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.