Sode guruma jime escape

Sode guruma jime escape is the judo-derived name for the defence against the ezekiel choke — the figure-four strangulation that closes the carotid arteries by trapping the opponent’s neck inside the attacker’s own forearm and bicep.

Etymology. Sode (袖) means “sleeve,” guruma (車) means “wheel,” and jime (絞) means “strangle.” The full term — sleeve-wheel strangle — is the Kodokan judo name for the figure-four neck compression that English-speaking no-gi calls the ezekiel. The “sleeve” reference is a historical artefact from the technique’s gi-context origin; in the no-gi version, the attacker’s own bicep takes the place of the sleeve grip, but the underlying mechanic — the figure-four closing the loop around the neck — remains identical. The escape term carries the parent technique’s name forward in judo and no-gi vocabulary alike.

Mechanics. The escape requires breaking the figure-four closure before the bilateral carotid compression reaches structural failure. The defending player must clear the inside-arm wrap — typically by framing against the attacker’s wrist or rotating the head toward the open side — to create space for the trapped neck before the strangle closes.

Cross-reference. English-speaking no-gi uses “ezekiel escape.” Full mechanical coverage on Ezekiel Escape.