Smother Hold

Posted by: Paranormalma

Smother Hold - 03/30/06 09:55 PM

I was just curious as to everyone's preference concerning Shiho Gatama (Smother Hold) and controlling Uke's arms?

Do you prefer to scoop Uke's arms into his sides?
Would you rather pin them to the mat with your elbows?
Do you disregard Uke's arms all together and concentrate on smothering alone?
Would different applications (kata/randori/self defense) change your use of arm control?

Personally, I prefer to scoop underneath Uke's arms and pin them into his sides as I smother, and I'd imagine that I would stick with this method if given the opportunity through any situation.

Just a little detail I thought might spark some interesting conversation.
Posted by: JKogas

Re: Smother Hold - 03/31/06 07:17 AM

KAMI shiho gatame?

I usually have one over and one under his arms. Sometimes I go with both under.

Rarely do I go with both arms over. I also don't hang-out in that position. I'm usually trying to set something up so I tend to look at it as a transitional position.

-John
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Smother Hold - 03/31/06 12:36 PM

http://judoinfo.com/katakata.htm