Kimura Control
Kimura control — figure-four grip used positionally. From this grip: back take, turtle control, mount, or submission chain.
Adapted from InGrappling, Kimura Control. System Games did not invent this curriculum.
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Kimura control is the figure-four grip functioning as a positional control tool rather than an immediate submission attempt. The grip is identical to the kimura submission grip — one hand on the opponent’s wrist, the other arm under their upper arm gripping the first wrist — but the practitioner is not currently rotating the arm toward the submission finish.
This position is brief. Every kimura control resolves to one of two outcomes: the submission finish (when the practitioner rotates the arm to complete the kimura) or a positional transition (back take, mount, or turtle control). Kimura control is the decision point between those outcomes.
Understanding kimura control as a distinct position is important because it explains the strategic logic of the kimura system. The figure-four grip is not a failed submission attempt that needs to be abandoned when the finish is blocked — it is a leverage tool that works across multiple positional contexts. Practitioners who release the grip when the submission is defended are leaving the system; practitioners who maintain it are using the system.
Ruleset context This technique is legal in all major competitive formats.
Also known asKimura trap(the system of attacks built on this grip)
Kimura lock(the grip maintained to hold position rather than finish)
The kimura system has two pages that share the same grip: