Kimura Grip, Posture Broken
Transition · Closed Guard
A closed guard control that sets up three attacks at once. Knock his hands off your hips and break his posture with your legs, grab his wrist right away and reach your other arm over his shoulder and under his biceps to grip your own wrist: the kimura grip. Open the guard: one foot on the mat, the other leg bent across his back so he cannot sit up. Now he has three ways out and each one opens a move: he postures up — hip bump; he stays bent — finish the kimura; he straightens the arm — omoplata.
How to do it
- He sits upright in your closed guard with his hands on your hips. Knock the hands off: pummel inside or strip them down to the mat.
- At once pull him in with your legs and break his posture: his chest comes down toward you.
- Grab the wrist of one arm with your same-side hand while it is still on the mat or in the air.
- Reach your other arm over his shoulder and under his biceps and grip your own wrist: the kimura grip.
- Open the guard: one foot on the mat, the other leg bent and laid across his back so he cannot sit up.
- Read his answer: he postures up — hip bump; he stays bent — finish the kimura; he straightens the arm — omoplata.
Key details
- Hands off and posture broken in one move: while his hands are on your hips he simply pushes you away.
- Grab the wrist right away, before he puts the hand back on you.
- The leg on his back is the key: it keeps him bent and it is already half of the omoplata.
- The foot on the mat is your base for the hip bump: without it you cannot lift the hips.
- Three answers from one grip: whatever he does, one of them opens.
Common mistakes
- Going for the grip with his hands still on your hips. — He keeps his posture and pushes you down; the grip does not reach. — Knock the hands off and break the posture first.
- Both feet off the mat, legs locked behind him. — There is no base for the hip bump and no leg free for the omoplata. — One foot on the mat, the other leg bent across his back.
- Waiting with the grip and doing nothing. — He frees the arm or passes while you wait. — Answer his first move at once: hip bump, kimura or omoplata.
How to drill it
The partner sits up with hands on your hips: knock them off, break the posture, take the kimura grip, foot on the mat, leg on the back. 10 reps; then the partner picks one of the three reactions and you answer.
What comes next