Alias · Kimura system
Figure-four armlock
Also known as Kimura — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: descriptive — named for the grip shape
Descriptive — figure-four grip configuration on the trapped arm
Figure-four armlock is the descriptive geometric name for the kimura — the shoulder-rotation lock in which the attacker’s two-hand grip on the opponent’s wrist and the figure-four wrap of the attacker’s other arm around the trapped limb produce the closed figure-four shape that defines the technique.
Etymology. The “figure-four” descriptor flags the geometric shape of the gripping arms: one hand on the opponent’s wrist, the second hand reinforcing it via a figure-four wrap around the opponent’s own arm. The “armlock” suffix marks the submission category. The label predates the “kimura” name and is older than the BJJ-lineage Japanese-rendered name; it remains current in catch-wrestling-adjacent no-gi contexts and in older instructional material that prefers geometric descriptions to person-named or lineage-tied labels.
Mechanics. The figure-four grip isolates the target arm by closing the figure-four wrap and then rotates the humerus against the natural range of internal/external rotation in the glenohumeral joint — the elbow’s bent angle serves as the lever arm for the rotational force the attacker applies via the wrist grip.
Cross-reference. “Kimura” is the BJJ-standard name; “double wristlock” is the older catch-wrestling label. Full mechanical coverage on Kimura.