Reverse scarf hold

Reverse scarf hold is the literal English translation of the Japanese ushiro kesa gatame — the variant of the kesa gatame pin in which the attacker faces toward the opponent’s legs rather than toward the head.

Etymology. The “reverse” descriptor renders ushiro (“rear” or “back”) into English; “scarf hold” carries forward from the standard kesa gatame (where kesa refers to the Buddhist priest’s draped scarf, evoking the diagonal-body geometry the pin shares with the standard variant). The “reverse” qualifier marks the variant’s reversed body orientation — the diagonal is still present but oriented toward the opponent’s legs rather than their head. Older English-language judo translation conventions preserve the metaphorical “scarf hold” base across both variants.

Mechanics. The pin destabilises the opponent’s escape mobility by controlling the near arm and the leg-line simultaneously — the reversed orientation means the standard kesa gatame escape options (bridging toward the head) do not apply, and the bottom player must work the legs and the chest connection that the reversed orientation exposes.

Cross-reference. “Leg-side control” is the alternate descriptive name. Full mechanical coverage on Reverse Kesa Gatame.