Juji-Gatame Masterclass Part 4: Ecky-Gatame

What do you do when despite all your efforts, you are not able to straighten uke's arm? There is a unique solution and it has no Japanese name because it's not a Japanese technique. It's informally called the Ecky-Gatame, named after its creator, Neil Eckersley of Great Britain, who first used it in the early 80s and won many competitions with it, including an Olympic bronze medal.

The technique calls for you to transition from a juji-gatame position into a kind of hold down position that is not very stable. It doesn't take a whole lot for uke to turn away from the hold and try to spin onto his front. However, in order to do so, he needs to let go of his arms. The moment he does that, tori snaps on an armlock, preventing him from turning and forcing him to submit.

Uke is basically caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. If he doesn't try to turn out of the hold-down, he will lose by ippon in 20 seconds. If he tries to spin out, he will leave his arm exposed and ready to be armlocked. Either way, he is faced with the prospect of losing.

Here's a video example of how it's done:

Ecky-Gatame
This is a unique hold down that can be switched into a juji-gatame in a moment's notice.
Posted by KL Judo Club on Saturday, September 19, 2015

And here are the pics showing the detailed breakdown of the technique.

This technique is a good solution when you can't straighten uke's arm.

Start by grabbing your own left lapel with your right hand.

Reach over and grab his right trousers leg with your right hand.

Pull yourself up on top of him. Not completely on top but a little bit by the side.

To escape uke tries to turn away from you. He has to release his arms in order to execute the turn. This is when you snap on an armlock.

Make sure you place your right leg over his face to prevent him from escaping.

As seen from the other side. Am already in the Ecky-Gatame position.

It doesn't feel like a very stable hold-down and uke is tempted to roll out of it by releasing his arms and starting to turn towards his right.

This is the moment you've been waiting for. You have to immediately snap on an armlock before he escapes.

Before he knows it, he has fallen into a classic juji-gatame position, with his arm straightened.