01 / AT A GLANCE
Crossed arms, fingers inside, palms up
Gyaku-juji-jime (逆十字絞) is the second shime-waza in the Kodokan list of technique names, directly after nami-juji-jime. Gyaku means reverse, juji the cross shape of the character 十, and jime strangle; the IJF gives the English “reverse cross strangle.” The IJF definition describes the technique facing the opponent: you slip the fingers of your crossed hands inside both lapels of the opponent’s judogi, “palms up, and strangle him by applying pressure to both sides of his neck.”
The “reverse” is the hand orientation. In nami-juji-jime both thumbs go inside and both palms face down; in gyaku-juji-jime both hands go in fingers-first and both palms face up, towards you. Kata-juji-jime sits between them, with one hand of each kind. The IJF text for gyaku-juji-jime, unlike the one for nami-juji-jime, does not name which part of the hand applies the pressure, so this guide treats the exact pressure surface as something to confirm with your coach.
Who this guide is for: judoka who already practise supervised ne-waza and have been shown by a coach how strangles are applied and released. In every repetition uke can tap or say “stop” and tori opens both hands and draws the fingers out of the collar at once; practice is never taken towards unconsciousness. Strangle rules differ by age group, grade and event, and this page does not state them for you.
02 / WATCH THE TECHNIQUE
The Kodokan form and a dojo’s cross-strangle class
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
The official clip has no narration. We sampled still frames from it rather than reviewing it continuously, so we give no timestamps. In the frames we looked at, the clip opens with both partners sitting and facing while tori places a hand at uke’s collar, including close-up shots of the hand at the side of uke’s neck; it then shows uke on the back with tori on top, and in those frames tori’s head is lowered close to uke’s head while both hands are at the collar. A close-up in that phase shows one of tori’s hands at the side of uke’s neck with the fingers inside the jacket.
When you watch, look for three things. First, how the fingers get inside: does tori open the collar before the hand slides in? Second, how far round the neck each hand reaches before the second hand arrives. Third, what tori’s head and chest do during the pressure: the lowered head in the top phase is a visible feature, and it changes how tori’s weight sits on uke. Anything the camera angle hides, record as “not visible.”
Open this video on YouTube. Independent coaching reference covering all three cross strangles.
We have not reviewed this class by playback and attribute no particular instruction to it. Its publisher chapter list includes “closing the blood flow, not the air flow,” “doesn’t matter which hand is on top,” “the target,” “keep your elbows bent,” “fast is fine, but accuracy is final,” “fusegi practice,” four escapes, “people generally attack with one arm at a time,” “a solution to stalling” and “these are generally done from the bottom.” The video’s title covers all three cross strangles, so do not assume a given chapter shows the palms-up grip; check which hand orientation is on screen.
For gyaku-juji-jime the most useful of those cues is “accuracy is final.” The palms-up grip is easy to take shallowly, with only the fingertips inside the collar, and a shallow fingers-in grip opens under load. Accuracy of depth matters more than speed of entry.
03 / WHEN TO APPLY IT
The mount, an open collar and a stable base
Gyaku-juji-jime is applied facing uke. Because the fingers must slide inside the lapel, it needs an opening at the collar that a thumb-first grip can sometimes do without, and because both hands end up on the jacket, tori needs a base that does not depend on the hands.
Kneeling astride uke (the mount)
This is the position our convention uses and the one the official clip shows in its top phase. A Japanese encyclopedia entry describes the basic form as applied from tate-shiho-gatame; we cite it as a secondary source, not as Kodokan instruction. With uke flat, the lapels face up and are easiest to open.
Underneath, with uke between your legs
The coaching class’s chapter list says cross strangles “are generally done from the bottom.” From underneath, the palms-up grip can be taken while uke leans in, but the fingers-in hand is easier for a posturing uke to pull open than a deep thumb-in grip. Treat it as a second position to learn after the mount.
From a side hold
The same encyclopedia entry reports a contest finish from kuzure-kesa-gatame. We have not verified that report or the grips used. Treat side-hold entries as an advanced variation to learn only from a coach.
When it is not available
If uke’s chin is clamped onto the collar and both hands hold the lapels, the fingers cannot slide in without dragging cloth across the face; hold instead. If uke has turned onto the front, the lapels face the mat; follow to the back. If the jacket is loose and open, the fingers-in grip tightens nothing. If your event or age group does not allow strangles, train the position only.
04 / HOW IT WORKS
Fingers in, hands crossed, head down, then slow pressure
The IJF definition fixes the grip and the target; it does not fix the arm action. The steps below separate what the definition states from what is a coaching choice.
Settle the mount before any grip
Knees close to uke’s hips or armpits, hips heavy, weight on uke’s trunk rather than on your hands. The palms-up grip leaves your elbows pointing down towards uke’s chest; if your hips are high, your weight tips forward onto those elbows and uke can bridge you over. Check: uke tries one slow bridge before you grip. If you have to post a hand to stay on, you are not ready.
Right hand: fingers inside uke’s right lapel
Your right hand crosses to uke’s right side. Open the collar slightly if needed (your coach will show a way that does not drag the cloth across the face), slide the four fingers inside the jacket with the palm facing up towards you, and work the hand round the collar towards the back of the neck. The thumb stays outside. Check: uke tells you whether your fingers are beside the windpipe or round towards the back of the neck; your coach checks that the knuckles, not just the fingertips, are inside the collar.
Left hand: cross to uke’s left lapel, fingers inside
Your left arm crosses the right forearm and the left fingers slide inside uke’s left lapel, palm up. The forearms now cross in front of the throat. The coaching chapter “doesn’t matter which hand is on top” leaves that choice open. Check: both palms face you. If the second hand went in thumb-first, the grip is kata-juji-jime; record it as that.
Bring the head down and keep the elbows bent
In the official clip’s top phase, tori’s head is lowered close to uke’s head. One reason a coach may want this is that a lowered head and chest keep tori’s weight on uke and the elbows bent; we state that as an editorial reading, not as something the clip explains. “Keep your elbows bent” appears in the coaching class’s chapter list. Check: side view at the moment of pressure. Are your elbows bent and your chest low, or are your arms straight and your head high?
Pressure on both sides of the neck, slowly
The IJF text says only that pressure is applied to both sides of the neck. How the elbows move to produce it, and which part of the wrist or forearm meets the neck with the palms up, are coaching details; we give no angle or force. Build the pressure gradually. Check: uke reports pressure on both sides of the neck, evenly, and none on the front of the throat, the jaw or the collarbone.
Release: open the hands and draw the fingers out
On a tap or “stop,” open both hands and draw the fingers out of the lapels, and lift your head and chest. Fingers left hooked inside the collar keep the cloth tight even when your arms relax. If uke stops responding, release completely, call the coach and stop the drill. Check: both lapels lie flat and loose after the release.
Control points and the escape each one closes: knees and hips stop the bridge; the lowered head and chest stop uke pushing you upright; bent elbows keep the crossed forearms close to the neck rather than lifting off it; the deep first hand stops uke opening the collar before the second hand arrives. Section 6 is organised around which of these failed.
05 / KEY POINTS
Five checks for a controlled gyaku-juji-jime
Use these in rounds where uke defends. Pick one per round and write down what you saw.
Knuckles inside, not fingertips
Check: after each attempt, look at the first hand. Count the attempts where only the fingertips were hooked in the collar.
Both palms up
Check: the coach names the grip after each attempt: gyaku if both palms are up, kata if one hand went in thumb-first. Under pressure the second hand often turns over.
Head down, weight on uke
Check: film from the side. When the second hand goes in, is your head near uke’s head or up above your hands?
No pressure on the throat or collarbone
Check: uke reports where the pressure is. Any report of the throat, the jaw or the collarbone means release and reset; that repetition does not count.
Abandon when the collar is clamped
Check: if uke holds the collar shut, do you keep digging with the fingers, or change to a hold? Count the decisions.
06 / PROBLEMS & ADJUSTMENTS
Why does your gyaku-juji-jime stall?
The palms-up grip fails in different places from the thumbs-in grip. Find the first step that went wrong.
“I can’t get my fingers inside the lapel.”
Possible causes: uke’s chin is down on the collar; uke is holding the lapel; the jacket is tight across uke’s chest because you are kneeling on it; or you are trying to slide the fingers in at the throat, where the collar is tightest. How to tell: pause and see what blocks the hand: chin, uke’s hand or tight cloth. Adjustment: if it is tight cloth, shift your knees slightly so you are not pinning the jacket; if it is the chin or a hand, ask your coach how they open the collar without pulling it across the face, and otherwise hold rather than force. Assess: in the same drill, count entries completed without uke reporting cloth on the face.
“My grip opens when I start to apply pressure.”
Possible causes: only the fingertips are inside, so the hand unrolls under load; the hand is high on the lapel near the throat rather than round the neck; or your forearm is pulling straight out along the cloth. How to tell: watch the first hand as pressure builds. If the fingers straighten and slide out, depth is the issue. Adjustment: slide the hand further round the collar until the knuckles are inside, then cross the second hand. The publisher cue “accuracy is final” fits this fault. Assess: how many of ten slow repetitions hold the grip for a steady five-count.
“Uke reports my knuckles on the throat.”
Possible causes: both hands are shallow, so the crossing point of the forearms sits on the front of the throat; or you are pushing your hands down towards the mat rather than closing them on the sides of the neck. How to tell: ask uke to point to the pressure and look at where your wrists cross. Adjustment: release, re-grip deeper on both sides so the crossing point moves off the throat, and keep the target as the sides of the neck, as the cue “closing the blood flow, not the air flow” suggests. Assess: five slow repetitions with side pressure reported and nothing on the throat.
“Uke pushes my head up and the strangle disappears.”
Possible causes: your head is above your hands, so uke can push your chin or forehead; your elbows have straightened; or you have lifted your hips to get height. How to tell: side view: is there space between your chest and uke’s chest? Adjustment: bring the head down towards uke’s head as seen in the official clip’s top phase, keep the elbows bent, and keep the hips heavy. Assess: count how often uke can create that space with the same agreed push.
“I get rolled while I am fixing the grip.”
Possible causes: fixing a shallow grip takes time, and while both hands are busy nothing posts; your knees have drifted up uke’s chest; or uke bridges as the second hand crosses. How to tell: note when the roll happens: during the first hand, the cross, or the pressure. Adjustment: if it is during adjustment, release and regrip instead of fiddling with a bad grip; if it is during the cross, check knees and hips first. Let go and post when you feel the roll start (see section 8). Assess: rolls per ten attempts under the same agreed bridge.
“The collar rides up onto uke’s jaw.”
Possible causes: the fingers went in high near the chin, so closing the hands lifts the lapel edge; or you are pulling the hands towards uke’s head. How to tell: look at the collar edge before pressure begins. If it already touches the jaw, the entry height is the problem. Adjustment: release and re-enter lower on the lapel, then work round the neck. Never finish through the jaw. Assess: mark where the collar edge sits at the start of pressure for each repetition.
07 / SETUPS & STRANGLE SWITCHES
Use uke’s defence to choose the next action
Each branch gives the starting position, tori’s action, uke’s actual response and the condition for the next action. If the condition is missing, release and reset.
FINGERS DENIED → THUMB ENTRY
Uke clamps the second lapel against your fingers
Start: mount, right fingers deep in uke’s right lapel. First action: left hand reaches to slide fingers into uke’s left lapel. Response: uke’s left hand holds that lapel shut. Next action: if your coach has taught it, the left hand can take the lapel thumb-first instead, which is the hand combination of kata-juji-jime. Record it under that name. Stop: if neither entry is possible without dragging cloth over the face, keep the mount.
STRANGLE THREAT → MOUNT HOLD
Uke grips your wrists with both hands
Start: both hands set, pressure not yet on. Response: uke takes both your wrists and stops bridging. Next action: uke’s hands are occupied and uke’s hips have stopped; release the lapels and settle tate-shiho-gatame from the mount. Stop: if uke bridges the moment your hands leave the collar, base comes first.
ROLLED → CONTINUE FROM UNDERNEATH
Uke bridges and rolls you while the grips are in
Start: mount, both hands in. Response: uke bridges and rolls you onto your back, ending kneeling between your legs. Next action: the grips are the same from underneath; if they survived the roll without twisting the neck and your legs can close round uke’s waist, your coach may let you continue from the bottom position the coaching chapter list mentions. Stop: if the roll twisted the collar or your legs did not close, let go and recover position.
CROSS STRANGLE → ARMLOCK
Uke frames on your neck or shoulder with a straight arm
Start: mount, first hand in. Response: uke straightens one arm against your neck or shoulder to keep your head up. Next action: a straight, extended arm is the condition for ude-hishigi-juji-gatame; release the lapel before moving so you do not twist the neck while changing position. Stop: if the arm bends back in, return to the mount.
Write down which branch occurs most. A partner who always grabs the wrists is teaching you the hold branch, not the strangle.
08 / DEFENCES & ESCAPES
Close the lapels, keep tori upright, attack the base
Separate prevention (no fingers inside), defence (no pressure once the hands are crossed) and escape (out of the mount or the guard). The coaching class lists “fusegi practice” and four escapes; your coach decides which you learn first.
Prevention: keep the lapels flat
Under the mount, keep the chin down and a hand near the collar. A palms-up hand needs the lapel to open; a lapel held flat against the chest is hard to enter fingers-first. Strip the first hand early, at the wrist, while only the fingertips are in.
Defence: keep tori’s head and chest up
The top form depends on tori being low. Uke’s hands or forearms on tori’s shoulders or chest keep the space that tori needs to close. Do not push on tori’s face or eyes, and avoid prying tori’s fingers out of your collar; work at the wrist.
Escape: bridge and roll while both hands are busy
Once both of tori’s hands are in the lapels, tori has nothing on the mat. That is the moment for a coach-taught bridge and roll; the direction depends on which side tori cannot post. From underneath, the escape is posture: sit up and take the head out of range before the second hand arrives. Once real pressure is on the neck, tap.
Counters and exposure
Uke’s bridge exposes uke too: if tori keeps a deep grip through the roll, uke may land in tori’s guard with the strangle still on. And pushing with a straight arm to keep tori up exposes that arm to ude-hishigi-juji-gatame. Choose escapes that keep the elbows bent and close.
09 / TRANSITIONS FROM HOLDS & TURNOVERS
Building towards the mount and leaving it safely
Gyaku-juji-jime is mainly a mount technique in this guide, so the transitions that matter are the ones into and out of the mount.
From a side hold to the mount
From yoko-shiho-gatame or kesa-gatame, move to the mount only when uke’s far arm is not blocking your knee. Settle the knees and hips before the first hand moves.
From tate-shiho-gatame
The mount and tate-shiho-gatame share a position. If uke pushes to escape the hold, the lapel can open; if uke clamps the lapels, the hold remains. Switching keeps uke defending two threats.
When uke turns onto the front
The lapels now face the mat. Release, follow onto the back and start a back strangle from its own first grip: okuri-eri-jime begins with the left hand under the left armpit in the IJF sequence, and hadaka-jime needs no jacket.
When you end up underneath
If uke rolls you, see the “rolled” branch in section 7. If the grips are lost, close the legs and rebuild rather than reaching from your back for a lapel that is moving away. See the ne-waza drills guide and the ne-waza training plan for session structure.
10 / POSITIONAL ROUNDS
From a palms-up seated grip to arriving in the mount from a side hold
Change one variable per stage. Round lengths and counts are editorial suggestions to adapt with your coach.
Fingers-in entry, seated
Sitting and facing, as at the start of the official clip: right fingers into uke’s right lapel, left fingers into uke’s left lapel, palms up, no pressure. Progress when the knuckles are inside on most repetitions and uke never reports cloth on the face.
Mount, light pressure and immediate release
Tori lowers the head, builds slow pressure; uke taps early; tori opens the hands and draws the fingers out. The coach calls random taps. Do not progress until every release is immediate.
Mount with a head push
Uke may push tori’s shoulders to keep tori up. Tori’s task is to keep the elbows bent and the head down while setting the grips.
Mount with a bridge
Uke may bridge at agreed effort. Record outcomes separately: grips set, rolled, hold taken, uke tapped.
Start from a side hold
Begin in yoko-shiho-gatame; tori moves to the mount when the condition appears; then stage four. This tests the arrival as well as the strangle.
Supervision: any stage with pressure on the neck needs a coach who can see both partners. Without one, keep to stage 1 and positional rounds without strangles.
11 / COMPETITION REPLAYS
Seven IJF listings, two leads and their limits
On October 14, 2026 the IJF gyaku-juji-jime page listed one competition video each from seven events: the World Championships Juniors & Teams 2017, Tunis Grand Prix 2018, World Championships Seniors Baku 2018, Osaka Grand Slam 2018, Brasilia Grand Slam 2019, Qingdao Masters 2019 and Grand Prix Portugal 2023. We opened two of them. The listing pages show the event, two names and the tag. We have not watched the replays.
World Championships Baku 2018: Valkova vs Turdan
The IJF gyaku-juji-jime listing for Baku 2018 names Ekaterina Valkova and Akniyet Turdan. The IJF contest record places it in round 2 of the women’s −63 kg individual event and credits Valkova (RUS) with ippon by gyaku-juji-jime at 2:33. A secondary source, the Japanese Wikipedia entry for 逆十字絞, describes a variation in which the left wrist presses on the back of the opponent’s head. We have not checked that variation against the replay.
Grand Prix Portugal 2023: Clerget vs Knauf
The IJF gyaku-juji-jime listing for Grand Prix Portugal 2023 names Axel Clerget and Alexander Knauf. The IJF contest record places it in round 3 of the men’s −90 kg event and credits Clerget (FRA) with ippon by gyaku-juji-jime over Knauf (USA) at 2:31. We have not watched the replay, so how the position arose is not verified.
Why tags need checking
The same Japanese entry reports two other Clerget contests in which, in its description, the IJF’s recorded technique (kata-juji-jime in one, okuri-eri-jime in the other) differs from what the article calls the action. Whatever the truth of those cases, the lesson for viewers is to check the hand orientation yourself rather than trust a tag.
Viewing questions
- Position: mount, guard, side hold or a scramble?
- Hands: are both palms up with fingers inside? If one hand is thumb-in, it is kata-juji-jime.
- Head: where is the attacker’s head relative to the defender’s?
- Defence: does the defender bridge, push, or grab the wrists?
- Ending: tap, referee intervention or break? Record only what you see.
Senior contest footage reflects senior rules at that event, not what is permitted in your age group.
12 / VARIATIONS & COMPARISONS
Gyaku-juji-jime beside the other cross strangles
| Technique | Hand orientation (IJF) | What changes for you |
|---|---|---|
| Gyaku-juji-jime | Both hands fingers inside the lapels, both palms up. | The lapel must open for the fingers; depth means knuckles inside, not fingertips. |
| Nami-juji-jime | Both thumbs inside, both palms down; pressure from the outer edges of both hands. | Thumb-first entry and a named pressure surface (the hand edges). |
| Kata-juji-jime | Arms crossed; left hand fingers inside the left lapel, right hand thumb inside the right lapel. | One hand of each type. A second hand that turns thumb-in during a gyaku attempt makes this technique. |
| Okuri-eri-jime | From behind; three lapel grips with a hand change. | Back control instead of facing; used when uke turns away. |
Official versus informal: gyaku-juji-jime is its own Kodokan technique, not an informal variety of nami-juji-jime. Naming outside Kodokan judo is not uniform: the English Wikipedia entry for nami-juji-jime states that Danzan Ryu lists that technique under the name “Gyakujujijime.” When a source says “reverse cross,” check whether it means both palms up, as here.
Reported variations: the Japanese encyclopedia entry describes variations including one with the left wrist on the back of the opponent’s head and others with one hand inside the jacket and the other on the collar. We list them as reported, not verified; learn any of them only from a coach, because changing where a hand sits changes the technique and sometimes its name.
Functional choices within gyaku-juji-jime: which forearm is on top, how far round each hand reaches, and whether you apply it from the mount or from underneath. They keep the technique the same but move the weak point: from the mount, base and head height; from underneath, uke’s posture.
13 / YOUR NEXT PRACTICE
One focus: knuckles inside, head down
If your grips open or uke pushes you upright, use this record for one session.
- Situation
- Mount; uke allowed to push the shoulders at agreed effort.
- My focus
- Right knuckles inside uke’s right lapel before my left hand crosses; head down towards uke’s head.
- What I noticed
- Did the first grip hold? Did uke create space under my chest? Where did uke feel pressure? Were all releases immediate?
- Coach question
- “How should I open the lapel for the fingers, and where should my head be?”
- Next decision
- Stay on the seated entry, add the bridge, or practise the hold branch.
Illustrative example, not measured data: “Eight mount starts. Knuckles inside on three; fingertips only on five, and four of those opened under pressure. Uke pushed me upright twice. Next time: seated entry drill for depth, then mount with the head-push only.”
Log it in the practice-log template or in Judo AI, and record whether each attempt stayed palms-up or turned into kata-juji-jime.
14 / SOURCES & REVIEW
Sources, authorship and review
- Kodokan: Names of Judo Techniques (list dated April 1, 2017) — name, kanji and position as the second shime-waza.
- IJF: Gyaku-juji-jime definition and technique library — hand orientation quoted in section 1; seven competition listings; checked October 14, 2026.
- IJF: Nami-juji-jime and IJF: Kata-juji-jime — hand orientations used in the comparison table.
- KODOKAN: 逆十字絞 / Gyaku-juji-jime — identity, publisher and length verified; still frames sampled, not reviewed continuously.
- Riki Judo Dojo: Nami-Juji-Jime, Kata-Juji-Jime, And Gyaku-Juji-Jime Tips — identity and publisher chapter list only; not reviewed by playback.
- IJF replay listings: Baku 2018 and Grand Prix Portugal 2023 — event, pairing and tag; IJF judobase contest records (Baku 2018, Portugal 2023) — round, category, scorer, ippon and time; checked October 15, 2026.
- Japanese Wikipedia: 逆十字絞 — secondary source for the tate-shiho-gatame starting position, reported variations and reported contest details; not independently verified.
- English Wikipedia: Nami juji jime — secondary note on Danzan Ryu naming only (seen in a search-result extract; the page itself could not be loaded on October 14, 2026).
By Judo AI · Editorial review: October 14, 2026. Diagnoses, branches and drills are editorial proposals for supervised practice, not a validated programme. No named coach has reviewed this page.
Rules: this page does not state current competition rules for strangles. Rules differ between IJF events and national or youth competitions; before a strangle is used in any contest, a coach or referee should confirm the rules for that event, age category and grade.
Not verified: the pressure surface and elbow action for the palms-up grip, the reason for the lowered head in the Kodokan clip, the coaching class’s instructions, and every contest detail beyond the IJF listings.