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    Ude-garami

    腕緘 · うでがらみ · entangled armlock · said OO-deh gah-RAH-mee

    Also known as americana (BJJ), kimura (BJJ)

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    Demonstrations

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    Illustration: source not recorded. Rights and removal
    Ude-garami illustration

    About this technique

    The entangled armlock: uke's bent arm is wrapped in a figure-four of tori's arms and rotated against the shoulder and elbow. Applied with the hand up or down, which BJJ names as two techniques. Competition joint locks are restricted to the elbow and to senior age groups; learn and practise this only under instruction.

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    A technique to twist and lock the opponent’s elbow joint by grabbing his left wrist with the left hand from the right side of the opponent lying on his back and inserting the right hand to grip one's left wrist underneath his upper arm.
    The Kodokan's definition

    Key points

    1. Figure-four grip: your hands lock through each other around their bent arm
    2. Keep their elbow pinned; rotate the whole frame, do not push the wrist
    3. Slow, small movements; the shoulder gives little warning

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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).
    Kodokan number
    801 (UGR).
    Contest rules
    No rule singles it out.
    Required for

    Step by step

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

    1. Your partner is on their back and you are at their right side, chest low over theirs.
    2. Pin their left wrist to the mat with your left hand, their arm bent at a right angle, knuckles pointing up past their head.
    3. Thread your right arm under their upper arm and grip your own left wrist: the figure-four that names the entanglement.
    4. Keep their elbow and wrist both pinned, your chest heavy on theirs.
    5. Apply by sliding their elbow down towards their body while your framed arms rotate the whole arm gently; the pressure turns the shoulder. Movements are small and slow, and everything releases the instant they tap.

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    Receiving it

    Your bent arm is pinned and a second arm threads beneath it, locking into a frame; the rotation that follows loads your shoulder more than your elbow. Tap clearly at the first feeling of pressure; a shoulder can be injured before the pain becomes severe, and tolerates a late tap even less than an elbow. Never snatch out of a lock with a twist.

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    VI judo notes

    A figure-four is easy to confirm without looking: your own wrist in your own hand. Pin their wrist to the mat first with the arm bent, then thread the other arm and clasp. The pressure turns the shoulder rather than straightening the elbow, so it arrives differently from a straight lock: small movements, chest heavy, everything released at the tap.

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    In competition

    , how often it scores at IJF level, and two contests where it worked

    Senior IJF competition, 2020 to 2026, from 73,099 contests. Counts scores, not attempts.

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    In combinations, counters and transitions

    , 1 recorded, 9 awaiting review

    9 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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    Reference pages elsewhere

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