A while ago I wrote a judo post that included a turtle-turnover:
A technique to roll a crouching uke into juji-gatame. You stand over uke, facing the same direction he does. Then, you link the crook of your left arm into the crook of his right arm, and rest your left hand on your right knee. Next, you’ve got your left knee planted to the right of his neck, and you’re lying next to him on your left shoulder (facing his feet). His arm is trapped and you’re at liberty to use your whole body to submit him or roll him into juji-gatame. This one needs practice.
One detail this description is missing is exactly how you’d go about “rolling him into juji-gatame.” It can be ridiculously hard without the right technique: The description above leaves your right arm unoccupied, but you can use it to grab uke’s ankle/cuff. Use this grip to ‘cartwheel’ uke on top of you. This redistributes his weight on top of you in a manner that’s hard to resist, and it’s then that you can use the strength of your whole body.
In another judo post I had kept notes on my newaza: (1) I need to be more active when I’ve got someone’s back, and (2) Had some success with a side-control pin-to-rollover where I reach over and grab the guy’s pantleg. I’ve been addressing (1) with a variation on jigoku jime that I’ve heard called a “hell choke” and “bow and arrow choke” in different circles and it’s been working well. I need to get that hand in faster though. And (2) netted me a small victory last night when I was able to roll a guy that normally massacres me into a crappy kesa gatame—but I rolled him nonetheless.
Tags: judo
