BaffledExperts by Adam Norman

23: Kesa Gatame

I think that this hold down is about as bad as it gets. I find it almost impossible to escape from a good kesa gatame.

Happily, most scarf holds are done poorly. For kesa gatame to really work well, tori needs to keep his head quite close to yours. This limits his ability to submit you, but it makes the hold down nearly unbreakable. If tori raises his head up a little, he offers you a chance, and many very experienced fighters will give you that chance. Here, for instance, is a picture of kesa  from the US Army Combatives Manual--the book the Army uses to teach hand-to-hand combat.

kesa gatame

Notice that uke’s right arm is being held, but his left arm is free. Uke can escape this hold by pushing his left forearm into tori’s face--gently, in practice, and aggressively in a real fight. Of course, this makes tori quite uncomfortable, but it also gives uke a point to push from.

As uke pushes into tori’s face, he can try to roll and pull his right arm under. If he can get his shoulder line past roughly vertical, he’ll find it easy to escape by pulling to his knees and scrambling. The beautiful thing is this, though; if tori feels uncomfortable and pushes uke’s arm back down (with his cheek or jaw, say), tori will find it even easier to escape. The push actually helps.

If tori doesn’t push back, he may find himself in range of uke’s legs or in danger of letting uke sit up and out of the hold.

If tori does hold you well, you still have a small chance of escape. Reach your left arm over and grab your right arm, so that you are embracing tori. Put as much weight on your right shoulder as you can as you arch your hips. Try to push his forehead to the mat--make him nervous, if you can. Then, holding him tight, roll to your left hand side, pulling tori across your upper chest and over your left shoulder. Roll with him, and take the hold down. If you are lucky, you can end up holding your opponent down in a nice kesa gatame yourself.