Kesa Gatame
Position · Side Control
You sit beside his shoulder facing his head, your hip pressed against his ribs and armpit. Your arm wraps around his neck with his head trapped under your arm, and your other arm clamps his near arm under your armpit. Your legs are spread wide, front knee bent and back leg stretched behind you, so his bridge rolls into your base instead of over it. Very heavy: his shoulders stay on the mat and his near arm is isolated. If he lays his arm across your leg, the Kesa Gatame Arm Lock; if his far lapel is free, the Scarf Choke; if his hand comes near his head, the Americana. He bridges and turns into you to get his knees under your hips or slips his head out to take your back; keep your head low and your hip glued to his ribs, never sitting upright.
How to do it
- From side control, turn your hips towards their head and sit on your hip beside their shoulder, facing their head. Keep your hip tight to their side.
- Wrap their head with your near arm, pulling it up off the mat towards your chest. In the Kodokan version this hand grips the back of their collar.
- Trap their near arm tight under your armpit, holding it with your other arm. With the head and arm both trapped they cannot turn to you.
- Spread your legs wide: the front leg bent, the back leg long. The wide base stops the bridge and roll.
- Keep your weight on their chest, not on your hands. Your chest pins their upper body while your hip stays close to their side.
Key details
- Head and arm trapped: they cannot turn to you. Their two tools to turn in are under your control.
- Wide legs stop the bridge and roll. Each leg props you on one side of the bridge.
- Stay on your hip, close to their side. Any gap at their side lets them slip their hips out behind you.
- Kodokan: you hold their near arm with your arm and grip the back of their collar with the arm around the neck. The collar grip stops the head sliding out.
- Sit on your hip facing their head; the chest pins their upper body. Your weight goes onto them, not into the mat.
Common mistakes
- Legs close together. — They bridge and roll you over their body. — Spread the legs wide, front leg bent, back leg long.
- A loose arm trap. — They pull the elbow free and escape. — Hug the arm tight under your armpit.
- Sitting too high by the head. — They slip their hips out behind you. — Keep your hip tight to their side.
If they defend
- They bridge into you. → Post the back leg and stay heavy.
- They pull the arm free. → Go back to side control or mount.
How to drill it
Hold kesa gatame while the partner escapes, 3 × 1 minute; switch roles.
What comes next
Where it comes from