either side before you apply pressure. If you're properly situated, you can go to zero to pressure by just flexing your muscles.

The tap out is when they hit your legs. If they don't consciously do it in time, just passing out will make their arms drop and hit you.

Then, obviously, stop.

That window should be perfectly safe and not cause any oxygen-deprivation problems.

How you fasten the choking arm rightly is a judgement call. I do a crossed arm thing like the guy in the picture, but some people clasp their hands like this.

There has never been anyone in my life that I would trust to do that to me!

I'd tell you it's not very scary at all (it was an optional part of class, but most people wanted to try both sides of it), but I understand my word isn't actually valuable in that regard.

The thing itself isn't scary. I mean, I know what's happening. What's scary is the loss of control and the having to trust the other person to know when to stop. IME the other person has never been real good at that. I have issues.

I find most people are scared to kill you, and it isn't a hard trigger to miss, or a difficult technique to stop. You kinda let go by reflex at that point.

I find most people are scared to kill you

This is a concept that had honestly never occurred to me.

Man, I haven't watched Somewhere in Time in decades. Forgot how much I loved the music.

I want to try both sides!

Yeah, I'm just gonna leave that hanging out there.

What if they made a stupid battleship style movie based on Tetris [link]

Matt, when you slash Steve and Bucky, when do you do it? I mean, is it pre-serum Steve, or after the rescue of the 107th?

I'm watching Captain America right now, and I think it is my favourite of the Avengers components right before the movie itself. I don't know why something so clearly and inherently jingoistic gets me, who usually avoids war movies like the plague.

Chris Evans plays it just right, though, and it has the best supporting cast of any of the year's superhero flicks. I don't wonder why for any of the interactions, including the romantic subplot, and she's not ditzy or shoved to the side or anything.

I am so eyerolly at the people who thought Chris was too flip for this. He's *perfect*.