⚠️ SAFETY: Kimura from Side Control targets the Shoulder joint (rotation and elevation). Risk: Shoulder dislocation (anterior or posterior). Release immediately upon tap.
The Kimura from Side Control is one of the most fundamental and high-percentage shoulder locks in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, offering exceptional control and finishing potential from a dominant top position. This submission targets the shoulder joint through figure-four grip mechanics, creating rotational and elevational stress that forces the tap. From side control, the attacker has superior positioning, weight distribution, and multiple angles to establish the lock while the opponent’s mobility is severely restricted. The technique’s versatility allows for seamless transitions to other submissions, back takes, or positional advancements if the opponent defends. The Kimura grip itself becomes a powerful control mechanism, enabling the top player to manipulate the opponent’s posture, break their defensive frames, and create submission opportunities even when the finish isn’t immediately available. This makes it an essential tool for maintaining offensive pressure from side control while constantly threatening the finish.
Category: Joint Lock Type: Shoulder Lock Target Area: Shoulder joint (rotation and elevation) Starting Position: Side Control Success Rates: Beginner 40%, Intermediate 55%, Advanced 70%
Safety Guide
Injury Risks:
| Injury | Severity | Recovery Time |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder dislocation (anterior or posterior) | High | 6-12 weeks with potential surgical intervention |
| Rotator cuff tear (supraspinatus, infraspinatus) | High | 8-16 weeks, may require surgery |
| Labrum tear (SLAP lesion) | High | 12-24 weeks with surgical repair |
| Biceps tendon strain or rupture | Medium | 4-8 weeks for strain, 12+ weeks for rupture |
Application Speed: SLOW and progressive - 3-5 seconds minimum from position establishment to submission pressure
Tap Signals:
- Verbal tap (saying ‘tap’ or any verbal signal)
- Physical hand tap on opponent or mat
- Physical foot tap on mat
- Any distress vocalization or signal
Release Protocol:
- Immediately release rotational pressure on the arm
- Lower the opponent’s arm back toward the mat in controlled manner
- Release the figure-four grip completely
- Allow opponent to move arm freely and check for injury
- Never jerk or spike the arm during release
Training Restrictions:
- Never apply explosive or jerking motions to the shoulder
- Always pause at 50-70% pressure to allow tap response time
- Never use competition finishing speed during drilling
- Stop immediately if partner cannot tap with free hand
- Avoid training this submission with injured or recovering partners
Key Principles
- Establish dominant side control with chest pressure before attacking the arm
- Secure the figure-four grip with proper wrist and forearm positioning for maximum leverage
- Control the opponent’s hip and prevent them from turning into you during the finish
- Maintain tight connection between your elbow and their body to prevent arm escape
- Apply pressure through elevation and rotation simultaneously, not jerking motions
- Use your body weight and positioning rather than pure arm strength
- Keep your base wide and stable throughout the submission sequence
Prerequisites
- Stable side control position with chest-to-chest pressure and no space
- Opponent’s near arm isolated and away from their body
- Your weight distributed to prevent opponent’s hip escape or reversal
- Dominant head position controlling opponent’s upper body movement
- Near-side knee tight to opponent’s hip to block turning
- Far-side base established to maintain balance during arm manipulation
- Opponent’s far arm controlled or neutralized to prevent framing
Execution Steps
- Establish Dominant Side Control: From side control, drive your chest weight into the opponent’s chest and shoulder area, eliminating all space. Your near-side arm should control their head or far shoulder while your hips stay heavy on their torso. Ensure your base is wide with your far leg posted out for stability. (Timing: 2-3 seconds to establish solid pressure) [Pressure: Firm]
- Isolate the Near Arm: Using your near-side hand, reach under the opponent’s near arm (the arm closest to you) and grip their wrist. Simultaneously use your head and shoulder pressure to pin their upper body and prevent them from pulling the arm back to their body. The goal is to create separation between their elbow and their ribs. (Timing: 1-2 seconds once pressure is established) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Thread Your Arm for Figure-Four Grip: While maintaining wrist control with your near hand, thread your far arm over their arm and reach for your own wrist to establish the figure-four lock. Your forearm should be perpendicular to their forearm, creating the leverage structure. Keep your elbows tight together and close to their body to prevent them from straightening their arm. (Timing: 2-3 seconds to secure proper grip alignment) [Pressure: Light]
- Control the Hip and Establish Base: Post your near-side knee tight against the opponent’s near hip to prevent them from turning into you. Your far leg should be posted wide and back for base. This hip control is critical - if they can turn toward you, they escape the submission. Maintain chest pressure throughout this adjustment. (Timing: 1-2 seconds) [Pressure: Firm]
- Elevate the Elbow: With the figure-four grip secured, begin lifting their elbow toward the ceiling while keeping it close to their body. The elevation should be smooth and controlled, not sudden. As you lift, maintain downward pressure with your chest to keep their shoulder pinned to the mat. This creates the initial stretch on the shoulder. (Timing: 2-3 seconds gradual elevation) [Pressure: Moderate]
- Rotate the Arm Behind the Back: Once the elbow is elevated to approximately 90 degrees from their body, begin rotating their hand toward their back (like a hammerlock position). The rotation should be slow and progressive. The combination of elevation and rotation creates the shoulder lock. Stop immediately upon feeling tap or resistance. (Timing: 3-5 seconds progressive rotation) [Pressure: Firm]
- Finish with Walking Motion: If needed for the finish, walk your hips toward their head while maintaining the figure-four grip and continuing the rotation. This walking motion increases the angle and pressure on the shoulder joint. Continue applying slow, steady pressure until the tap, never jerking or spiking the submission. (Timing: 2-4 seconds if additional pressure needed) [Pressure: Maximum]
Opponent Defenses
- Opponent grabs their own belt or gi pants to prevent arm isolation (Effectiveness: High) - Your Adjustment: Use your head and shoulder to drive their elbow away from their body while using your near hand to pry their grip open. Alternatively, transition to Americana or maintain control and wait for grip fatigue.
- Opponent turns into you (toward your legs) to escape the rotation (Effectiveness: High) - Your Adjustment: Block their hip with your near knee and maintain chest pressure to prevent the turn. If they succeed in turning, follow them to take the back or adjust to a rolling Kimura variation.
- Opponent straightens their arm completely to break the figure-four structure (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Keep your elbows pinched together near their body to prevent full extension. If they straighten, transition to an armbar or use the Kimura grip to sweep them when they push.
- Opponent bridges explosively to create space and escape their hips (Effectiveness: Medium) - Your Adjustment: Maintain the Kimura grip and ride the bridge, then as they come down, immediately reestablish side control pressure. Use the grip to prevent them from turning away.
- Opponent uses their free hand to push your head or create frames (Effectiveness: Low) - Your Adjustment: Use your head position to swim under their framing arm or pin it with your body weight. Your dominant side control position should neutralize single-arm frames if your pressure is correct.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1: What is the minimum recommended application time for finishing the Kimura in training to ensure partner safety? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: 3-5 seconds minimum from position establishment to submission pressure. The shoulder joint is extremely vulnerable to injury from sudden or explosive movements. Progressive, slow application allows the training partner adequate time to recognize the submission, process the danger, and tap before injury occurs. Competition speed should never be used during training applications.
Q2: Why is controlling the opponent’s near hip with your knee essential before attempting the Kimura finish? A: Controlling the near hip prevents the opponent from turning into you, which is their primary and most effective escape from the submission. If they can rotate their body toward you, they reduce the rotational pressure on their shoulder and can escape the lock entirely. The knee post blocks this movement and maintains your superior angle for finishing. Without hip control, the submission is easily defended and you may lose position.
Q3: What are the two components of shoulder pressure that create the Kimura lock, and why must both be present? A: The two components are elevation (lifting the elbow away from the mat) and rotation (turning their hand toward their back behind their body). Elevation alone or rotation alone will not create sufficient pressure to finish the submission against a resisting opponent. The combination creates simultaneous stress on multiple planes of shoulder movement, targeting both rotational and elevational limits of the joint. Together they create an inescapable mechanical disadvantage for the defender.
Q4: What should you do immediately if your training partner cannot access their free hand to tap during the Kimura? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: Stop the submission immediately and release all pressure. If their free hand is trapped or inaccessible, they cannot signal tap through normal means, which creates a dangerous situation. You must be aware of their ability to tap throughout the entire submission sequence. Always ensure your partner has at least one hand free to tap, and watch for alternative tap signals like verbal taps or foot taps if hand access is compromised.
Q5: How should you adjust if the opponent successfully grabs their own belt or pants to defend their arm? A: Use head and shoulder pressure to drive their elbow away from their body while using your near hand to pry or break their defensive grip. If the grip is very strong, maintain control and wait for grip fatigue while applying chest pressure to prevent hip escape. Alternatively, you can transition to alternative submissions like the Americana which works well when they’re holding their own gi, or use the control time to advance position. Never force the grip break explosively as this can injure fingers or wrists.
Q6: What is the correct figure-four grip structure for maximum leverage in the Kimura? A: Your near hand grips the opponent’s wrist with your palm on their wrist bones. Your far arm threads over their arm and grips your own near wrist with four fingers, creating a bracket structure. Your forearm should be perpendicular to their forearm. Both elbows must stay tight together and close to their body - this is critical for maintaining leverage and preventing them from straightening their arm. The grip should feel like a solid frame with no gaps in the structure.
Q7: Why should you never elevate the opponent’s elbow beyond 90 degrees from their body during the Kimura finish? [SAFETY-CRITICAL] A: Elevating beyond 90 degrees creates extreme stress on the shoulder capsule and significantly increases the risk of shoulder dislocation, especially in opponents with limited flexibility or previous shoulder injuries. The submission is designed to finish through the combination of moderate elevation (around 90 degrees) and rotation. Excessive elevation can cause injury before the opponent feels sufficient pain to tap, as the shoulder can dislocate suddenly without warning. Safe application focuses on rotational pressure with controlled elevation.
From Which Positions?
Expert Insights
- Danaher System: The Kimura from side control represents the perfect marriage of positional dominance and submission mechanics. From a systematic perspective, side control provides the optimal platform for shoulder attacks because your weight immobilizes the opponent’s torso while their arm becomes isolated and vulnerable. The figure-four grip structure creates a mechanical advantage that few joints in the human body can resist when properly applied. What makes this submission particularly valuable is its dual nature as both a finishing technique and a control mechanism. Even when the opponent defends the submission successfully, you maintain dominant position and can transition seamlessly to back attacks, mount advancement, or alternative submissions. The key technical detail that most practitioners miss is the relationship between hip control and finishing mechanics - you must prevent their ability to turn into you with your near knee while simultaneously maintaining chest pressure. This creates an inescapable dilemma where all defensive movements either expose them to the finish or to positional advancement. The shoulder joint’s vulnerability demands respect in training - always apply pressure progressively over several seconds, never explosively. Competition-level finishing speed has no place in the training room. The Kimura grip should be viewed as a steering wheel for controlling your opponent’s upper body, not merely as a submission attempt.
- Gordon Ryan: The Kimura from side control is one of my highest percentage attacks because it’s nearly impossible to defend once you have the position locked in correctly. In competition, I use this constantly because even if guys know it’s coming, the mechanics are so strong that defense is extremely difficult. The biggest thing people get wrong is they try to attack the arm before their side control is actually heavy and secure - you’ll lose position every time if you do that. I make sure my chest pressure is absolutely suffocating before I even think about the arm. Once I have that weight settled, the arm isolation becomes easy because they can’t move their upper body. The grip itself becomes a nightmare for them because I can use it to break them down, advance to mount, or take the back if they try to turn into me. In training versus competition, there’s a massive difference in how I finish this. In the gym, I’m taking 4-5 seconds minimum and stopping at like 60-70% pressure so my partners can tap safely. In competition, I’m finishing much faster because that’s what wins matches, but you have to build that trust in the room first. The walking motion where you move toward their head is what really cranks the finish - it increases the angle dramatically. Against elite guys, I’m always ready to chain this with the far-side armbar or the transition to back control because they’re going to defend hard. The Kimura grip is like a handle that lets me control where the match goes next.
- Eddie Bravo: The Kimura from side control is absolutely brutal and it’s one of those techniques where the traditional approach is already really solid, but there’s always room for creativity in how you set it up and finish it. What I love about this submission is that it works in both gi and no-gi, and you can hit it from so many different angles. In the 10th Planet system, we emphasize using the Kimura grip as a pathway to other positions, not just a submission finish. If I get that grip locked in from side control and the guy starts defending really hard, I’m not going to just sit there and muscle it - I’m looking to take the back, I’m looking to roll through into a different finishing angle, I’m looking to transition into the truck position if he gives me his back. The creativity comes from not being attached to finishing the submission from one position. The reverse Kimura variation is something we drill a lot because it catches people by surprise when they’re expecting the traditional rotation direction. In terms of safety, man, the shoulder is no joke - you can really hurt someone fast with this technique, so in training we’re always emphasizing slow, controlled pressure and tapping early. I want my students to be comfortable tapping to this submission at like 40-50% of full pressure so they can train it frequently without injuries. The key to making this work at a high level is having such good side control pressure that they can barely breathe, let alone defend their arm effectively. That’s the foundation everything else builds on.