01 / AT A GLANCE
A head-end hold built around one trapped arm
Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame (崩上四方固) is an osaekomi-waza in katame-waza. Kuzure means broken or modified: it is a separately named variation of kami-shiho-gatame, the upper four-quarter hold. The IJF definition states the change exactly: you “position one of your hands over your opponent’s arm (instead of beneath it) and grip the back of his collar, while also wrapping your left arm around the back of his neck and shoulder to grasp his belt.”
In the IJF text for kami-shiho-gatame, tori reaches “under his shoulders to take the sides of his belt with both hands”. In the kuzure form one arm goes over an arm to the collar instead, so one of uke’s arms is held between your arm and your body rather than left outside your control.
Our convention: uke lies on the back. You, tori, are at uke’s head facing toward uke’s feet. Your right arm goes over uke’s right arm, with the right hand gripping the back of uke’s collar. Your left arm wraps behind uke’s neck and left shoulder to grip the belt, as the IJF wording describes. In this position uke’s right arm is on your right side. The IJF text names your left arm but not which of uke’s arms is overlapped. We picked the right-arm arrangement for consistency; confirm against the Kodokan demonstration and mirror everything if your coach teaches the other side.
Who this is for: judoka who know kami-shiho-gatame, can tap and release reliably, and train under supervision. This hold places an arm behind uke’s neck, so neck comfort is part of the technique, not an optional extra. If you are new to the head end, learn kami-shiho-gatame first; most of the base and chest contact carries over.
02 / WATCH THE HOLD & ESCAPES
Find the over-the-arm grip, then study the escapes
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
Both videos are Kodokan publications: the hold from the KODOKAN × IJF ACADEMY 100-technique series, and the Kodokan’s matching escape demonstration. Only their identity, length and publication date have been checked. Treat the three passes as an observation sheet you fill in yourself; nothing below reports what the demonstrators do.
Pass 1: the over-the-arm hand. Find the arm that goes over uke’s arm, and follow its hand to the back of the collar. Note which of uke’s arms is overlapped, and whether it lies against tori’s side or further away. If it is uke’s left arm, mirror our convention.
Pass 2: the belt arm. Follow tori’s other arm behind uke’s neck and shoulder to the belt. Note where the belt is gripped and how close the forearm is to uke’s neck.
Pass 3: body angle and base. Is tori on the centre line above the head, or turned slightly toward one shoulder? Where are tori’s knees and hips, and is the chest on uke’s chest or further up? The IJF text fixes the arm routes, not the body angle, so this pass gives you information the definition does not.
Escape clip: for each escape, stop just before it works and name the first thing that changed. Was it the trapped arm sliding out, the far shoulder turning, tori’s base tipping, or uke’s hips moving away so a knee could come up? Section 6 has a diagnosis for each of those first changes.
03 / WHEN TO APPLY IT
Situations where the over-arm route is available
Uke defends kami-shiho-gatame by pulling an arm in
The recognition cue: in kami-shiho-gatame your right arm has lost its place under uke’s shoulder because uke’s right elbow is now bent and tight to uke’s own ribs. A bent arm close to the body is exactly what the over-the-arm route needs, so you can stay at the head end instead of fighting to get back under (steps in section 7).
You arrive at the head end from ushiro-kesa-gatame
In ushiro-kesa-gatame you already face uke’s legs. If uke tries to sit up, sliding round toward the head keeps you facing the same direction. The near arm you were trapping may already be close to your body, ready for the over-arm grip.
Uke turns away from side control
From yoko-shiho-gatame, uke’s hip escape can make the side angle useless while the shoulders are still on the mat. Moving toward the head with your chest on uke’s chest can let you pick up the collar over the arm nearest you.
When it is the wrong choice
Do not chase this hold if uke’s arm is extended and framing on your hip or shoulder; going over a straight arm gives no control. The same applies if uke is already on the side with the far shoulder off the mat, or if the only way to reach the collar is to drag uke’s head toward you. In those cases rebuild chest contact first or change to another hold.
04 / HOW THE CONTROL WORKS
Two arm routes, one chest, a base that follows
The arm routes below follow the IJF definition. Body angle, knee placement and how deep the collar grip is are not fixed by that text, so the checks show what to confirm with your coach rather than giving a measurement.
Right arm: over uke’s right arm to the back collar
Your right arm passes over uke’s right upper arm, and your right hand takes the judogi at the back of uke’s collar. Uke’s right arm then lies under your arm, against your side and chest, instead of outside where it could frame. Check: ask uke to straighten the right arm or push your hip away with it. If the arm can extend, your arm is over the forearm rather than the upper arm, or your side is not against it. Pull from the collar grip toward yourself only enough to keep it. If uke reports the collar tightening across the throat, the grip is wrong; release and reset with the coach.
Left arm: behind the neck and shoulder to the belt
Your left arm goes behind uke’s neck and left shoulder (the IJF says “around the back of his neck and shoulder”) and your left hand grips the belt. This arm holds the far shoulder down and stops uke turning toward their left. Check: uke tries to lift the left shoulder. If it lifts while your hand stays on the belt, the forearm is too far from the shoulder. Uke’s neck must be in a neutral position. If uke’s head is pushed forward or twisted, the arm is doing the wrong job.
Chest: on the upper chest, not on the face
Lie with your chest on uke’s chest so your weight holds the shoulder line down. If your chest is too far toward uke’s face, uke can bridge you off over their head and breathing becomes the issue rather than control. If it is too far toward the stomach, the shoulders turn freely. Check: uke tells you where the weight is. The target is the chest and shoulders, with the face clear.
Knees and hips: a base that follows
Your knees are on the mat near uke’s head and shoulders, with your hips low enough that uke cannot get under you. The base must be able to move toward whichever side uke turns. The IJF text does not fix the leg arrangement, and you may be shown more than one (for example both knees down, or the legs stretched back); note the version in the Kodokan demonstration and confirm it with your coach. Check: give uke a slow, agreed bridge-and-turn to each side. If you have to let go with a hand to post, the base is too narrow on that side or your hips are too high.
Angle: the side you are turned toward is the side you control best
Whether tori sits on uke’s centre line or turns slightly toward the trapped arm is not stated in the IJF definition. Our editorial proposal is to test both against the same escape rather than adopt one by default, and to compare with the Kodokan clip. Check: whichever angle you use, ask uke which side is easier to turn toward. The answer is the side your base must cover.
05 / KEY POINTS
Four order-and-response cues
Section 4 places each part. The cues below cover the sequence of building the hold and the decisions it forces.
- Chest and belt arm first, collar last. Settle your chest and take the left belt grip before your right arm goes over. Check: an observer confirms there was no moment when both of your arms were off uke during the build.
- Go over only a bent arm. If uke’s right elbow is tight to the ribs, go over the upper arm; if the arm is straight and pushing, stay in kami-shiho-gatame or side control. Check: before each entry, say “bent” or “straight” aloud, and compare your call with uke’s report afterwards.
- Name the open side before the round. Uke’s left arm is not trapped and lies over your belt arm, so it is free to push on your head or hip; the turn toward uke’s left is the side to expect. Check: tell the coach which side you expect uke to go, then record which side uke actually went.
- Release the collar before the angle twists it. The collar grip only works while your body is roughly in line with uke’s shoulders. If uke turns past the side, or you move round for a hold change, let go of the collar first and keep the chest down. Check: uke reports any moment the collar pulled the head round.
Uke’s report is the quickest way to tell control from discomfort here, because the trapped arm and the neck are both close to your grips.
06 / PROBLEMS & ADJUSTMENTS
Why kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame breaks
Look for the first change, then test one adjustment at a time against the same escape and the same resistance.
“The trapped arm slides out downwards.”
Possible causes: your arm is over uke’s forearm or elbow rather than the upper arm; your right side is away from uke’s arm, leaving a gap; or you let go of the collar to deal with a bridge. Tell them apart: have uke attempt only the arm withdrawal, slowly. Watch whether the arm slides along your arm (too low on the arm) or between your arm and side (gap).
Adjustment: move your arm up to the upper arm and bring your right side against it before taking the collar. Assess: a block of arm-withdrawal-only rounds, fixed in advance; count how often the elbow passes your hip, before and after the change.
“Uke turns away toward their left side.”
Possible causes: the belt arm is only hooked on the belt, not holding the far shoulder down; your chest has slid toward the trapped-arm side; or your base on the left is too narrow. Tell them apart: see whether the left shoulder lifts first (belt arm) or the whole trunk turns under your chest (chest position or base).
Adjustment: bring your left forearm closer to the shoulder before re-gripping the belt, or widen the left knee. Change one, not both. Assess: uke tries only the left turn, for the same number of attempts at the same effort, before and after the change.
“Uke bridges and I slide off over their head.”
Possible causes: your chest is too far up toward uke’s face, so a bridge lifts you; your hips are high; or you resist with stiff arms. Tell them apart: if you slide straight back over the head, the chest is too high or the hips are up. If you are rolled sideways, the base on that side is the issue (compare with the turn problems).
Adjustment: slide back so your chest is on uke’s chest, and lower your hips. Assess: agreed slow bridges, then slightly stronger ones; record whether your grips held without posting.
“Uke’s hips escape and a knee comes in.”
Possible causes: you stayed fixed above the head while uke moved the hips sideways; or you reached toward the hips with a hand and lifted your chest. Tell them apart: film from the side. Did your body angle change as uke’s hips moved, or did only your arms move?
Adjustment: keep both grips and walk your knees round to stay square to uke’s shoulders. If uke’s hips keep travelling until they are beside you rather than below you, change to side control. Assess: uke shrimps only; you count knees that get in front of your chest.
“I can’t reach the back collar.”
Possible causes: you are too far above uke’s head; uke is holding the arm tight with the elbow up; or you are trying to go over an arm that is still extended. Tell them apart: if the hand reaches but cannot hold, the problem is grip; if it cannot reach, it is distance or angle.
Adjustment: for the distance cause, settle your chest further down onto uke before reaching. If the elbow is up or the arm straight, it is the bent-arm decision in section 5, not a reach problem. Assess: entries from a fixed start; record grip success and whether uke could frame first.
“Uke reports neck pain.”
Possible causes: your left arm behind the neck is lifting or twisting uke’s head; or the collar grip is pulling across the throat. Response: release immediately, then rebuild slowly with the coach watching each arm. The hold works through the shoulder line and chest. A tap from neck pain is a problem to fix, not evidence the hold worked.
07 / ENTRIES & HOLD CHANGES
Arriving in the hold and leaving it on purpose
For every branch: where you start, the reaction from uke that opens the next action, and when to reset. Rehearse with uke giving the reaction on cue before letting uke choose.
INTO KUZURE-KAMI-SHIHO-GATAME
Kami-shiho-gatame → kuzure form when uke pulls the right elbow in
Start: kami-shiho-gatame, both arms under the shoulders to the belt. Reaction: uke draws the right elbow down and in, and your right arm loses its place under the shoulder. Next action: keep the left belt grip and your chest down, bring your right arm over uke’s right upper arm, and take the back collar. Stop: if uke’s arm is straight and framing on your hip, or the shoulders have already turned, stop and rebuild chest contact or move to side control.
INTO KUZURE-KAMI-SHIHO-GATAME
Ushiro-kesa-gatame → slide to the head when uke sits up
Start: ushiro-kesa-gatame from uke’s right side, holding uke’s right arm against your right side. Reaction: uke lifts the shoulders to sit up behind you. Next action: move your hips round toward uke’s head while keeping your back, then your chest, on uke. Your right arm stays over the trapped arm and reaches for the back collar; your left arm finds its way behind the neck and shoulder to the belt. Stop: if uke gets the shoulders up through a gap while you are moving, stop early and practise the slide alone.
OUT OF KUZURE-KAMI-SHIHO-GATAME
Kuzure form → side control when uke turns toward the trapped arm
Start: the hold as described. Reaction: uke turns toward their right, into the trapped arm, and the hips follow. Next action: uke is now facing toward your right. Walk your knees round toward uke’s right side, the side uke is turning to face, and lay your chest across uke’s chest to push the shoulders back flat, finishing in yoko-shiho-gatame from uke’s right. Keep the trapped arm against your body for as long as possible during the move, and release the collar before your angle changes enough to twist the neck. Stop: if a knee comes in before your chest is across, reset.
OUT OF KUZURE-KAMI-SHIHO-GATAME
Kuzure form → kami-shiho-gatame when the trapped arm extends upward
Start: the hold. Reaction: uke pushes the trapped right arm up past your head, freeing it from under your arm. Next action: the space under the right shoulder has opened; slide your right arm under the shoulder to the belt for the basic hold, keeping your chest down. Stop: if the freed arm is already pushing on your face or shoulder to create space, deal with the frame first and do not reach under it blind.
OUT OF KUZURE-KAMI-SHIHO-GATAME
Kuzure form → follow to the turtle when uke turns to the knees
Start: the hold. Reaction: uke turns fully to the knees despite your base. Next action: release the collar, keep chest contact on uke’s back, and continue with a turnover your coach has taught. Stop: if the collar is still held as uke turns, release it at once (section 5).
08 / ESCAPES & COUNTERS
Escapes depend on the trapped arm and the open side
Prevention: keep the arm out of the trap
For uke, the arm route over the arm needs that arm to be bent close to your body. Keeping that elbow active, with a frame on tori’s hip or shoulder before tori settles, can stop the hold being built. Keep the far shoulder moving too, so the belt arm cannot settle behind it.
Escape: create a gap, then use it
With the right arm trapped, uke’s tools are the free left arm, the trapped arm’s remaining movement, the bridge and the hips. Each path is opened by a specific tori error:
- Left-arm frame and turn to the left. Uke’s left arm lies over tori’s belt arm, so it can push on tori’s head or hip while the left shoulder rolls. Opened when tori’s left forearm sits away from that shoulder.
- Trapped arm withdrawn down or pushed up past tori’s head. Opened when tori’s arm is over the forearm rather than the upper arm, or tori’s side has drifted off the arm.
- Bridge that slides tori over the head. Opened when tori’s chest is up near uke’s face and the hips are high.
- Hip escape and knee in. Opened when tori stays fixed above the head while uke’s hips travel sideways.
Use the Kodokan escape demonstration as a sorting exercise: label each escape by the path it uses (or “other”), then let your coach choose the first one to learn. Bridging that opens none of these paths mostly costs energy.
Counter: reversals need their own instruction
Because tori is stretched over uke’s head, a strong turn toward the free side can bring uke onto tori’s side or back. That reversal is its own skill, learned at controlled pace, and must never be finished by grabbing or twisting tori’s head.
Safe abandonment
For tori: if a shoulder is free and turning, or the trapped arm is out, change hold (section 7) rather than pulling harder on the collar. For uke: forcing a trapped arm out against the joint is not an escape to practise.
09 / TRANSITIONS BETWEEN HOLDS
When the hold changes underneath you
The trapped arm comes free
Uke now has two free arms at the head end, and the released right hand usually goes to your right shoulder or hip to push. If the arm has gone up past your head, the under-the-shoulder route for kami-shiho-gatame is open (section 7); if it is pushing with a bent elbow, side control on uke’s right is usually the nearer option. Let go of the collar as soon as the arm is out: without the trapped arm it holds nothing.
Uke turns toward the belt arm side
Your left arm and base are being tested. Follow with your chest; if uke’s hips are turning too, consider side control on uke’s left. Do not let your right arm drag on the collar as uke turns.
Uke’s knee comes in
Once a knee is between you, you are no longer holding. Move back to the head end, deal with the knee using a coached pass, then rebuild.
Strangles from the head end are outside this guide’s scope. The collar grip in this hold is not an instruction for a strangle, and using it as one changes the technique, the rules and the risk. Strangles are studied separately, for example in the hadaka-jime and okuri-eri-jime guides, with age-group rules checked.
10 / POSITIONAL ROUNDS
From a static hold to choosing the next hold
Build the hold and check the neck
Cooperative. Tori builds the right-arm-over form; the coach checks the collar grip and the arm behind the neck. Uke reports where the weight is and whether the neck is neutral. Move on when both partners can name which arm is trapped and which shoulder the belt arm holds.
One escape at low resistance
The coach picks one Kodokan reference escape for uke to use. Tori responds with base and chest only. Move on when tori can name the first control that was attacked.
Turn to either side
Uke chooses to turn toward the trapped arm or toward the belt arm. Tori follows with the base. Move on when tori keeps both grips through most turns without posting.
Hold-to-hold rounds
Tori may change to kami-shiho-gatame, side control or a turtle follow (section 7). Uke wins by freeing the trapped arm, getting a shoulder up or getting a knee in. Tori wins a change only if the collar was released before the angle changed and the chest stayed down. Move on when tori picks kami-shiho-gatame for an arm pushed upward and side control for a turn into the trapped arm without prompting.
Real arrivals
Start from ushiro-kesa-gatame, side control or kami-shiho-gatame, with uke keeping the right elbow away from the body before the over-arm grip. If tori keeps the hold in stage 3 but rarely gets the collar here, train the bent-arm recognition and the entry next, not the hold.
Agree before each round: starting position, allowed escapes, end conditions (escape, change of hold, tap, coach-set time) and the stop rule: any tap, spoken stop, neck discomfort or trapped joint. Round length is a training constraint, not an official osaekomi time. For more session structure see the ne-waza drills guide.
11 / COMPETITION REPLAYS
Two World Championship replays tagged with this hold
We checked two IJF athlete technique pages for kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame on 10 October 2026. Verified: each page exists, carries the heading quoted, which credits the tagged action to the athlete it names, and lists the contest named under this technique. Not verified: what the replay shows, the score, the time and the tactics. We have not watched these replays and offer no analysis of them.
Yang vs Samy, Abu Dhabi World Championships 2024
The IJF page headed “Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame by YANG Yung Wei” lists the 2024 World Championships (Abu Dhabi) contest between Yung Wei Yang (TPE) and Youssry Samy (EGY).
Lien vs Holguin, World Championships 2019
The IJF page headed “Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame by LIEN Chen-Ling” lists the 2019 World Championships contest between Chen-Ling Lien (TPE) and Mariah Holguin (USA).
Questions to take to the replays
- The grips: which of the bottom player’s arms is under the holder’s arm, and where is the holder’s other hand?
- Arrival: did the hold start from the basic head-end hold, from the side or straight from a scramble?
- Angle: is the holder on the centre line or turned toward one shoulder, and does that change as the bottom player moves?
- Escape attempts: does the bottom player work on the trapped arm, turn to one side or move the hips? How does the holder respond with the base?
- Limits: write “unclear” for anything the camera does not show.
Record observations with the match video review checklist and test one of them in a round. Rules in force at those events may differ from those that apply to you.
12 / VARIATIONS & COMPARISONS
Kuzure form, basic form and neighbouring holds
| Hold | Arm routes | What the change means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Kami-shiho-gatame | Both arms under the shoulders to the sides of the belt (IJF) | Both of uke’s arms are outside your arms and free to frame |
| Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame | One arm over uke’s arm to the back collar; left arm behind neck and shoulder to the belt (IJF) | One arm is trapped; the neck is close to both grips, so comfort must be checked |
| Ushiro-kesa-gatame | Tori at the side facing the legs (IJF); grips as taught | Same facing direction, different place: useful to slide to and from |
| Yoko-shiho-gatame | From the side, chest across uke’s chest | The destination when uke turns into the trapped arm or the hips travel out from under the head end |
Informal names: “broken upper four-quarter hold”, “modified north-south” and similar names are used. North-south is a general grappling position and does not say which grips are used or whether a recognised hold-down is in place. Keep the description and the official name separate.
Other modified forms: you may be shown other modifications of kami-shiho-gatame under the kuzure name, with different belt or collar grips. The IJF definition describes the over-the-arm version above. If a coach shows another form, note exactly what changes and which escape it is meant to stop, rather than counting every change as the same hold. Tate-shiho-gatame and kata-gatame are other hold-downs with different control problems.
13 / YOUR NEXT PRACTICE
Find which side uke escapes toward
Task: six short rounds from the hold. Uke turns toward either side or tries to free the trapped arm, choosing freely. Tori keeps the grips and adjusts base and chest only.
- Record
- Escape direction (toward trapped arm / toward belt arm / arm withdrawn / knee in), first control lost, and result (held / changed hold / escaped / stopped).
- Coach question
- “Is my body angle leaving one side open, or am I losing the trapped arm first?”
- Next decision
- If one direction dominates, adjust the base on that side next session. If the arm is the problem, go back to stage 1 for the over-arm grip.
Illustrative example, not real training data: “Six rounds. Uke escaped three times by turning toward the belt-arm side; my left shoulder control was loose each time. Held twice. Once I switched to side control. Next: forearm closer to the left shoulder, same task.” If the next session shows that side holding but the trapped arm escaping, change the focus.
Keep the record in the practice record template or Judo AI. What matters is the direction and the first lost control, not the time held.
14 / SOURCES & REVIEW
Sources, authorship and review
- Kodokan: Names of Judo Techniques (name and classification)
- IJF: Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame definition; IJF: Kami-shiho-gatame definition (comparison)
- Kodokan videos YUrogQWdwiY and PPe7E_7d7UI (identity, length and date verified; action not reviewed frame by frame)
- IJF athlete technique pages 27304/209 and 651/209 (contest listing only)
By Judo AI · Editorial review: October 10, 2026. The arm routes come from the IJF definition. Which of uke’s arms is overlapped, body angle and leg position are editorial conventions, flagged for checking against the Kodokan demonstration. Diagnoses, branches and rounds are editorial proposals for supervised practice, not a validated protocol. No named technical coach has reviewed this page yet.
Rules and scope: this is a study guide, not a refereeing manual. Hold-down timing, what counts as a valid osaekomi and age-group rules are not stated here; check current IJF and event rules with your coach.