Ude Hishigi Hiza GatameHow it works and how to improve it

01 / AT A GLANCE

A straight-arm lock where the knee is the lever

Ude-hishigi-hiza-gatame, usually shortened to hiza-gatame, is the knee arm lock. The Kodokan’s official list of 100 techniques places it fourth of the ten kansetsu-waza (joint locks) in katame-waza, and it is one of the five joint locks in the Kodokan’s Katame-no-kata. The IJF technique library gives the English label “knee lock” and this definition: “A lock. Pin your opponent’s left armpit using your left hand, at the same time press your knee against his elbow joint to control it.” Two things in that sentence are fixed: the target is the elbow joint, and the tool that presses it is tori’s knee.

The IJF sentence names the left side for the armpit and hand but not which knee or which of uke’s arms. We quote it exactly and do not reconstruct a fuller version. What is not in doubt is the class of the technique: hiza is the knee, and the knee pressing on an elbow that the upper body has already fixed is what separates this lock from the other ude-hishigi techniques. Pressure that arrives at the shoulder, the wrist or the neck is a sign the position has drifted, not a variation.

Names you will meet: hiza-gatame, ude-hishigi-hiza-gatame, “knee lock” (IJF) and “knee armlock”. Do not confuse it with hiza-guruma, the knee-wheel foot sweep; the shared word is only the knee. “Armbar” is used loosely for several judo locks and does not identify this one.

Who this guide is for: judoka who already do supervised ne-waza, can fall and tap safely, and have been shown at least one other arm lock by a coach. The section 4 safety box applies to every drill on this page.

02 / WATCH THE TECHNIQUE

The official clip, then the same lock inside the kata

This is the official Kodokan–IJF Academy demonstration. We checked its identity and publisher with YouTube’s oEmbed record and looked at sampled frames during playback; we did not analyse it frame by frame. What the sampled frames show at a general level: the pair begin kneeling face to face with grips, tori goes to the back, and in the locking frames uke is bent forward over tori with an arm reaching across tori’s upper body while tori’s leg works against that arm; the sequence is then shown again from the kneeling start. Watch it with these questions:

1. Where is uke’s wrist once tori is on the back: held against tori’s chest, under the armpit, or still free?
2. What does tori’s other leg do before the knee arrives? Look for a foot on uke’s hip or thigh and ask what it stops uke doing.
3. Which side of the elbow does tori’s knee contact: the outside (away from uke’s body) or the inside?
4. How much does tori’s body turn as the knee presses? Is the pressure made by the leg alone or by the hips rotating?

The publisher’s description lists the whole kata in order; Ude-hishigi-hiza-gatame is the fourth of the five kansetsu-waza, after ude-garami, juji-gatame and ude-gatame and before ashi-garami. We have not located or timed the hiza-gatame segment in playback, so find it by following the publisher’s order. Kata is a formal, pre-arranged demonstration, so it is the place to study the sequence — how uke’s attack is received, where tori’s foot goes, when the knee arrives — not the pace or the resistance you will meet in randori. Compare the kata’s placement of the hip-side foot with the 100 Techniques clip and note any difference for your coach.

03 / WHEN TO APPLY IT

The opening is an arm reaching into you while you are underneath

Hiza-gatame is most at home when tori is on the back and uke is in front, kneeling or bent forward, pushing or gripping with a straight or nearly straight arm. Three questions decide whether the opening is real: Can the wrist be clamped to your chest so it cannot slide out? Can your hips turn enough that your knee reaches the outside of that elbow? Can your other foot hold uke’s hips away so uke cannot step around or drive the elbow down? If one answer is no, keep working for position.

Uke reaches for your collar or pushes on your chest

When uke kneels between or beside your legs and drives a right hand into your lapel, chest or belt to pin you, the arm is extended toward you and its wrist is within reach of your left arm. The longer the reach, the less uke can bend the elbow quickly. This is the reference opening for this guide.

Uke posts a hand to keep balance

If you pull uke forward from underneath and uke puts the right hand on the mat or on your body to stop falling, that post is a straight arm close to your hip. Whether you can trap it depends on how quickly the wrist reaches your chest; a hand planted on the mat away from you is not yet a trapped wrist.

When the lock is not available

If uke’s elbow is bent and tucked to the ribs, if uke is upright with the weight back on the heels, or if uke has already moved past your foot to your side, the knee has no straight arm to work against. A bent arm reaching across you may suit ude-garami; an arm you can bring between your thighs with your hips at the shoulder suits juji-gatame. Hiza-gatame from a face-down uke, kneeling on the elbow, is a separately coached variation (section 12) and not the reference form here.

04 / HOW IT WORKS

Fix the wrist, set the angle, then let the knee press

The lock has three jobs. The upper body fixes uke’s wrist so the forearm cannot withdraw or rotate. The hip-side leg sets the distance and angle so the elbow sits where the knee can reach it. The knee then presses against the elbow joint. If the knee moves before the wrist is fixed, uke simply bends the arm.

What is definitional and what is not: the IJF definition fixes a left-hand and left-armpit control and knee pressure on the elbow joint. Everything below — which knee, the foot on the hip, the wrist clamped to the chest, the rotation of tori’s body — is commonly taught detail written for our right-arm convention and flagged for confirmation against the Kodokan demonstration.

1. Wrist clamped under the left arm

   Your left arm wraps over uke’s right forearm and pins it against your chest, so uke’s wrist and hand sit at or past your left armpit. The clamp, not your grip strength, holds the arm. Check: uke tries to pull the hand back toward their own body. If the forearm slides more than a little, your arm is wrapped too low on the forearm or your elbow is away from your ribs.

2. Right foot on the left hip

   Your right sole rests on uke’s left hip crease or thigh. It does two things: it holds uke’s hips away so the trapped arm stays long, and it lets you turn your hips toward uke’s right side without uke following. Check: uke tries to step or walk the knees around toward your right side. If uke’s hips arrive at your side, the foot was not active.

3. Hips turn toward the trapped arm

   With the wrist clamped and the foot set, your hips turn a little toward your left so your left knee can come up beside uke’s right elbow. The turn comes from the hips rolling on the mat, not from bending the trapped arm toward you. Check: after the turn, is uke’s elbow level with your left knee or above it? If it is below, the knee will pass under the elbow.

4. Knee on the outside of the elbow

   Your left knee, or the inside of the thigh just above it, rests against the outside of uke’s right elbow — the side away from uke’s body — just above the joint. The IJF wording is “press your knee against his elbow joint”; contact on the forearm or the upper arm moves the lever away from the joint. Check: at zero pressure, the coach looks at the contact point. On the forearm, slide the clamp up; on the upper arm, change the hip turn.

5. Wrist orientation

   The knee acts on the elbow only if the elbow’s bending direction faces away from the knee, so the arm cannot simply fold around it. Many coaches describe this as the little-finger edge of uke’s hand turned up, but the exact rotation is a coach-set detail. Check: before any pressure, uke tries to bend the arm around your knee. If it bends easily, the wrist is rotated wrongly or the clamp has loosened.

6. Slow pressure from the leg and hips

   Pressure comes from your knee drawing gradually toward the mat on your right side while the clamp keeps the wrist still, helped by a small further turn of the hips. It never comes from a kick of the knee or a jerk of the clamped arm. Check: the coach watches uke’s elbow: it should straighten progressively and stop the instant you are told to hold.

Release is part of the mechanics

On a tap, a spoken “stop” or any sign of pain, take the knee off the elbow first, then unturn the hips, then open the arm clamp and lower the hip-side foot. Opening the clamp while the knee still presses can leave the elbow loaded at the moment it becomes free to move. Rehearse the full order on every repetition, including cooperative ones.

05 / KEY POINTS

Four cues about sequence and contact

Section 4 checks each piece while still. These cues check the order and the contact during a live entry. Use one cue per set; none needs pressure on the elbow.

1. Clamp before foot

   Uke’s wrist is pinned to your chest before your right foot moves to the hip. Check: the observer calls which arrived first. Foot first usually means uke felt the angle change and pulled the arm.

2. Foot before knee

   The hip-side foot is set and pushing lightly before the left knee rises. Check: watch uke’s left knee on the mat. If it moves toward your side while your knee is rising, the foot was late.

3. Knee on the joint, not the forearm

   First contact lands on the outside of the elbow. Check: uke names where the knee is touching before any pressure — forearm, elbow or upper arm. Only “elbow” continues.

4. Release knee-first

   Knee off, hips unturn, clamp open, foot down. Check: on the coach’s “release” call, does the knee leave the elbow before the left arm opens?

If a cue fails twice in a set, go back to the static build (stage 1 in section 10). In this lock most pressure problems are wrist or angle problems that showed up late.

06 / PROBLEMS & ADJUSTMENTS

Why the knee misses or the arm escapes

Diagnose from the first thing that went wrong, not from the failed finish; each entry is a hypothesis to test with your coach.

07 / ENTRIES & COMBINATIONS

Let uke’s reach decide the route

These are editorial practice patterns for supervised training, not descriptions of the linked videos. Each states where the lock is abandoned.

Record two facts for every attempt: whether the clamp was set before you lay back, and whether your foot stayed on the hip until the knee arrived. These two usually explain the outcome.

08 / DEFENCES & ESCAPES

Keep the elbow in, keep the hips moving, tap early

Each defence removes one condition from section 4: the clamped wrist, the hip-side foot, the hip turn or the knee on the outside of the elbow.

Prevention: do not reach with a long arm

From the top, gripping or pushing with the elbow away from your body offers the arm. Keeping the elbows close and gripping with bent arms leaves tori no straight lever.

Early defence: free the wrist before the knee arrives

While only the clamp exists, uke can bend the elbow and draw the hand back toward their own chest, or turn the hand so the elbow faces down. Once the knee is in place on the outside of the elbow, these actions are no longer safe.

Escape: take away the angle

Stepping the knees around toward tori’s side, so the hips pass tori’s foot, removes the angle the knee needs. Bringing the weight forward over a bent arm, keeping the elbow behind tori’s knee, does the same. Both need the arm still bent.

Counter exposure for tori

Tori is on the back with one leg committed to the knee. If uke escapes the arm and passes the foot, uke may reach a hold-down. That is why section 7 makes guard recovery the first branch after a miss.

09 / TRANSITIONS & FOLLOW-UPS

What changes when the knee is not enough

Hiza-gatame starts from underneath, so its continuations are about keeping uke in front of you and, if the lock fails, not giving up a hold-down. The table maps uke’s reaction to the position you are left in. It is a study map, not a list of guaranteed sequences.

From top-side holds

Hiza-gatame can also be studied from above, as a kneeling variant, when uke under a hold-down such as yoko-shiho-gatame or kesa-gatame straightens an arm to push and you can trap the wrist against your body while your knee comes onto the elbow. That form leaves the pin to make the lock, so the trade must be deliberate: if uke turns onto the side as you rise, return to the hold. Treat this route as coach-taught, not as the reference form.

After the lock: name the position

When an attempt ends, name what you have: uke still in front (reset), uke at your side (defend), or uke on the back near you (pursue a hold your coach has taught). That habit stops you holding onto an arm while the position is lost. For broader ne-waza session design, see the ne-waza drills guide.

10 / PRACTICE PROGRESSION

From a static build to positional rounds from underneath

Advance only when the criterion is met with the coach watching; progression is gated by control and release, not by finishes.

1. Static build, no pressure

   Uke kneels in front with the right arm on your lapel. You clamp, set the foot, turn and place the knee, then stop. Uke tests one pull, one walk-around and one bend. Criterion: all three stopped by the structure, with the knee touching the outside of the elbow and no pressure applied.

2. Slow pressure to the first signal

   From the checked build, press in small stages; uke taps at the first clear elbow sensation and you run the release order. The coach may call “hold” at any stage. Criterion: every tap produces immediate release, and uke reports the elbow, never the wrist or shoulder.

3. Entry from a grip with one reaction

   Start kneeling with grips. You sit back into the clamp; uke chooses one agreed reaction: pulling the arm, or a slow walk-around. You either complete the build and press slowly, or abandon and recover the guard. Criterion: you never press through an arm that has bent, and every abandonment leaves uke in front of you.

4. Positional rounds from underneath

   Short rounds: you start on your back, uke kneels in front and tries to pass to a hold. You may frame, recover the guard or attempt hiza-gatame when the arm is offered. A tap or a completed pass ends the round. Criterion: in most rounds your attempts match the section 7 read, and no attempt starts without the clamp, judged by the coach.

Free ne-waza randori with this lock comes after stage 4, once the coach judges the release habit reliable and confirms eligibility.

11 / COMPETITION REPLAYS

Official replay leads, and their limits

We checked these IJF technique-library pages on October 14, 2026. Each is a replay lead: the contest appears under the hiza-gatame tag; what happened in it is not verified, and we have not watched the footage.

Munkhbat Urantsetseg (MGL): three tagged contests

The IJF technique page lists Urantsetseg Munkhbat as the athlete most associated with the tag, and the IJF page headed “Hiza-gatame by MUNKHBAT Urantsetseg” lists three contests: against Catarina Costa at the World Championships Seniors Baku 2018, against Guan Huanmin at the Paris Grand Slam 2018, and against Milica Nikolic at the Grand Slam Paris 2016.

Akdeniz vs Yergaliyeva, Antalya Grand Slam 2024

The IJF page headed “Hiza-gatame on Antalya Grand Slam 2024” lists a contest between Minel Akdeniz and Samalay Yergaliyeva. This event page does not state which athlete performed the tagged action.

Verified: page titles, events, pairings and tags. Not verified: who scored on the event page, whether a score resulted, the time in the contest, the preceding position and any tactics.

Viewing questions to take to the replays

1. Origin: was the athlete applying the lock underneath, on the side, or above a turtled opponent?
2. Clamp: how was the wrist held — against the chest, under the armpit, or with the hands?
3. Knee: did the knee arrive on the outside of the elbow, or was the elbow pressed against the mat?
4. Defence: did the opponent try to pull the arm, bend it or move around the legs?
5. Ending: how quickly did the referee stop the action and the athlete release?

Record only what the camera shows; mark the rest “not visible”. Elite footage reflects that event’s rules, not your division’s.

12 / VARIATIONS & COMPARISONS

Hiza-gatame among the straight-arm locks

The Kodokan list names the ude-hishigi locks separately by what acts on the elbow. That is the quickest way to tell them apart.

Where the table goes beyond the IJF definitions, it summarises what the names indicate; study each lock from its own guide and official demonstration.

Variations within hiza-gatame

From underneath (this guide’s reference) uses the hip-side foot for angle. From above against a face-down or turtled uke, tori kneels so the knee rests on the back of the elbow while the wrist is lifted; secondary sources describe this form, but we have not verified it against an official demonstration, so learn it only from your coach. Kata form, as shown in Katame-no-kata, is pre-arranged and teaches sequence. If the knee is no longer what loads the elbow — for example the hands do the work while the knee only pins — you may have moved into ude-gatame; name the lock you are actually doing.