Kata-gatame

肩固 · shoulder hold

Also known as arm triangle choke (BJJ)

Jump to step by step

Demonstrations

Ordered by provider, player included. Choose your own order.

Seen a better demonstration? Suggest a video

Illustration: source not recorded. Rights and removal
Kata-gatame illustration

Step by step

The whole movement in words, so no part of it depends on watching a video. Described in the standard right-handed form.

  1. Begin beside your partner's right side as for the scarf hold, their back on the mat.
  2. Push their right arm across their own neck, folding it at the elbow so their forearm lies against their throat side.
  3. Clamp the arm there with the right side of your head, your temple and cheek pressing their arm against their neck, and slide your right arm around behind their neck.
  4. Clasp your hands together, palm to palm, on the far side, your right knee or leg braced wide for base.
  5. Keep your head pressure constant and your hips low: their trapped arm and your head form the lock, your weight does the holding. Take care in practice; this hold can also compress the neck, so release the moment your partner taps.

Receiving it

Your own arm is pressed across your neck and held there by their head, and the pressure builds on one side. Stay calm and do not hold your breath. Work early, before the position settles: turn towards them and fight the trapped elbow free. Because this hold can compress the neck as well as pin, tap early and clearly the moment it is properly locked; there is nothing to be gained by waiting it out.

About this technique

Uke's arm is trapped against uke's own neck by tori's head and shoulder: a hold-down that can also become a strangle at senior grades.

Key points

  1. Press uke's arm across the neck with your head
  2. Clasp your hands and keep the elbow to the mat
  3. Keep your legs braced wide, hips low

hold-downs

In combinations, counters and transitions

None recorded yet. Nobody has written down a counter to Kata-gatame, or a combination it belongs to. You can suggest one.