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    Mune-gatame

    胸固 · むねがため · chest hold · said MOO-neh gah-TAH-meh

    About this techniqueJump to step by stepPlain text version

    Demonstrations

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

    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

    Chest on chest from the side, arms hugging around uke's trunk and far arm: the simplest-feeling of the side holds, kept by weight and hip movement rather than any particular grip.

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    Key points

    1. Chest glued to chest, at right angles from their side
    2. Hug around the trunk and far shoulder, elbows tight
    3. Hips low or knees tucked; follow every bridge with your weight

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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

    Step by step

    These steps describe the standard right-handed form without relying on the video.

    1. Your partner lies on their back; come to their right side at right angles, chest facing down onto their chest.
    2. Wrap your arms around their trunk and far shoulder, hugging them to you, elbows drawn in tight.
    3. Keep your hips low to the mat, legs sprawled wide behind you, or tuck your knees against their side.
    4. Press your chest down through theirs and keep your head low on the far side.
    5. When they bridge, let your hips float and re-settle; when they turn, slide around them keeping chest contact unbroken.

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    Receiving it

    A broad hugging weight lands across your chest with nothing obvious to attack: no collar grip, no head wrap, just heaviness. Bridges lift them but do not move them unless you turn as you bridge; work an elbow inside and turn towards them. Breathe steadily and tap clearly if you are held and need to stop.

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    VI judo notes

    The simplest of the side holds to keep without sight, because there are no grips to find: your arms wrap the trunk and your chest does the work. Everything they try reads through the chest, a bridge as a lift and a turn as a roll away from you, and the answer to both is to float and settle. Slide around them with the chest contact unbroken rather than releasing and re-taking.

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    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

    , 3 recorded, 6 awaiting review

    6 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.

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    Escapes from it

    Turnovers into it

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