Kesa Gatame

Last updated: June 1, 2026

What is kesa gatame?

Kesa gatame (袈裟固) is one of the seven official mat holds, or osaekomi-waza, in Kodokan judo, the system Jigoro Kano founded in Tokyo in 1882. In plain terms, it is a hold-down: the top grappler controls a downed opponent’s head and one arm while pressing chest and hip weight into them, making movement difficult.

The position belongs to the side-control family. The top player turns sideways relative to the opponent, spreads the legs wide for a stable base, encircles the head with one arm, and clamps the opponent’s near arm against the ribs. That head-and-arm connection is what separates kesa gatame from a plain chest-to-chest pin. Trap the head and an arm together, and the person underneath loses the leverage to bridge or rebuild their frames.

Beginners meet it early. The Token Corporation’s Judo Channel describes kesa gatame as a fundamental technique and one of the first hold-downs new judoka learn.

Where the name comes from

The “scarf” in scarf hold is a loose translation, and it throws people off. Most picture a winter scarf wrapped around the neck. In fact, kesa (袈裟) is the diagonal sash-like robe worn by Buddhist monks, draped from the left shoulder down to the right hip. A grappler’s body cuts that same diagonal line across the opponent, and the resemblance is what gave the hold its name.

The same pin answers to a few other names. Wrestlers know it as the head and arm ride, while the orthodox judo form, hon-kesa-gatame, simply means basic scarf hold.

How the hold works

Picture the top grappler sitting on the mat next to an opponent who is on their back. Rather than facing straight down into the chest, the top player rotates toward the opponent’s head, drops the near hip to the floor, and lays chest weight across the opponent’s torso. One arm scoops under and around the head; the other pins the opponent’s near arm to the body, often gripping the wrist, sleeve, or their own thigh.

The legs do the quiet work. Spread wide, with one leg forward and one back, they turn the body into a low tripod that resists rolls and bridges. Kesa gatame usually shows up right after a throw or a guard pass, when the top grappler lands beside the opponent and locks the head before they can recover.

Kesa gatame vs side control

This is the comparison that sends most people searching. Both holds come from the side, and kesa gatame is technically a side-control variation, but they are not the same pin.

Orthodox side control, known in judo as mune-gatame, has the top grappler chest-to-chest and roughly perpendicular to the opponent, with both of the opponent’s arms free to be managed. Kesa gatame turns the body toward the head and commits one arm to wrapping the neck and one to trapping a single arm.

Feature	Kesa gatame (scarf hold)	Orthodox side control (mune-gatame)
Body angle	Turned toward the opponent’s head, hip on the mat	Chest-to-chest, roughly perpendicular
Main control points	Head plus the near arm	Chest and shoulders
Stability	Strong against bridges; can be rolled if the legs are out of position	Structurally steadier, faces straight down
Best moment	Right after a throw, or when the opponent shrimps	Holding a flat, settled opponent

As the Evolve MMA coaching team notes, side control is structurally more stable because the body faces straight down the chest, while kesa gatame gives up some of that stability for tighter head control and a natural follow-up when an opponent tries to shrimp away.

Variations of kesa gatame

Kesa gatame names a family of related pins rather than one fixed position. The variations change which part of the opponent gets trapped and which way the top grappler faces.

Variation	Japanese	What changes
Hon-kesa-gatame	本袈裟固	The basic, orthodox form: an arm around the head, the near arm trapped
Kuzure-kesa-gatame	崩袈裟固	“Broken” or modified scarf hold; the top grappler traps the far arm over the shoulder instead of the head
Ushiro-kesa-gatame	後袈裟固	Reverse scarf hold; the top grappler faces the opponent’s feet
Makura-kesa-gatame	枕袈裟固	“Pillow” scarf hold; the thigh props up the opponent’s head
Ura-kesa-gatame	裏袈裟固	Back scarf hold, a rarer reversed position

Kuzure-kesa-gatame is the one most grapplers reach for in practice. Trapping the arm rather than the head opens cleaner paths to submissions and is often considered the more secure pin. The Kodokan files both ushiro- and makura-kesa-gatame under the kuzure-kesa-gatame umbrella.

Why grapplers still use it

Kesa gatame travels well across grappling styles. It is a staple of judo and sambo, a familiar pin in freestyle wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and it surfaces in MMA whenever a fighter wants to slow the pace from the top. In judo, the reason is direct: under International Judo Federation rules, holding an opponent in osaekomi for 20 seconds scores ippon and ends the match, while 10 to 19 seconds earns waza-ari.

From the pin, the trapped arm sits right in front of the top grappler, which is why armlocks such as the straight armbar and the kimura are the classic finishes. The position is not unbreakable: people underneath try to bridge and roll the top player over or climb to the back, and a sloppy version of the hold gives that away. A common myth treats the scarf hold as outdated or easy to escape, but Stephan Kesting of Grapplearts, drawing on his own competition record, argues that a well-applied kesa gatame is hard to shed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is kesa gatame the same as side control?

Not quite. Kesa gatame is a variation of side control, but the body turns toward the opponent’s head, and one arm wraps the neck, where orthodox side control keeps the chest square to the opponent.

What does kesa gatame mean in English?

It translates as scarf hold. The “kesa” refers to the diagonal sash worn by Buddhist monks, not a Western scarf, and it describes the angle of the body across the opponent.

Is the scarf hold effective in BJJ?

Yes, though BJJ uses it differently from judo. Judo and wrestling value it as a match-ending pin, while in jiu-jitsu, it works as a control position and a springboard to armlocks and chokes.

What is the difference between kesa gatame and kuzure kesa gatame?

Hon-kesa-gatame wraps the opponent’s head. Kuzure-kesa-gatame, the modified version, traps the opponent’s arm over the shoulder instead, which usually opens more submission options.

Is kesa gatame legal in competition?

Yes. It is a recognized hold-down in judo and is legal in BJJ, sambo, and most grappling rule sets.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia. “Kesa-gatame.” Accessed June 2026.
2. Wikipedia. “Side control.” Accessed June 2026.
3. Token Corporation, Judo Channel. “Kesa-gatame (Scarf hold).” Accessed June 2026.
4. Grokipedia. “Kesa-gatame.” Accessed June 2026.
5. Evolve MMA. “Understanding The Kesa Gatame Pin In BJJ.” Accessed June 2026.
6. International Judo Federation. “Sport and Organisation Rules.” Accessed June 2026.
7. Grapplearts. “Kesa Gatame in BJJ.” Accessed June 2026.

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