The kimura is a legendary submission in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Made famous by Masahiko Kimura when he sunk in the shoulder lock on Helio Gracie during their super fight, the kimura is such a strong submission that Helio’s arm broke when he refused to tap. The Brazilian was so stubborn that his brother Carlos Gracie had to throw in the towel and charge onto the mat to stop the fight.
The kimura from side control that broke Helio Gracie’s arm is not a complicated, hard to master trick submission that comes from left field and surprises people, it is a simple, basic BJJ submission that is still effective at any level.
This video by Bernardo Faria and John Donaher has the basic instructions for the kimura from side control along with a lot of details and explanations that are important to understand in order to actually land the kimura from side control in a BJJ roll.
Start: Side control top
Step 1: Grab opponent’s far-side wrist with your top-side hand by snaking the hand under opponent’s bicep
Step 2: Walk your hips up towards opponent’s head, putting your body at the eleven o’clock position relative to opponent’s body
Step 3: Grip your top-side wrist with your bottom-side hand
Step 4: Pull opponent’s wrist up along the mat towards their head
Finish: Submission via kimura