Judo Ne Waza - 6 Basic Positions

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Matt_D'aquino]Matt D'aquino
There are 6 basic pins used in Judo in order to control your opponent on the ground. These techniques are called Osaekomi Waza. In a Judo competition you can pin your opponent for 20-25 seconds in order to win the fight. The 6 basics hold downs in Judo are
- Kesa Gatame
- Kuzure Kesa Gatame
- Mune Gatame
- Tate Shiho Gatame
- Ushiro Kesa Gatame
- Kami Shiho Gatame
If you can get very good at controlling your opponent when you are on top you will have a really good chance of not only winning the match, but also going for a submission such as an arm bar or strangle.
Kesa Gatame (Scarf Hold)
Kesa Gatame is a position you find yourself in after throwing your opponent with forward techniques, for example throws such as Harai Goshi, Uchimata and Koshi Guruma. In the scarf hold, your arm is wrapped under your opponents head, and your left armpit should control your opponents arm with your left hand clasping their elbow. Your legs should be splayed like the picture above. This will stop your back leg from getting wrapped by your opponents' leg, while your other leg is set up as a post in case your opponent tries to bridge and roll you. Your head should not be too far back, or too far forward. If your head is too far back, it will be hooked by your opponents' leg in an attempt to escape. If your head is too far forward, you may give away too much weight in that direction and be swept.
Kuzure Kesa Gatame (Broken Scarf Hold)
Kuzure Kesa Gatame is a position you may end up in if you have just thrown your opponent. In this position your right arm has under hooked your opponents' right arm and your right hand will rest on your opponents' right shoulder. This hand is used to post if your opponent bucks that direction. Your left armpit should control your opponents arm with your left hand clasping their elbow.
Your legs should be splayed like the picture below in a way to stop your back leg getting wrapped by your opponents' leg and your other leg is designed as a post if your opponent tries to bridge and roll you.
Your head should be neutral. This is due to the fact that if your head is too far back it will be hooked by your opponents' leg in an attempt to escape and if your head is too far forward you may give away too much weight in that direction and be swept.
Mune Gatame (Side Control)
Mune Gatame is one of the main position in any sort of grappling. The arm underneath your opponents head is designed to control the head. Your shoulder should control your opponents chin and make sure that it is pointing in the opposite direction. This will make your opponents' job of pulling guard a lot more difficult.
Your right arm shoulder be under hooking your opponents' right arm to prevent that shoulder getting off the mat and turning towards you. Your chest should be on the side of your opponents ribs. Not on top of theirs as the sternum is your opponents' strongest part and won't have any impact on their breathing. By having your chest on the side of the chest will impair your opponents breathing when in competition.
Your knees should be blocking your opponents' hip to prevent them from pulling guard. If you must move your knee from blocking the hip replace it first with a hand before removing it from blocking. This will further control your opponents guard pulling attempts. If your knee is not there, replace it with your right hand.
Tate Shiho Gatame (Mount)
Tate Shiho Gatame is one of the best positions to get into when grappling on the ground, and is regarded as a position of dominance. While in mount your knees should be tight against your opponents' hips, and you can even control the position further by wrapping your feet around your opponents' legs. Your hands should be posting on the ground, on either side of your opponents head to stop them bridging and rolling. Be sure not to wrap your opponents head, as this means you have given up a base and you may be swept.
One of the advantages of being in Tate Shiho Gatame is that your opponent can feel claustrophobic, and can fatigue quite quickly as all of your weight is on them. You can use this to make your opponent feel dominated, and to make them give up an arm or their back long enough for you to capture a rear naked choke.
Ushiro Kesa Gatame (Reverse Scarf Hold)
Ushiro Kesa Gatame is a position you will find yourself in if you are looking at advancing position to Tate Shiho Gatame from Mune Gatame. My left elbow is squeezing my opponents head to my left hip. Controlling your opponents head will restrict their defensive movements. My right arm is controlling my opponents' right arm, and my left knee is blocking my opponents' hip to stop any guard pulling attempts.
Kami Shiho Gatame (North/South)
Kami Shiho Gatame is a very tough position to escape from. When in Kami Shiho Gatame, both of your arms are underneath your opponents arms, with your opponents' head being controlled by your hips driving into it. You may either be on your knees when in Kami Shiho Gatame, or sprawled onto your stomach. In each position, controlling your opponents head is critical to holding position.
Author: Matt D'Aquino http://www.workoutsforjudo.com/
Matt is the founder of Beyond Grappling fitness and conditioning. He is a 2008 Beijing Judo Olympian as well as nationally ranked freestyle wrestler and National Champion in Brazilian Jujitsu. Matt has a passion for teaching all aspects of grappling especially the fitness and conditioning aspect. Recently he has been traveling the world aiming to qualify for his second Olympic Games. To learn more about Matt and his fitness and conditioning training visit http://www.workoutsforjudo.com/
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