Katate Jime - Ninjutsu

By Yossi Sheriff

Video of Katate Jime


Katate Jime, (קטטה ג'ימה), is a choke on the Trachea (air choke hold) performed either standing or at ground fighting from mount or guard positions. This choke is a part of the syllabus of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo and Ninjutsu.

This hold is an air choke hold. It is relatively easy to perform and has the advantage of only using a single hand- leaving the other one free to strike the opponent while he's struggling to breath. This choke is a great technique to improve positioning. This hold can only be done if an opponent has his back against a wall/ ground- and it is more effective on the ground where the opponent will have a more difficult time resisting it.

Description of Katate Jime

To perform this technique properly the user of the choke hold must be either on top of his opponent or have the opponent's back immobilized by a wall or a hold.

First the user holds the lapel of the opponent from the inside (right hand holds opponent's right lapel and vice versa). Next- the user slides his hand further up the lapel towards the opponent's neck and leans with his forearm on the opponent's wind pipe- thus creating maximum pressure on the pipe. The user focus his entire body weight on the forearm for the choke to be successful. This is the reason the hold must be performed when the user is on top of his opponent- otherwise he could not use his weight and apply pressure on the opponent's neck.