Ude-garami (arm entanglement) is the bent armlock of judo. Tori grabs uke's wrist, threads the other arm under uke's bent arm and grips his own wrist. This figure-four grip twists the elbow and shoulder. It works in two directions, which Brazilian jiu-jitsu renamed the americana and the kimura.
The figure-four grip
The grip is the same whichever way you twist. Your hand nearest uke's head takes his wrist, thumb under the wrist. Your other arm goes under his arm, just above the elbow, and that hand grabs your own wrist. Your arms now form a 4.
Uke's arm must stay bent at a right angle. Straight, the twist does nothing. Bent too tightly, the lock does not go on well either.
Direction one: hand toward the head
This is the version judo teaches first. You are holding yoko-shiho-gatame and uke raises his near-head arm to push your face or shoulder. Pin his wrist to the mat level with his head, palm up. The elbow is bent and the hand sits near his ear.
Thread your other arm under his elbow and lock the figure-four. To finish, slide his hand along the mat toward his hips while lifting the elbow slightly, as if painting the floor with the back of his hand.
BJJ players call this the americana. It needs little space and works well from side control, the mount or kesa-gatame.
Direction two: hand toward the back
Here uke's hand travels down and behind his back. You hold the wrist, keep the elbow bent and lift the hand behind his back while his elbow stays tight to you. This is the kimura direction, often called gyaku-ude-garami (reverse ude-garami) by judo players.
It comes from the guard, from kami-shiho-gatame, or against a turtled uke who posts a hand on the mat. The kimura name comes from Masahiko Kimura, the Japanese judoka who used it against Hélio Gracie in Brazil in 1951. Brazilians kept his name for the technique.
Our view as coaches: the kimura direction is the more versatile one. Even when it does not finish, it controls uke and gives you a handle to turn him over or take his back.
Rules and precautions
In judo competition, only locks on the elbow are legal. Ude-garami also loads the shoulder, but it is one of the accepted kansetsu-waza, from the age set by your national federation. Locks on any other joint are banned, as the page on illegal techniques in judo explains.
Shoulder twists hurt late. Uke feels little until the joint gives. So tori tightens slowly and uke taps early. Sudden ude-garami in randori has no place on a safe mat, especially in the kimura direction.
Defending as uke
First rule: keep your arm attached to your body. With the elbow tight to your ribs, no figure-four is possible. If the grip is already on:
- against the americana, straighten the arm toward your hips to escape the right angle;
- against the kimura, grab your belt or your own lapel to lock the arm in place;
- in both cases, turn toward tori to reduce the angle on the shoulder.
When it starts to hurt, tap. A damaged shoulder costs months off the mat.
Chaining it
Ude-garami and juji-gatame feed each other. An uke who bends his arm to defend juji-gatame offers ude-garami. One who straightens his arm to escape ude-garami offers juji-gatame. From kesa-gatame, the free arm that pushes on your head is easy to catch in the americana direction.
To place the technique in the Kodokan system, read the gokyo page. A simple drill: from yoko-shiho-gatame, uke pushes with the near-head arm. Tori goes for ude-garami when the arm is bent and juji-gatame when it is straight, ten times each. The choice should become automatic.