Alias · Kimura system
Ude garami (inside)
Also known as Kimura — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Japanese — arm entanglement, inside variant
Japanese — 腕緘 inside-rotation arm entanglement
Ude garami (inside) is the judo name for the kimura — the figure-four shoulder-rotation submission that loads the humerus in the direction taking the opponent’s wrist toward their own hip, the opposite rotational direction from the americana.
Etymology. Ude (腕) means “arm”; garami (緘) means “entanglement” or “wrap.” The Kodokan judo kansetsu-waza (joint-lock) classification covers both rotational directions under the same broader category; the “(inside)” qualifier disambiguates the rotational direction toward the opponent’s hip (the kimura) from the “(outside)” variant toward the head (the americana). The technique passed into Brazilian jiu-jitsu through Maeda’s transmission to the Gracies and was renamed “kimura” after Masahiko Kimura’s 1951 victory over Hélio Gracie via the technique. The judo terminology remains in active use across judo and judo-influenced submission curricula.
Mechanics. The submission isolates the shoulder by trapping the opponent’s wrist with a figure-four grip and rotating the humerus inward — past the natural range of internal rotation in the glenohumeral joint. The grip removes the trapped arm from the body’s defensive frame; the rotation continues until the joint reaches its structural limit.
Cross-reference. BJJ and English-speaking no-gi use “kimura”; catch wrestling uses “double wristlock.” Full mechanical coverage on Kimura.