Kimura Chain System
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Kimura Is a Handle." Print it. The article explains why the kimura grip is a handle on their shoulder first and a submission second. This book builds that one grip through closed guard…
| Art | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
|---|---|
| Family | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Level | intermediate |
| Format | system |
| Topics | submissions, groundwork, safety, gripping |
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Kimura Is a Handle." Print it. The article explains why the kimura grip is a handle on their shoulder first and a submission second. This book builds that one grip through closed guard, the hip-bump sweep, and the top — held, carried, finished, or released into juji gatame (armbar) — with the defences to the handle drilled alongside.
Name: ______________________________ Dojo: ______________________________ Belt: ______________ Start date: ______________ Grip side (circle): Left / Right Current week (Part 11): ______________
BEFORE ANYTHING: THE SHOULDER SAFETY FRAME ☐ This lock turns a shoulder, and shoulders are finished by position and control, never by cranking. Every finish in this book arrives by hip position and angle, over a spoken count, slowly enough for any tap to land in time. ☐ Tap early and often. A tap is verbal, physical, or any clear signal, and it stops the rep instantly. Tapping before the shoulder runs out of road is the correct rep, not a lost one. ☐ A partner whose trapped arm cannot tap (held, trapped under a body, or pinned) gets verbal checks before and during any finish, and is released on any answer that is not clearly "I'm fine," or on no answer at all. ☐ Control-and-knowledge progression, in order: hold the grip and steer with it; sweep with it; carry it to the top; only then finish with it against resistance. No stage is skipped because a student is strong. ☐ In weeks 1–2 all finishes are held at the position before the finish. Full finishes begin only when both partners have passed the position cards for that stage. ☐ Stop on any pain in the shoulder, elbow, or wrist, from either partner, with no finishing the set first. Log what happened in the session log (Part 16). Safety checkpoints are printed on the cards and are part of every pass standard.
Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
One grip, four addresses. If the grip is dropped at any address change, the rep was four techniques, not a chain.
| Stage | What happens | What success looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The grip in guard | Their hand posts or lingers; you sit up, overhook, take your own wrist, thumbs off, grip glued to your chest, hips angled to the trapped side | Their bent arm is held home against your torso; their posture answers to your hips |
| 2. The guard finish picture | From the grip, their posture broken by your legs, the shoulder turned by your hips at position only | Finish available by position, or their defence sorts the chain |
| 3. The sweep | They hide the hand; you hip-bump with the grip on, rolling them over the steered shoulder | You come up in mount or side control, grip still in your hands |
| 4. The top endings | Finish the kimura from the top by position, or release into juji gatame when they turn away | A slow finish, or a new lock on the same arm, without the grip ever being lost |
Chain law: the handle is never surrendered because a finish was defended. A defended finish changes the address, not the ownership.
| Their defence | What they spent | What the handle does next |
|---|---|---|
| Hide the hand on belt, thigh, or gi | That hand, their posture, weight on your side | Hip-bump sweep, grip on |
| Posture tall, pull the arm straight | Base back, arm extended against your chest | Re-angle, break posture with the legs, re-bend the arm |
| Turn away from the trapped arm (on top) | Their back angle; the arm left behind | Release into juji gatame on the same arm |
| Strip the grip early with the free hand | Nothing yet; the handle never set | Grip defence cards (Part 14) or re-take posture and start again |
Kimura Chain System
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Kimura Is a Handle." Print it. The article explains why the kimura grip is a handle on their shoulder first and a submission second. This book builds that one grip through closed guard, the hip-bump sweep, and the top — held, carried, finished, or released into juji gatame (armbar) — with the defences to the handle drilled alongside.
What's Inside
- Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
- Part 2: How a Rep Counts
- Part 3: The Grip, Checked
- Part 4: Grip Cards
- Part 5: Guard Finish Cards
- Part 6: The Sweep Cards
- …and 22 more sections
The full guide is a paid Mat Manual product. Checkout is not connected yet — no payment is taken on this page.
Free companion article: The Kimura Is a Handle — the full article, free in full.
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