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    Kumi-kata · grip-set

    High collar

    The hands

    Pulling hand
    The sleeve above the elbow.
    Lifting hand
    The collar behind the neck. Deep behind the neck, the oku-eri.
    Stance
    Same stance (相四つ): right against right, or left against left.

    The lifting hand reaches over the shoulder and takes the collar behind the neck. It controls the head, and the head controls the posture, so the throws it feeds are the ones that want your partner bent or turned: the major outer reap, the sweeping hip throw and the hip wheel among them. Taller judoka reach it most easily.

    Under contest rules

    Allowed while attacking. A collar grip is allowed as long as the attitude is positive and an attack follows. Used to force the head down and hold a bending posture, it draws a shido.

    Sport and Organisation Rules of the International Judo Federation: refereeing rules, 2026 edition, Article 18.1.2.

    No demonstration is linked yet. Suggest a video.

    Key points

    • Reach over, not round: the elbow goes above their shoulder
    • The forearm lies along the back of the neck and does the steering
    • Attack at once; a high collar held still is a penalty waiting

    Taking it

    1. From the sleeve grip, raise your lifting arm over your partner's shoulder on the lapel side.
    2. Take the collar behind the neck, fingers inside the cloth, thumb outside, as deep as the reach allows.
    3. Let the forearm settle along the back of their neck and draw their head towards your shoulder.
    4. Move straight into the attack the grip was taken for.

    Being held this way

    The weight of an arm on the back of your neck is the first sign, and posture goes next. Straighten up before you do anything else, because every throw from this grip needs your head down. Breaking it is a whole skill of its own.

    VI judo notes

    The high collar is one of the easiest grips to read without sight: the forearm on the back of the neck is unmistakable, and the pull on the head says which way the attack is coming before the feet move.

    Throws it feeds

    Reaching it and breaking it

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