What is a "shoulder lock" in Judo terminology?

Question

In a judo context, "elbow-lock" has a broader definition than in other martial arts, referring to both armbars and bent-arm rotational locks (since both manipulate the elbow joint for effect, regardless of the point of pain).^{1 2}

Given this, what does a shoulder lock refer to in judo?

Answer 1

In Judo texts which use "elbow lock" to refer to bent-arm locks, the term "shoulder lock" appears in two contexts:

• kata-gatame ("shoulder hold", osaekomi-waza)^{1 2 3}
• kata-ha-jime ("single wing choke", shime-waza)⁴

Here, "lock" appears to be a translation of "katame" - i.e. while these "lock" the shoulder in place, they are not kansetsu-waza since they do not cause pain to the arm by stretching, bending, or twisting it (i.e. they are katame but not ude-hishigi). As such they are legal, as incorporated in the above techniques.

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Notes:

<sup>1. My Method of Judo, Mikinosuke Kawaishi (1955)
2. Jūdō, Sakujirō Yokoyama, ‎Eisuké Ōshima (1915)
3. Judo for Young Men, Tadao Ōtaki, Donn F. Draeger (1965)
4. Higher Judo - Groundwork (p.173) (1952)</sup>

^{Figs. 193 and 194 show a strangle-hold combined with a shoulder-lock.}