Tate-shiho-gatame (lengthwise four-corner hold) is the mounted pin of judo. Tori sits on uke's stomach, knees on the mat, arms wrapped around the head. It is the most dominant control position on the ground and the direct equivalent of the mount in BJJ. It is also the easiest pin to lose if you sit wrong, because one good bridge sends you over.
Getting into tate-shiho-gatame
You rarely land straight in the mount. These are the routes that work in randori.
- From yoko-shiho-gatame. Uke pushes your hips away to make space. Slide your knee across his stomach, keeping it low on the mat and your hips down. A knee that travels through the air gets blocked. The yoko-shiho-gatame page covers the starting control.
- From the turtle. Uke is on all fours. Roll him onto his back by catching one arm and one leg. Finish the turnover and you are already astride.
- After a throw. When uke lands flat, keep the sleeve and let your body follow him down. One step over and you are mounted.
The position that holds
Sit low on uke's stomach, not on his pelvis. Walk your knees as high as they will go, up toward his armpits. The higher you sit, the less leverage his bridge has.
Judo players often slide their feet under uke's thighs and hook from the inside. This version glues your hips to his and makes the bridge close to useless. The trade-off: your legs are busy, so climbing toward the arms gets harder.
For the arms, the katame-no-kata form wraps one of uke's arms together with his head, a bit like a high kata-gatame. In randori, many players prefer one hand posted on the mat near the head for base and the other controlling a lapel or an arm. That keeps the next attack ready.
What makes tori fall off
Hands posted too close to your body are the first problem. Uke bridges, you pitch forward, and nothing stops you. Keep your hands wide and your head low.
Sitting too far back on the hips is the second. Uke lifts his pelvis and you slide toward his feet until he recovers a leg. If you feel yourself drifting backward, move up toward his chest straight away.
Escaping with the bridge
The best-known escape is called upa in BJJ. It has three parts:
- Trap one of tori's arms against your body, at the elbow or the sleeve.
- Place your foot on the same side outside his leg, tight against it.
- Bridge hard upward, then over the shoulder of the trapped arm.
On that side tori has no hand and no leg to post, so he tips over. You end up in his guard, or on top if you follow through.
The slower option is the elbow-knee escape. Push his knee with your elbow, shrimp your hips out and slide your leg through to wrap his. It works better than the bridge against heavy opponents who refuse to tip.
When tori's feet are hooked under your thighs, the bridge goes nowhere. Free one leg first by pushing his knee out, then bridge.
Attacking from the top
Two main attacks come out of the mount. When uke pushes on your chest with straight arms, his elbows are exposed. That is the classic entry to juji-gatame, spinning around his head. If he turns onto his stomach to stop the osaekomi clock, you are on his back and okuri-eri-jime is right there.
This is why the position suits judo players with solid ne-waza. Every escape attempt opens an attack. To see where it sits among the other ne-waza pins, chokes and armlocks, and how the Kodokan gokyo covers the standing half, browse the technique pages.
A classic drill for competitors: three minutes in tate-shiho-gatame where uke can do anything except strike. Tori only has to stay mounted, not pin. Whoever lasts three minutes without being rolled has learned where to put their weight.