In this technique video, the Gracie Hunter himself Kazushi Sakuraba shows a set up for a kimura from side mount. Sakuraba is known for having great kimuras and shares one of his favorite ones with Bernardo Faria.
The Technique
For this kimura technique it is a basic set up from side mount. He grabs a wrist for control, and laces his arm under under Bernardo’s shoulder grabbing his wrist. To get the finish, Sakuraba torques the arm behind Bernardo’s back for the finish.
Technique Tips
Sakuraba showed a lot of details and tips make the kimura better. He notes that when you put your weight on the opponent’s wrist that it will naturally lift their shoulder up.
This opens space to lace the arm to connect your arms. If you need more space, you can push their shoulder up with your lacing hand.
To finish the kimura, Sakuraba notes to pull the arm away from the body to make it tighter. He says that more flexible people can defend the kimura if you bring it towards the body.
Extra Straight Arm Lock
When you can’t connect your hands a straight arm lock is possible. Drop your weight on their chest, lean to the kimura side and rotate their arm towards the shadow. It puts a lot of pressure on their shoulder and don’t even need to connect arms.
For more techniques, check out our technique page and look for new techniques added regularly.