Glossary /// Alias
Standing figure-four defence
Also known as Standing Kimura Escape — the canonical term used on this site.
Descriptive — figure-four applied on the feet
Standing figure-four defence is the descriptive name for standing kimura defence, naming the grip shape and the fact that both players are still upright.
Etymology. The standing qualifier is not incidental — it reorganises the whole defence. On the feet the legs are available in a way the ground never allows, so a technique that is a grip fight on the mat becomes a footwork problem upright.
Mechanics. Stepping through and circling around the locked arm unwinds the lock without any strength contest, because the defender’s body moves relative to a stationary arm. Direction decides it: circling with the rotation unwinds, circling against it tightens.
Cross-reference. “Russian tie kimura defence” names the grip it grows from. Full escape coverage on Standing Kimura Escape.