Positional Game · GAME-KIM-02
Closed Guard Kimura Pressure
Foundations kimura positional game from closed guard. Bottom player attacks the kimura from closed guard; top player defends posture and attempts to…
Start position
POS-GRD-CLOSED-BOT
Round length
3:00 rounds
Reset rule
Reset when the bottom player completes the kimura or a sweep, when the top player passes guard, or when both players agree the position is stalled with no active threat for more than ten seconds.
Top wins by
Pass guard or posture up to a clear passing position with the guard opened.
Bottom wins by
Force the tap by rotating the shoulder past its range, sweep to top position, or force the top player to post their hand on the mat three times without capitalising on the third post (diagnostic only).
Game Description
This game sits at the intersection of the kimura system and the closed guard objectives framework. The bottom player’s primary tool is the kimura, but the system is richer than a single submission — the sweep threat (hip bump) creates the post that opens the kimura, and the kimura threat creates the posture break that opens the sweep. Running this game at Foundations level introduces both pathways without requiring the bottom player to have mastered either.
The safety tier is elevated because the kimura finish targets the glenohumeral joint. Both practitioners must apply and release slowly — the game is not a point-scoring rush.
How to Run This Game
Setup: Both players start in closed guard, bottom player’s legs locked around the top player’s waist. Coach signals start.
Bottom player’s primary reads:
- When the top player posts a hand — reach and close the figure-four.
- When the top player breaks posture by standing up — hip bump threat to force a post, then convert.
- When the top player’s arm is bent and close to the body — enter the figure-four from guard.
Top player’s reads:
- Maintain hip-width base to avoid the hip bump.
- Keep both hands on the mat or on the partner’s hips, not inside the guard.
- When the kimura grip is felt — posture up and keep the arm straight to deny the rotation.
Score: One point per win condition achieved. Play to five points per side.
Coaching Notes
The most important read this game develops for the bottom player is recognising the post. Top players who are forced to post their hand (to stop a sweep, to catch their balance, to prevent a hip bump from landing) are generating the kimura entry condition automatically. The bottom player who is waiting for this post and reacts immediately has a very high success rate. The bottom player who is gripping and reaching without a post is fighting against the top player’s full structural system.
For the top player: the defensive priority is maintaining posture (upright spine, hips back) and not posting the hand. A top player who can maintain these two constraints will deny the kimura’s entry condition. When the hand does post — which it will — pulling it back immediately without making the closed-loop available is the correct response.
Common pattern: Bottom players at Foundations level often attempt to pull the top player’s arm directly into the figure-four without a sweep threat. This produces the IJF-grip failure: the top player’s arm is connected to their full body and the kimura fails. Require the bottom player to show the sweep threat before accessing the kimura.
Progressions
- Add the hip bump sweep as a scoreable event to make the dilemma explicit.
- Allow the bottom player to attempt the triangle and the guillotine as secondary attacks — this introduces the full four-horn closed guard dilemma.
- Remove the closed guard constraint — allow both players to open and play the game from any guard configuration.