Housecat-sized octopus vs. SCUBA-equipped commoner

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I guess I only know people with really weak grips. ;) It's hard to imagine how tentacles would not take a penalty for lack of piecemeal leverage that anchored digits have let alone the bones themselves. Snakes have bones though. It would be more like a... something that probably doesn't exist as largish hydrostatic skeletons on land are used by just earthworms.

Well I am not talking about crushing the larynx ;)
Pushing down on the carotid artery is one (and arguably the best) form of the GURPS choke hold. Suffocation by crushing the throat takes more ST but is doable, though it takes no strength to simply cover the mouth and nose.

Why are bones needed for leverage? I am not seeing it.
You can strangle someone with a piece of rope. the material needs to be moderately strong to resist tearing and leverage is not about how strong the material is (though a weak leaver will break more easily) and more about spreading the load over a larger surface area.
Or am I using the term wrong?

EDIT: Oh and of course it need not be said (but I am anyway) that Technical Grappling addresses this in what I consider a better way.
It still misses a couple of the details were talking about here since it is more human focused but there is a way to model the suckers, it just is not called out directly.