Escapes · getting out from underneath
Escape into Kesa-gatame from between the legs
Not an escape from a hold but from a position: trapped between your partner's legs, you pass them and arrive in a hold of your own. It is the moment a defensive position becomes an attacking one, and every scheme here examines it.
Demonstrations
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Key points
- Control their hips before you move your legs
- Pass low and close, with your chest heavy on them
- Arrive in the hold before you settle: no half positions
Step by step
Left-handed: these steps are written right-handed, as the syllabuses write them. Read every left as a right and every right as a left, and the throw is yours.
- You are on your knees between your partner's legs, their feet crossed or their knees squeezing your sides.
- Post one hand on each of their hips and press down to stop them turning or sitting up.
- Slide your right knee up onto the mat beside their left hip, staying low and heavy on them.
- Trap their left leg with your right hand or your own shin so it cannot follow you, and step your left foot out wide.
- Slide your chest across theirs to their right side, keeping your weight on them the whole way so no gap opens.
- Arrive at their right side, pass your right arm around their neck, trap their right arm under your left armpit and spread your legs wide into Kesa-gatame.
From the other side
From underneath, the pass is felt as their weight sliding across you. Keep your knees tight to their sides for as long as you can, and if they get past, turn onto your side towards them at once rather than staying flat.
VI judo notes
The pass works entirely on contact and pressure: keep your chest touching them throughout and there is no moment where you need to see where they are. If you lose contact, stop and re-establish it rather than reaching for where you think they went.