Kumi-kata · gripping
Standard grip
組み方Kumi-kata
The basic right-handed grip that almost every technique in this reference assumes: left hand on their right sleeve, right hand on their left lapel. Taking it, keeping it and knowing what it lets you feel is the foundation of everything standing.
Demonstrations
Ordered by provider, player included. Choose your own order.
Every provider with a demonstration here is hidden in your provider settings.
Seen a better demonstration? Suggest a video
Key points
- Sleeve hand low on the outside of their elbow, lapel hand at collarbone height
- Elbows stay down and close to your body, never lifted or locked
- Grip firmly with the last three fingers, not the whole fist clenched
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.
- Face your partner in a natural stance, feet about shoulder width apart, knees soft.
- Take their right sleeve with your left hand, gripping the outside of the cloth just below their elbow.
- Take their left lapel with your right hand, at about collarbone height, thumb outside the cloth.
- Drop both elbows so they hang close to your ribs rather than sticking out.
- Keep your arms slightly bent and relaxed: a straight arm gives away your intention and tires quickly.
- Feel their movement through the sleeve hand and their posture through the lapel hand. The grip is for listening as much as for pulling.
From the other side
Taking a grip on you is not neutral: a strong lapel grip can control your posture before anything else happens, and a deep sleeve grip takes away the arm you need for a breakfall. Keep your own elbows in, break a grip early rather than late, and never let someone hold your sleeve with your arm straight and behind you.
VI judo notes
Every VI judo contest starts from this grip already taken, so it is the one part of standing judo where a visually impaired judoka begins on completely level terms. Because it is the starting point rather than something to win, the reading of a partner's balance and intention through the hands is the skill that matters most.