Kimura

What it is

The kimura is a figure four shoulder lock: you grab their wrist, thread your other arm under their upper arm and grab your own wrist, then rotate the arm behind their back. It works from nearly every position, top and bottom, and the grip controls them even before you finish. It is the one submission that doubles as a sweep and a back take.

When to use it

• From closed guard, when they post a hand on the mat or on your hip.
• From side control, when their far arm is in front of your face.
• From half guard, as a sweep when they try to pass, or from the top of turtle when they reach for your leg.

How to do it

1. Grab their wrist with the hand directly across from it (from guard, your left hand on their right wrist), thumb alongside your fingers.
2. Thread your other arm over their upper arm and under their forearm, and grab your own wrist to form the figure four.
3. Pin their arm to their body and keep their elbow bent at ninety degrees.
4. Get your chest over the shoulder so the shoulder cannot follow the arm: from guard, sit up and swing your hips out to the side.
5. Rotate their hand toward the ceiling and behind their back, slowly, until they tap.

Key details

• The elbow stays bent. A straight arm is not a kimura and will slip away.
• Keep their wrist away from their body. If they grab their own belt or thigh, the lock stops.
• Move the shoulder with your whole body, not by pulling with your arms.
• From guard, the hip movement is what makes it work: get to the side, not under them.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: letting the elbow straighten. The arm slides free and you have nothing.
• Mistake: finishing from closed guard while flat. They stack you and the lock never comes.
• Mistake: rushing the rotation. You hurt the shoulder before they can tap.

What they will try

• They grab their own belt or thigh early to stop the rotation, then follow the arm with their body.
• From the top they drive forward and stack you so the shoulder cannot turn.