Back in the early- to mid-80s, Great Britain was a powerhouse of newaza. Neil Adams was the most famous, with his unstoppable juji-gatame armlock but he wasn’t the only one on the British team that specialized in this technique. Another Neil – Eckersley, in this case – was also something of a juji-gatame expert.
Neil Adams famously came up with a new way to roll someone into the juji-gatame position. But it was Neil Eckersley who invented a special way to finish off the technique. It was an innovation that would forever change the way players around the world executed armlocks.
Ecky-Gatame
Dubbed the “Ecky-Gatame” or “The English Hold-Down,” it’s an ingenious solution to the problem of how to straighten uke's arm during juji-gatame.
“I was taught the rolling juji-gatame by my coach Tony MacConnell,” says Neil. “I could easily get into the juji position but I really struggled to break the arm free.”
In the true spirit of judo, Neil came up with a creative solution that allowed him to transition into a hold without letting go of the juji grip. The hold itself is not particularly strong – and therein lies its brilliance because it is not a very secure hold, it tempts uke to release his arm in order to roll out. The moment that happens, tori can then easily straighten the arm.
So, in effect it places uke between the devil and the deep blue sea. If uke stays still, he will be held down for ippon. If he lets go of his arm to break free, he’s liable to get armlocked.
IJF recognition
Since it was a complete new technique that was not based on any traditional judo holds, it wasn’t immediately recognized although according to Neil, the International Judo Federation accepted it before the European Judo Union did.
He was lucky the IJF acknowledged the technique because he used in three matches on his way to winning a bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, first with Anders Hellqvist of Sweden, then against Eddie Koaz of Israel and finally against Felice Mariani of Italy. All three released their arms to try to escape and got their arms straightened.
EJU recognition
Neil was not as lucky with the Ecky-Gatame in the 1984 Cadiz European Junior Championships, held just three months later.
In the semi-final, he found himself facing a French opponent he had beaten in the previous year’s European Junior Championships. During a groundwork exchange, he managed to secure an Ecky-Gatame on the Frenchman but to his dismay the referee would not call an osaekomi even though his opponent clearly was stuck with nowhere to go.
A sonomama (freeze) was called. The referee came together with the corner judges to discuss the situation. Neil says that conversation lasted for nearly 10 minutes before they decided to call matte. “When I stood up I was so cold that I went into my first attack, I landed badly and broke my ankle in four places,” Neil says.
The one silver lining was that after that competition, the Ecky-Gatame was further deliberated upon and the EJU decided to recognize it. “Maybe the head referee was sorry to see me break my ankle,” Neil says. “If so, I guess it was a sacrifice worth making!”
Neil wins bronze in LA 1984