Escapes · getting out from underneath
Kami-shiho-gatame escape by action and reaction
A hold from above your head is hard to bridge straight out of, so you use their own correction against them: push one way, let them resist, then go the other. The syllabuses call it action and reaction, and it is the first escape that is about timing rather than strength.
Demonstrations
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Key points
- Make the first movement real, or they will not react to it
- Change direction the instant you feel them push back
- Small, sharp movements beat one big heave
Step by step
Left-handed: these steps are written right-handed, as the syllabuses write them. Read every left as a right and every right as a left, and the throw is yours.
- You are held in Kami-shiho-gatame, their chest on yours from above your head and their hands gripping your belt.
- Bring both elbows in tight and place your hands on their hips or shoulders.
- Push firmly to one side, turning your hips that way as though escaping in that direction.
- Feel them brace and push back the other way to stop you: that is the reaction you wanted.
- The instant you feel it, stop pushing and turn sharply the opposite way, adding your movement to theirs.
- Turn onto your front or onto your knees as the space opens, and come up facing them.
From the other side
Do not chase the first movement. If you feel them push, meet it with weight rather than with a shove of your own, and keep your hips low and wide: the escape only works if you overcommit to the correction.
VI judo notes
This escape suits touch better than sight, because the whole thing is a conversation through contact. Push, wait to feel the answer come back, then change direction. The timing cue arrives through your hands, never through your eyes.