Makura-kesa-gatame
枕袈裟固 · まくらけさがため · pillow scarf hold · said mah-KOO-rah KEH-sah gah-TAH-meh
The osaekomi clock
Scores yuko at five seconds, waza-ari at ten and ippon at twenty, which ends the contest.
Sport and Organisation Rules of the International Judo Federation: refereeing rules, 2026 edition, Article 7.
About this technique
The scarf hold with uke's head resting on tori's thigh, like a pillow: tori sits deeper under the head and shoulders, which closes the space behind uke's neck that the ordinary scarf hold leaves.
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Key points
- Slide your leg under their head; their neck rests on your thigh
- Their arm stays trapped under your armpit as in any scarf hold
- Sit tall and heavy; the pillow leg kills the bridge
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grappling techniques
At a glance
, classification, Gokyo set, Kodokan number, contest rules, grades that require it
- What it is
- Katame-waza (grappling techniques).
- Contest rules
- No rule singles it out.
- Osaekomi clock
- Scores yuko at five seconds, waza-ari at ten and ippon at twenty, which ends the contest.
- Required for
- Gokyu (5th Kyu) (United States Judo Federation)
Step by step
These steps describe the standard right-handed form without relying on the video.
Left-handed: these steps use the standard right-handed form. Swap every left and right.
- From the scarf hold position at their right side, work your right leg forward so your thigh slides beneath their head and neck: their head now rests on your leg as on a pillow.
- Keep their right arm trapped under your left armpit, pinned to your side.
- Wrap your right arm around their head or grip your own right thigh, closing the circle around their neck and your leg.
- Brace your left leg back behind you, sole planted, and settle your chest and side onto theirs.
- The pillow leg takes away the space their bridge needs; ride any turn with your hips and keep the weight down.
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Receiving it
Your head is lifted onto their thigh and the familiar escape space behind your neck is gone; the hold feels closer and more smothering than the ordinary scarf. Stay calm, breathe low, and work for the trapped arm and the far-side turn; tap clearly if you need to stop.
VI judo notes
The pillow leg is the whole point: their head resting on your thigh closes the space a bridge needs, and you can feel that space opening or closing through the leg itself. Work the thigh in by sliding it under the neck rather than lifting their head onto it. Keep their arm pinned at your side and ride any turn with your hips.
In competition
, how often it scores at IJF level, and two contests where it worked
No score recorded in senior IJF competition between 2020 and 2026, across 73,099 contests. That is a fact about modern contest judo rather than a gap in the data: the technique is taught, examined and classified, and it does not score at this level.
In combinations, counters and transitions
, 2 awaiting review
2 more pairs involving it are recorded and awaiting review before they get a page. A video that shows one of them is what gets it reviewed: suggest one.
None recorded yet. Nobody has written down a counter to Makura-kesa-gatame, or a combination it belongs to. You can suggest one.
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