Anytime you can use the power of your legs against your opponent’s arms that’s a good thing. Here’s how to use that principle to finish the Kimura, a submission often incorrectly thought of as a big guy move….
The Kimura game is centered around 12 different positions, and the most common starting position for the Tarikoplata is when you have your opponent in the North-South Kimura (also known as *ahem* the Teabag position).
From the North-South position your opponent is lying on his side, tightly clasping his hands together to block you from advancing your Kimura attack. At this point you have one arm and one leg in front of his body and one arm and one leg behind it. Here’s what to do next…
- Lift his arms so that his gripped hands come level (or above) his floating ribs
- Use your front hand to pin his hip or drive his top knee to the floor
- Swing your front leg over his body, catching his top wrist behind your knee and gripping the top of your own thigh
- Slide your weight off your opponent and turn towards his head to finish the submission.
Give this move a try – I ignored it for far too long in my own training, but then I made friends with it and now I love it!
The Kimura Roadmap
While you’re here, also check out The Kimura Roadmap, my positional approach to mastering the Kimura and tapping out more training partners and competition opponents.
