The Kimura Lock is definitely a legendary and effective arm lock that every MMA practitioner should have in their arsenal. In this post we will get into the actual history of the Kimura and how it became to be one of the deadliest arm locks within Mixed Martial Arts.
The History of the Kimura Lock
In Brazilian jiu jitsu, the Kimura became highly popular due to Masahiko Kimura, the judoka who defeated the now legendary and late great Helio Gracie, in a grappling match, by way of gyaku ude–garami, the lock that now bears his name in the jiu jitsu circuit.
Who Is Masahiko Kimura
Born on September 1917, Masahiko Kimura was the best judoka of his generation, but due to the judo ban in Japan, he decided to sign up to an international entertainment company that toured around the world showcasing judo athletes in a series of demonstration matches.
The tour led Kimura to a professional wrestling promoter named Aru Karashiko, it was through professional wrestling that Kimura entered Brazil, contracted to tour the South American country and perform on stage a series of pro-wrestling matches.
When Carlos and Helio Gracie found that Kimura was in Brazil, they immediately challenged the legendary Japanese to a grappling match against Helio. Kimura refused the offer, failing to recognize the legitimacy of Helio Gracie. To test the Gracie’s credibility on the mat, they organized a superfight against another apt Japanese who toured with Kimura, Yukio Kato who was 22 years old and weighed around 70kg (154lbs), a similar weight to Helio’s.
The iconic Gracie fought Kato twice, the first fight being a draw and the second a submission win to Helio Gracie. The win forced Kimura to accept the challenge, and the fight was set for Rio de Janeiro on October 23, 1951 in what would be a three 10 minute round fight. There was many myths that followed before and after the fight, I will not get into any of that nonsense and give you the hard cold facts. The truth and fact is Kimura BEAT Helio Gracie! That is a fact! Anything other than that fact is hear say. Kimura and Gracie had a match and Kimura won. It stops there.
How To Do A Kimura Lock
There Kimura is unique because you can atually do it from multiple positions, but is most often performed on fighters trapped in a full guard. For this post we will only focus on doing a kimura from side control. It is known as one of the best submission techniques in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and and Judoka.
1. Gain side control. Position yourself at a ninety degree angle to your opponent with your hips low.
2. Control Opponent. Place one arm securely behind the opponent’s head and the other underneath his far side arm.
2. Arm Control. Release the arm securing the head and hook it over the shoulder and underneath the far side arm. This arm is used to take control of the opponent’s elbow and push the opponent’s arm into his body.
3. Wrist Control. Your free arm takes control of your opponent’s wrist. Then the arm you have hooking underneath is used to grab your own wrist.
4. Leg Positioning. Your leg that is close to your oponents head can be extended out and planted, while keeping your other leg bent and against your opponent.
5. Completing The Lock. To complete this kimura lock the arm needs to be separated from the body to gain leverage over it. There will be resistence from your opponent he is not going to willingly let your twist and bend his arm. But by forcefully lifting his arm upwards then away from his body and to the mat, you can break the strength of his arm holding itself down easier.
6. Completing The Full Kimura. Once you separate your opponent’s arm from his body you switch your grip on his arm. Your hand hooking under and grabbing your wrist switches to your opponent’s wrist and your other hand us used to push on the opponents wrist and apply more pressure.
Now all you have to do is sit back, rolling your opponent into you and exposing his back. Then the arm is forced towards the opponent’s back while one arm pulls and one arm pushes, rotating the arm and pushing it backwards.
Kimura From Side Control (MMA Submission)
Kimura Vs Americana
The Americana is a version of the Kimura. The difference between the Americana and the kimura lock relies on which way the forearm is pointing if the forearm is pointing downwards (towards the hip) the position is called a kimura, when the forearm is pointing up it is called an Americana.
BJJ – Americana + Kimura