Cross armlock

Cross armlock is the literal English translation of the Japanese juji gatame — the configuration in which the attacker’s body lies perpendicular to the opponent’s trapped arm.

Etymology. The term is the direct rendering of juji (cross) + gatame (hold/lock) into English. It persists in older judo translation conventions — particularly in mid-20th-century British and American judo coaching literature, where translators preferred a literal “cross armlock” over the looser “armbar” used by wrestlers and later by BJJ. The term coexists in modern usage with “armbar” and “juji gatame,” with the literal translation typically appearing in judo-adjacent contexts where the writer wants to flag the technique’s judo lineage without using the Japanese.

Mechanics. The configuration isolates the elbow from the body’s defensive system and loads the joint against its natural range — the hips provide the fulcrum, the legs control the secondary structures, and the extended arm reaches structural failure as the elbow approaches full hyperextension.

Cross-reference. Wrestlers and English-speaking no-gi grapplers prefer “armbar.” Judoka use juji gatame. Full mechanical coverage on Armbar.