Alias · Standing
Scissors takedown
Also known as Kani Basami — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: English descriptive name
English rendering of kani basami
Scissors takedown is the English rendering of kani basami — “kani basami” meaning crab scissors, after the scissoring of the legs.
Etymology. The name describes the action: the attacker’s legs close on the opponent’s like a scissors (or a crab’s claw) to take them down. “Scissors takedown” translates the image directly from the Japanese.
Mechanics. The scissoring legs trap the opponent’s leg and remove it as a support, destabilising them over the captured limb; controlling that leg is what makes the takedown work, since the scissor must own the support before the opponent can be folded down over it.
Cross-reference. “Flying scissors” and “Leg scissors takedown” are sibling aliases. Full mechanical coverage on Kani Basami.