Juji Gatame
十字固
Literally: cross hold
A judo elbow lock in which the attacker traps the opponent's arm between his thighs and hyperextends the elbow by arching his hips back.
Quick Facts
About
Juji gatame (十字固) is an armlock. The word juji refers to the character for cross (十) and describes the crossed arms in the execution. In the standard version, the attacker clamps the wrist between his thighs, places one leg across the opponent's chest, and hyperextends the elbow by arching his hips back. The aim is to make the opponent submit. In Kodokan judo it belongs among the joint-lock techniques (kansetsu waza). According to the source, it is at least 200 years old, and judo took it over from jujutsu. Unlike the classic version, the flying version is executed from standing, with a grip on the opponent's collar and arm. Kimura, by contrast, locks the shoulder through rotation with a reversed hand grip, and omoplata uses a leg entanglement instead of gripping the arm. Under IJF rules only the elbow may be attacked in competitive judo, a successful lock scores ippon, and armlocks are banned under about 16. An incorrectly executed armlock can damage muscles, tendons, and ligaments, or cause a dislocation or fracture. In the flying version this risk is higher because of the height and inverted position.