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.

Juji-Gatame Masterclass Part 3: The Arm Lever

In Part 1: The Iastkevich Roll and Part II: The Adams Roll, we showed you how to roll your opponent into the Juji-Gatame position. Next, how to straighten his arm.

If you just tug and tug without any leverge, you probably won't be able to straighten his arm. There's a very simple arm lever that you can use to straighten his arm. Here's the video demonstration of it.

Arm Lever
An effective and efficient way to straighten the arm from a juji-gatame position.
Posted by KL Judo Club on Friday, September 18, 2015

And here are the pictures that break it down step-by-step.

Start by shooting your right forearm underneath uke's left forearm. Uke will be holding on for dear life as he doesn't want his arm to be straightened. Your forearm should be near his wrist.

Place your left forearm on the side of his left forearm, on the outside.

Clasp your hands together. This will position your forearms to create a shearing action that will provide leverage to straighten his arm.

Instead of pulling straight back, do a slightly rotating action with your arms, in a clockwise direction. You pull with your right arm and push with your left.

Uke will not be able to resist and his arm will go straight.

Juji-Gatame Masterclass Part 2: Adams Roll

The Neil Adams Roll is similar to the Iastkevich Roll except that it involves a Figure-4 grip on your opponent's left hand instead of a simple catch with a grip on your own lapel. The Adams Roll is more versatile than the Iastkevich roll in that it allows you to roll your opponent from the back (legs) as well as the front (head). With the Iastkevich Roll, you can only roll him from the back (legs).

This is the clip of the whole movement.

Adams Roll
This is the accompanying video clip for the blog posting on the Neil Adams Roll into juji-gatame.
Posted by KL Judo Club on Wednesday, September 16, 2015

And the following still pics show the breakdown of the movement in detail.

In the Adams Roll, "the catch" is done from under your opponent's left armpit and securing his left arm with your left hand.

A close-up look at how you achieve the crucial Figure-4 grip on your opponent. Initially, it is your left hand that has a grip on uke's left forearm.

You make the switch and now your right hand is holding onto uke's left forearm.

The move complete when your left hand grips your own right wrist. This is the Figure-4 you're looking for.

Let's zoom back out. This is what you look like at the start of the roll, with the Figure-4 secured.

To initiate the roll, I post on my forehead.

From there, I could have rolled to the front or the back. My default first option is usually to attack the back (legs).

This is what it looks like from another perspective. Notice I still have the Figure-4 secured.

It is vitally important to maintain the Figure-4. Once you lose it, you will not be able to do the roll.

To rotate him over, I exert pressure on his left arm by using the Figure-4 as a lever.

To ease the pressure on his arm, uke has to roll over.

Although the Figure-4 lever is doing most of the work, my left leg comes into play too, helping to guide uke over.

Once he is flat on his back its important to bring my right leg over his head to prevent him from sitting up.

The beauty of the Adams Roll is its versatility. Let's say I find it difficult to roll uke over from the back. I have the option to roll him over from the front because of the Figure-4 grip. The Iastkevich roll, which involves a simple catch of my own lapel doesn't allow for this.

To make the switch, I go back to my original position where I post on my forehead.

And I switch directions. Now, I'm attacking the front (his head). Notice how I place my right leg underneath his head. This will give me the leverage I need to execute the roll.

Using my right leg, I rotate him over from the front rather than the back. In this position, the Figure-4 acts to secure him from escaping but the bulk of the rotation work is done by the right leg.

As he falls onto his back, I place my right leg over his head to prevent him from sitting up.

Lastly, I sit up to position myself to begin to straighten his arm (but that's a topic for another posting).

Juji-Gatame Masterclass Part 1: Iastkevich Roll

When people think of the juji-gatame roll, the move that usually comes to mind is the version popularized by Alexander Iastkevich (RUS), who was a master of the armlock. In fact, it was by watching Iastkevich that Neil Adams (GBR) came to become a juji-gatame specialist himself, basing his own unique version (which we will cover shortly) on the Iastkevich roll.

This is the clip of the whole movement:

Iastkevich Roll
This is the accompanying video clip for the blog posting on the Alexander Iastkevich Roll into juji-gatame.
Posted by KL Judo Club on Wednesday, September 16, 2015

And these pics show the breakdown of the movement in detail.

Whenever you attempt to do juji-gatame, it is important you sit atop your opponent's back and dig your legs securely inside his leg in order to control him adequately for you to initiate the roll. Otherwise, he will just escape.

I do "the catch" by looping my right arm over his left shoulder and securing his left arm.

Notice how I grab my own left lapel to secure "the catch" on his left arm.

With my free (left) hand, I reach for his left trouser leg.

Next, I tug on that trouser leg, pulling him above and over my own body.

As he gets rotated over, it is important that I maintain my grip on his left arm by holding on tightly to my own left lapel. If I lose that grip, he will be able to escape the roll.

I continue with the rotation, guiding him onto his back.

Once he is on his back, it is important to bring my right leg over his head in order to prevent him from sitting up and escaping.

Here is the roll seen from another angle, to give you a fuller perspective.

Remember, when you pull on his trouser leg, the rotation is meant to be over your own body.

Keep pulling on the leg as you guide him over your own body and lay him flat on his back.

It's important to bring your right leg over his head or else he will be able to sit up and get away.

Now, you are in a good position to do the next move, which is to straighten his arm.