by Neil Ohlenkamp
The Kodokan Judo technique Ude Hishigi Juji Gatame is commonly called jujigatame, or cross armlock. It gets its name from the position of the person doing the technique (tori) across the opponent's body. It is one of the most effective armlocks in judo, and it is consistently the number one winning armlock used in international judo competition. It is equally effective when used for self-defense, and the technique is included in many modern and traditional jujutsu systems. It is particularly powerful because tori is using the entire body, including the strength of the legs and hips, to control the person receiving the technique (uke) and to apply tremendous pressure to the straightened arm. For this reason it can be done against much larger or stronger opponents without difficulty. For the same reason it is also potentially dangerous and should only be practiced with proper safety precautions and instruction.
There are many variations of jujigatame done from different positions and angles, and numerous entries to the armlock from various opportunities. These include variations done from the back when uke is approaching from between the legs, turnovers from the hands and knees position, and the flying jujigatame done from the standing position. The basic version shown below was included in the kata of Kodokan Judo grappling techniques (katame-no-kata) by the founder of judo, Jigoro Kano. It is shown below by Neil Ohlenkamp, rokudan, on Jerrod Wilson, sankyu.
1. Beginning in the most common position gained after completing a
successful throw, tori drops his right knee onto uke to begin
controlling him and to prevent him from turning towards tori. The
left knee can also be used for this purpose on the head. Both hands
control uke's arm with one forearm placed on uke's elbow.
2. Tori begins to get better control of uke's arm by squatting, and
pulling uke's elbow tightly onto tori's stomach or chest. Tori also
places his left foot over uke's head so that uke will not be able to
sit up.
3. Tori sits down very close to uke's shoulder so that uke's arm is
still controlled by tori's body. Uke's elbow must be on tori's
abdomen in the final position, so sitting close under the elbow is
essential. Tori pulls uke's elbow strongly with his right
forearm.
4. Tori begins to lean back keeping constant pressure on uke's arm
and squeezing the knees together to control the shoulder. Using the
legs, tori should be able to keep uke down even without applying the
joint-lock pressure. At this point tori makes sure that uke's thumb
is pointing up so that the pressure will be applied towards the
little finger side of the arm.
5. In the final position uke taps to submit from the pain in the
elbow joint. The submission should come immediately when the arm is
fully extended. For additional pressure tori can lift his hips by
bridging, but this must be done slowly and carefully because it may
result in dislocating the elbow.
6. Tori's hand position can vary from the standard position with both
hands grabbing uke's wrist. In this version tori has his arms crossed
with the forearms controlling uke's wrist. This is useful when uke is
fighting the arm extension and tori needs to use the power of his
body to pull.
7. Another common version of this technique is done with both legs
placed over uke to further limit his ability to roll up onto
tori.
8. A strong variation is to cross the right foot over the left and to
pull in with the feet. This will help to control uke's left arm, and
to prevent uke from pushing tori's left leg off his head in an escape
attempt.
There are many opportunities for applying this armbar while
grappling, but the key is always to control the opponent's body, and
particularly the elbow, throughout the application of jujigatame.