King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Kesa-gatame

Judo technique

Type
Joint locks, Holds and pins
Martial arts
Judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Japanese
袈裟固
Meaning
Scarf hold
Classified as
judo technique
Listed in
Osaekomi-waza (Kodokan judo), Osaekomi-waza (judo techniques), Positional grappling (Brazilian jiu-jitsu)
Chin na at King's Kung-Fu

King's Kung-Fu and Tai Chi has taught 5 Animal 5 Family kung fu, tai chi and chi kung in Southern California since 1982. These original school pages cover this style:

Kesa-Gatame (袈裟固) is one of the seven mat holds, Osaekomi-waza, of Kodokan Judo. In grappling terms, it is categorized as a side control hold. It is commonly referred to as scarfhold in English. The Japanese term kesa (袈裟) refers to a Buddhist Monk's sash worn from the left shoulder towards the right hip. It is also known in wrestling as the head and arm ride.

Kanji in 袈裟固

a coarse camlet
on: ケ、カ
11 strokes · JLPT 1
Buddhist surplice
on: サ、シャ
13 strokes · JLPT 1
harden, set, clot
on: コ
kun: かた.める、かた.まる、かた.まり、かた.い
8 strokes · JLPT 2

The name word by word

Each part of the romanized name looked up in the JMdict Japanese dictionary.

WordJapaneseReadingMeaning
Kesa gatame袈裟固めkesagatamescarf hold (in judo)

Other Judo joint locks

Japanese terms for joint locks

TermReadingMeaning
カニ挟みkanibasamiflying scissors; kani basami
とったりtottariarm bar throw
チョン掛けchongakepulling heel hook; throw using the right heel
逆とったりsakatottariarm bar throw counter
縦四方固めtateshihougatametate-shiho-gatame (judo); vertical four-quarter hold
横四方固めyokoshihougatameyoko-shiho-gatame (judo hold in which the opponent's shoulders and hips are pinned)

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q127799 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); kanji data KANJIDIC2 and KanjiVG. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.