01 / AT A GLANCE
A bent-arm lock that depends on the pin underneath it
Ude-garami is the entangled arm lock, one of the kansetsu-waza within katame-waza in the Kodokan list. The IJF definition reads: “From any one of several positions, use both arms to entangle one of your opponent’s arms while twisting it to the outside or inside to control his elbow.” Three features separate it from the straight-arm locks: uke’s arm is bent, tori uses both arms to wrap it, and control comes from a twist, in one of two directions, rather than from straightening the elbow.
Because the definition allows “several positions”, ude-garami is a family of entanglements rather than one shape. This guide fixes one reference form so every instruction names an identifiable arm and direction.
Names you will meet: ude-garami, ude garami, “entangled arm lock” (the IJF’s English label) and “figure-four armlock”, which describes the commonly taught grip shape. Other grappling systems use informal names such as keylock. None says which direction is twisted, so record the direction in your notes.
Who this guide is for: judoka who already pin reliably in supervised ne-waza and have been introduced to kansetsu-waza by a coach. The rotation acts across the elbow and, through it, the shoulder, and in a bent arm the sensation can build with little visible movement. That makes slow, partner-controlled pressure even more important here than in a straight-arm lock. The safety and eligibility rules are stated once, at the end of section 4.
02 / WATCH THE TECHNIQUE
The official form and a side-control coaching route
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
We have verified this official demonstration’s identity, publisher, date and length, not its content, so this page does not describe the demonstrator’s grip. Because the IJF definition allows an outside and an inside twist, first establish which shape and direction are shown, then look for:
- Where tori’s chest is while the hands work. Is uke still pinned flat, or has tori lifted off to reach the arm?
- The angle at uke’s elbow before the twist. Is the arm bent, and does the bend stay roughly the same while it is twisted?
- How the two arms connect. Does one of tori’s hands hold uke’s wrist while the other arm passes around uke’s upper arm? Where does that second hand end up?
- What moves during the finish: uke’s hand along the mat, uke’s elbow upward, or both?
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
The publisher’s description says that “Coach Steve Scott shows a basic and effective transition from side control to Ude Garami.” We have not watched it and attribute no cue to the presenter; it is included because its stated subject matches this guide’s reference situation. One question: what does the top player keep pinned while the hands go to the arm? Compare the answer with the official demonstration and ask your coach which details apply to your form.
03 / WHEN TO APPLY IT
The opening is a bent arm away from uke’s ribs
Ude-garami needs an arm that is bent and has space around the elbow for your arm to thread through, while your chest still holds uke on the back. If the elbow is clamped to uke’s side, there is nothing to entangle. If the arm is straight, the bent-arm twist is not available, although a straight-arm lock may be.
Uke pushes at your head or shoulder from under a side hold
When you hold yoko-shiho-gatame from uke’s right side, uke’s left arm often comes up to push at your head, neck or far shoulder with the elbow bent. That arm is near the mat on the head side and away from uke’s ribs: the reference opening. The window lasts while your chest is connected; lifting to grab it gives uke the space they wanted.
Uke reaches around your back or for your belt
A bottom player who reaches over or around you to grip may leave the elbow bent and lifted. Where uke’s hand ends up tells you which form is even possible: a hand that comes back up beside uke’s head gives the reference shape; a hand that stays low, toward uke’s hip or behind your back, belongs to the other direction, which needs its own coaching (section 12). Name the shape and direction before you start; changing direction mid-lock reverses the load on the shoulder without warning to uke.
Uke frames against you from under an astride or head-end hold
From tate-shiho-gatame or kami-shiho-gatame, a bent framing arm can also be entangled. The geometry differs from the side position; treat each as a separate coached route.
When ude-garami is not the right answer
If uke’s elbow is tight to the ribs, keep pinning. If uke straightens the arm to push, juji-gatame may suit the straight arm instead. If the only way to reach the arm is to give up your chest pressure, the hold-down is probably worth more than the lock attempt.
04 / HOW IT WORKS
Pin, bend, wrap, then turn slowly
The working order is: chest pin stays on, wrist pinned with the elbow bent, second arm threaded and connected, then a slow twist that uke controls. The descriptions below follow the reference convention (tori across uke from the right side, uke’s left arm). The IJF definition fixes only the essentials: both of tori’s arms entangle one of uke’s arms, and a twist to the outside or inside controls the elbow. The chest pin, the wrist on the mat, the figure-four connection and the slide-and-lift movement are commonly taught details of one form, not definitional facts; confirm each against the Kodokan demonstration with your coach.
Keep the chest on uke’s chest
Your chest stays across uke’s upper body and your knees and hips keep the side-hold base throughout; this stops uke turning toward you or bridging to relieve the twist. Check: at any moment during the entry, could you return to the hold-down without moving your torso? If not, you have lifted off.
Left hand pins uke’s left wrist
Your left hand (the hand nearer uke’s head) holds uke’s left wrist and places it on the mat on the head side, with uke’s elbow bent and the forearm pointing roughly toward uke’s head. Hold the wrist, not the hand or fingers. Check: can uke straighten the arm or pull the elbow down to the ribs? If either happens easily, the wrist is not pinned or your chest is too far toward the hips.
Right arm threads under uke’s upper arm
Your right arm passes under uke’s left upper arm, close to the elbow, and in the figure-four form your right hand takes hold of your own left wrist. Uke’s arm is now wrapped by both of yours, which is the “entanglement” in the name. Check: the coach looks at where your right forearm sits. It should be under the upper arm near the elbow; if it is under the forearm, the twist will act on the wrist instead.
Keep the elbow bend constant
The control depends on the elbow staying bent: if it opens toward straight, the entanglement loosens; if it closes completely, there may be no room to rotate. Check: before any twist, the coach compares the elbow bend with the position you were taught and confirms it is stable.
Twist outward in small steps
In the reference form, uke’s wrist slides along the mat from beside the head toward the hip side while your right forearm lifts uke’s elbow slightly. The movement is a slow rotation of the connected arms, never a jerk, with your chest still pinning. Check: the coach calls “hold” mid-rotation and you can stop instantly with the pressure staying where it is.
Locate the sensation, then decide
The IJF frames the aim as controlling the elbow. In a bent-arm twist the rotation also passes into the shoulder, and uke may feel it there first; a shoulder sensation is a tap signal exactly like an elbow sensation, not a sign that the lock is “not on yet”. Check: at the very first rotation, uke reports where the sensation is. Wrist: re-grip. Sudden arrival: smaller steps. Elbow or shoulder: tap, and tori releases.
Release built into every repetition
On a tap or “stop”: stop the rotation first, then let uke’s hand slide back toward the head while lowering the elbow to the mat, then open the figure-four. Opening the grip while the arm is still twisted can leave it loaded. The chest pin stays on through the release.
05 / KEY POINTS
Five cues about coordination, not position
Section 4 checks each contact standing still. These cues check how the pieces move together, which is where ude-garami usually breaks. Use one per set, at zero or minimal rotation.
Hands travel, chest stays
Your head-side hand goes to uke’s wrist without your chest following it. Check: the observer watches uke’s far (left) shoulder blade while your hand reaches. If it lifts off the mat, your chest came with your hand.
Wrist touches the mat, then you thread
Uke’s wrist is on the mat beside the head before your right arm starts to move under the upper arm. Check: the observer says which came first: the wrist touching down or your right arm moving.
Say the shape, then the direction
Before the first rotation of every repetition, say “bent” (or “straight”) and the direction you intend. Check: said aloud, and true. If uke’s arm has straightened, the word “straight” means no rotation.
The bend survives the rotation
The elbow angle at first sensation should look the same as before you started. Check: the coach compares the two from uke’s feet; an opening angle means the wrist slid without the elbow lifting with it.
Release in reverse order
Stop the rotation, return uke’s hand toward the head, then open your grip, with your chest still down. Check: on the coach’s “release” call, does the figure-four open last?
When a cue fails twice in a set, return to stage 1 of section 10 rather than adding force.
06 / PROBLEMS & ADJUSTMENTS
Why the arm unwinds or the pin breaks
Diagnose from the first point at which the shape changed; each entry is a hypothesis for the coach to test.
“Uke straightens the arm and it slides out.”
Possible causes: the wrist was held but not pinned to the mat; your threading arm was near the wrist, so it could not hold the bend; or uke’s straightening push lifted your chest.
Tell them apart: watch the elbow angle and your chest at the same time. If the arm straightens first, the pin on the wrist or the forearm position is the problem; if your chest rises first, the base is.
Adjustment: pin the wrist firmly to the mat before threading, and thread close to the elbow. If uke straightens anyway, that straight arm may suit juji-gatame; see section 7. Assess: five entries against the same slow straightening push; count how many keep the bend.
“I can’t get my arm under theirs.”
Possible causes: uke’s elbow is already close to the mat or the ribs; your chest is too far toward the hips, so uke’s upper arm is under your body; or you are trying from too far away and reaching.
Tell them apart: look at the space under uke’s elbow. No space means the opening isn’t there; space that you can’t reach means your position is wrong.
Adjustment: if the space exists, move your chest slightly toward uke’s head while keeping contact, then thread. If it does not, keep the pin and wait for uke to push. Assess: in a short round, record attempts started without space versus with space; the first category should fall to zero.
“Uke turns toward me and the twist disappears.”
Possible causes: you lifted your chest to free both hands; your near-side base drifted so uke’s hips can turn; or the rotation itself was fast enough to provoke a turn.
Tell them apart: film from uke’s feet. If uke’s hips turn first, the base is the issue; if the shoulder turns first as the arm rotates, the speed or the chest is.
Adjustment: keep the side-hold base and chest weight unchanged while the arms work; if you cannot reach without lifting, the lock is not available from that position. Assess: uke attempts the same slow turn on each repetition; record whether the chest alone stopped it.
“Uke feels it in the wrist.”
Possible causes: the threading arm is under the forearm; your pinning hand is bending uke’s hand rather than holding the wrist; or the figure-four has slipped down uke’s arm during the twist.
Tell them apart: freeze and let the coach see which contact moved.
Adjustment: release, rebuild with the forearm near the elbow and the hand on the wrist itself. Do not continue a twist that loads the wrist. Assess: uke reports the sensation location on the first minimal rotation of every repetition.
“Nothing happens when I twist.”
Possible causes: uke’s elbow is flat on the mat and not lifting; the bend has opened; or uke has gripped their own judogi or belt with the hand, so the arm cannot rotate.
Tell them apart: check the elbow height, the elbow angle and uke’s hand in that order.
Adjustment: address the one identified cause. If uke has connected the hand to their own body, keep the pin and treat the defence as a separate problem for your coach; do not try to rip the grip open. Assess: slow rotations from a coach-checked shape; record whether the first sensation arrives at all and where.
“I get the lock and lose the hold-down.”
Possible causes: you treat the lock as the end of the exchange; your legs leave their base as you concentrate on the arms; or you release the pin when uke defends.
Tell them apart: after each attempt, note whether uke was still on the back.
Adjustment: make “uke still pinned” part of success: an attempt that ends with uke on the side counts as a lost position, not a near miss. Assess: over a set, count attempts that ended in a lock, in a maintained pin, or in an escape.
07 / ENTRIES & COMBINATIONS
Read the bend of the arm you are offered
Every route here begins with a hold you already control and ends, if the arm is not right, in that same hold. They are editorial practice patterns, not descriptions of the linked videos.
HOLD-DOWN TO LOCK
Yoko-shiho-gatame → ude-garami on the far arm
Start: you hold yoko-shiho-gatame from uke’s right side. Partner response: uke brings the left arm up and pushes at your head or far shoulder with the elbow bent. Next action: keeping your chest down, your head-side hand catches uke’s left wrist and pins it to the mat beside uke’s head; your other arm threads under the upper arm to complete the entanglement. Stop or reset: if uke’s elbow drops back to the ribs before you thread, give up the arm and keep the hold; if uke uses your reach to turn in, re-establish the pin first.
BENT ARM ↔ STRAIGHT ARM
Ude-garami ↔ juji-gatame
Start: you have pinned uke’s left wrist and are threading for ude-garami. Partner response: uke defends by straightening the arm forcefully. Next action: the straight arm no longer suits ude-garami but may suit juji-gatame, which works on an extended elbow. Juji-gatame is defined from the side of the attacked arm, so this means moving around to uke’s left side: a long transition, only if your coach has taught it. The reverse also happens: an uke defending juji-gatame by bending the arm may offer a bent arm, but from the juji-gatame position it is not this guide’s reference shape, so treat it as a separate coached route. Stop or reset: if the switch would cost the pin, keep the pin.
AFTER THE LOCK FAILS
Ude-garami → kesa-gatame or kami-shiho-gatame
Start: your entanglement on uke’s left arm is in place, but uke bridges and begins to turn toward you. Partner response: uke’s left shoulder leaves the mat, which takes the twist out of the arm; continuing to rotate a turning shoulder is not safe. Next action: release the arm in the release sequence first, then follow the turn into a hold your coach has taught from that angle, such as kesa-gatame if you end beside uke’s head-and-arm, or kami-shiho-gatame if you end above the head. Stop or reset: if uke reaches the knees, the agreed round may end there; do not chase the arm behind uke’s back unless the inward form from that position has been taught.
ASTRIDE HOLD TO LOCK
Tate-shiho-gatame → ude-garami
Start: astride uke in tate-shiho-gatame. Partner response: uke pushes at your chest or shoulder with a bent arm. Next action: pin that wrist and lower your chest toward uke as taught so the entanglement can be made without giving up the astride position. Stop or reset: if uke bridges as your weight shifts, return to the hold rather than finishing a twist while being rolled.
08 / DEFENCES & ESCAPES
Keep the elbow home and do not wait for pain
The bottom player faces two problems at once: the hold and the arm. Each defence below works on one of the lock’s two requirements — a bent arm with space under the elbow, and a chest pin that stops uke turning — and each has a cost.
Prevention: elbows close to the body
Under a side hold, a push with the elbow lifted away from the ribs is the main opening; frames with the elbow close to your body leave no space to thread.
Defence during the entry
Before the entanglement is completed, pulling the elbow back to the ribs or straightening the arm can remove the bent-arm shape; the second may expose the arm to juji-gatame instead. Connecting your hands to each other or to your own body, as taught, can stop the rotation, but it is a delay rather than an escape.
Escape: make the twist unnecessary
The routes that work reduce the rotation rather than resisting it: turning toward tori, or bridging to lift the pinned shoulder, as your coach shows. Each needs tori’s chest to be loose. Against a settled pin and an entangled arm, the right decision is to tap.
Counter exposure for tori
A tori who lifts the chest to free both hands gives the bottom player the space to turn in or come to the knees: the main tactical cost of ude-garami (problem 6 in section 6).
09 / TRANSITIONS FROM HOLDS
Which hold offers which bent arm
Ude-garami usually comes from a hold that uke is trying to escape. Use this map with the hold-down guides; it is a study aid, not an exhaustive list.
| Starting hold | Bent arm that may appear | What must stay in place |
|---|---|---|
| Yoko-shiho-gatame | Far arm pushing at your head or shoulder (reference form, outward twist) | Chest across uke; hip control so the knee cannot return |
| Kesa-gatame | Far arm pushing at your face or reaching over your back | Head-side control and the held near arm; a base that resists the bridge |
| Kuzure-kesa-gatame | Far arm reaching around you | Near-arm control and chest connection |
| Kata-gatame | Rarely an opening: uke’s near arm is already trapped against the head in the hold | The hold itself; a lock attempt usually means giving it up |
| Tate-shiho-gatame | Either arm pushing at your chest with the elbow bent | Your weight over the upper body and your leg position |
| Kami-shiho-gatame | An arm pushing at your hips or shoulders | Upper-body pressure from the head end |
Choosing between the pin and the lock
Every row poses the same decision: is the lock worth the risk to the hold? Weigh how settled the hold is, whether the arm is offered or must be pried loose, and what the round is for. In a positional round whose task is “keep the pin”, a lock attempt that loosens the chest is a wrong decision even if it would have worked.
For holds outside the table, such as ushiro-kesa-gatame or kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame, ask the same three questions before reaching: is the free arm bent, is there space under its elbow, and can your chest stay where it is while both your arms go to it? Those guides keep their arm control as part of the hold, not as a lock; a route from them into ude-garami is one for your coach to teach.
After the lock
On a tap, release and reset in practice. If uke escapes the twist but stays on the back, you are still in, or close to, a hold-down: re-establish it. If uke turns to the side or knees, the next task is top control or a reset, not a second twist from a worse position. See the ne-waza drills guide for broader session design.
10 / PRACTICE PROGRESSION
From a still arm to a decision under the pin
Advance when the criterion is met with the coach watching; progress means control, decisions and clean releases, not taps.
Entanglement without rotation
Uke lies in the reference position with the left arm bent beside the head. Tori keeps the side hold and builds the wrist pin and the threaded arm with no twist. Uke tests a slow straightening push, a pull to the ribs and a turn. Criterion: all three are stopped with the chest still connected.
Minimal rotation to first signal
From the checked shape, tori rotates in small steps; uke reports the location and taps at the first clear sensation; tori runs the release sequence. The coach may call “hold”. Criterion: sensation never arrives in the wrist, and every tap brings immediate release.
Entry from the hold with one defence
Start in yoko-shiho-gatame. Uke pushes with the bent left arm; tori enters. Uke then chooses one agreed defence: elbow to ribs or straightening the arm. Tori completes the entanglement slowly or declines and keeps the pin. Criterion: tori never rotates once the bend is lost, and uke is still pinned at the end of every declined attempt.
Pin-first rounds
Short rounds from yoko-shiho-gatame. The top player’s task is to keep the hold; ude-garami may be attempted only on a bent arm with space, and an attempt that lets uke reach the side or knees counts as a lost round even if uke tapped. The bottom player tries to escape and may offer bent pushes deliberately. Tap or any loss of control ends the round. Criterion: over a set of rounds, the top player keeps the hold through most attempts, and the coach sees no rotation started after the bend was lost.
Free ne-waza randori including locks comes after stage 4, once the coach judges the release habit dependable and confirms eligibility.
11 / COMPETITION REPLAYS
Two IJF replay leads and the limits of a tag
We checked two IJF technique-library entries on October 10, 2026. Each shows a contest tagged ude-garami on an athlete’s page, not what happened in it.
Umeki vs Derks, Baku Grand Slam 2025
The IJF page headed “Ude-garami by UMEKI Mami” lists the Baku Grand Slam 2025 contest between Mami Umeki (JPN, white) and Lieke Derks (NED, blue) under the ude-garami tag.
Abe vs Iraoui, Zagreb Grand Prix 2022
The IJF page headed “Ude-garami by ABE Uta” lists the Zagreb Grand Prix 2022 contest between Uta Abe (JPN, white) and Soumiya Iraoui (MAR, blue) under the same tag.
Verified: page titles, events, pairings and tags; each title credits the tagged action to the athlete it names. Not verified: the direction of twist, the score or result, the timestamp, the preceding position and any tactics. We have not watched the footage and describe none of it.
Viewing questions specific to ude-garami
- Shape and direction: does uke’s hand start beside the head and slide toward the hips (this guide’s reference form), or is it low, toward the hip or behind the back (the other direction)?
- Pin: was uke held in a recognisable hold-down when the arm was entangled, and did that hold survive the attempt?
- Bend: did uke’s elbow stay bent throughout, or did uke try to straighten it?
- Origin: did the arm come from a push, a reach around tori, or a scramble?
- Ending: how quickly did the action stop after the signal, and what position followed?
Record only what the camera shows; elite replays reflect that event’s rules, not your division’s.
12 / VARIATIONS & COMPARISONS
Outward, inward and the straight-arm locks
The two directions in the IJF definition
Reference form (labelled outward here): uke’s bent arm lies with the hand beside the head; the rotation moves the hand along the mat toward the hips while the elbow lifts. This is the version this guide has described. Which of the two shapes the IJF wording calls “outside” is not stated in the definition; check the term your coach and the Kodokan demonstration use.
The other direction (labelled inward here): uke’s bent arm is turned the other way, with the hand moving toward uke’s hip or behind the back. It typically appears when uke’s arm is near the hip or reaching around tori. The rotation acts in the opposite direction on the shoulder and elbow, the escape routes differ and the release must reverse the rotation. Learn it as its own lesson from your coach; the outward-form cues above do not transfer automatically, and this page does not describe its grip in detail.
Ude-garami compared with other arm locks
| Technique | Arm shape | What does the work | Typical opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ude-garami | Bent | Both of tori’s arms entangle one arm and twist it | A bent arm with space under the elbow, often from a side hold |
| Ude-hishigi-juji-gatame | Straight | Thighs trap the upper arm; extension over tori’s hips | An extended arm while tori can bring the hips to the shoulder |
| Ude-hishigi-ude-gatame | Straight | Tori’s arms act on the elbow without a leg trap | A straight arm pushed across tori |
The third row is a name-level summary from the Kodokan list. For ude-garami practice the message is simple: when the bend goes, so does this lock.
Informal labels: “figure-four” describes the grip shape and is also used for unrelated techniques; keylock and similar names come from other grappling systems and may not say which direction is twisted. Write the direction and the starting hold in your notes instead.
13 / YOUR NEXT PRACTICE
One session: keep the pin while the arms work
Task: with your coach’s agreement, run stage 3: enter from yoko-shiho-gatame on uke’s bent left arm, uke choosing between pulling the elbow to the ribs and straightening the arm. Rotation, if any, is slow and stops at the first tap.
- Situation
- Yoko-shiho-gatame from uke’s right side; uke pushes with the bent left arm.
- My focus
- Chest stays on uke’s chest from the wrist pin to the release.
- What I noticed
- Did I lift to reach? Did the bend survive? Which defence did uke choose, and did I decline correctly?
- Coach question
- “When I lose the arm, is it the wrist pin, where I thread, or my chest?”
- Next decision
- Keep the task, return to entanglement without rotation, or add the juji-gatame branch.
A worked review record
Illustrative example, not measured training data: “Eight entries. Uke pulled the elbow to the ribs four times; I declined three and kept the pin, and once I lifted to chase it and uke turned in. Uke straightened twice and both times I kept twisting a nearly straight arm until the coach stopped me. Next session: say ‘bent or straight?’ before every rotation.”
The record shows a decision problem as well as a mechanical one, and logs the coach’s stop as information. Log it in the practice-log template or with Judo AI and start the next session from the same question.
14 / SOURCES & REVIEW
Sources, authorship and review
- Kodokan: Names of Judo Techniques — official name and kansetsu-waza classification.
- IJF: Ude-garami definition and technique library — definition quoted in section 1; checked October 10, 2026.
- KODOKAN: 腕緘 / Ude-garami and welcomematstevescott: Ude Garami using your hands & arms to form the armlock — identity, publisher, date, length and publisher description verified; not transcribed or analysed.
- IJF replay selections: Umeki and Abe — listing and tag only.
By Judo AI · Editorial review: October 10, 2026; independent editorial review pass the same day. The essentials (both arms, one entangled arm, a twist to the outside or inside, elbow control) come from the IJF definition. The chest pin, figure-four connection, slide-and-lift movement and the mapping of the reference shape to the word “outward” are editorial readings of commonly taught practice, flagged for coach confirmation against the Kodokan demonstration. Drills, diagnoses and criteria are editorial proposals, not a validated programme. Named technical-coach review is pending.
Rules and safety scope: a study guide for supervised judo, not a refereeing manual. No current-rules review has been completed; check current IJF and event rules, plus age-group and grade restrictions, with your coach before using kansetsu-waza in randori or shiai. Tap means immediate release.