The Specialist: Masakazu Imanari
Credit: ONE FC
This article is part of our “long article” requests through Patreon! A huge thank you to Alteroc (@crwate01) for this excellent topic suggestion.
In an effort to learn more about combat sports, Alteroc laid out an article format that covers three athletes from a specific sport:
An all-time great
A specialist
Someone “weird”
This article covers #2 for MMA: Leg Lock Extraordinaire Masakazu Imanari
Masakazu Imanari is one of the most unique fighters the world has ever seen. Almost immobile as a child due to a back condition that required three surgeries, Imanari started his martial arts journey at 18 years of age. An “A-level” catch wrestler and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under IBJJF Masters World Champion Marcos Barbosa, Imanari is the last, and one of the most successful of the pure grapplers in mixed martial arts.
For pure grapplers, there have always been two essential skills they must master in order to have success in MMA, the ground game and getting the fight to the ground. The first submission specialist, Royce Gracie, famously feinted with an oblique kick to put himself into the proper position to shoot double legs on his opponents.
While most grapplers opt to use standard takedowns as their entry into their preferred area of combat, Masakazu Imanari pioneered a completely different approach which made him a bonafide legend in the world of mixed martial arts.
Imanari’s strategy in every match is to limit engagements on the feet, and to put himself in a position where he can latch onto his opponent. To implement this strategy to its full effect, Imanari will spend most of his time standing widely circling his opponent, while occasionally coming close enough to throw a naked low kick.
The purpose of this technique is that it prevents opponents from entering the pocket with Imanari, the least desirable range for Imanari, and if they lift their leg to check the kick or return with a leg kick of their own, they are putting themselves in the worst possible position to defend his signature attack, the Imanari roll.
Imanari times the low kick of his opponent to launch into his signature move as his opponent does not have the option to pull it back once Imanari grabs a hold of it.
While the Imanari roll can be used to enter leg entanglement positions such as the 50-50, Imanari primarily attempts to enter the saddle position. Here, Imanari demonstrates his attack in his BJJ Fanatics instructional, The Imanari Roll and Modern Leg Attacks from Japan.
When Imanari goes for his signature roll, he uses his lead arm to underhook the inside of his opponent’s knee, which serves as his primary grip. Once this grip is established Imanari brings his same side leg to hook behind his opponent’s tailbone in order to create an avenue to apply a bite above his opponent’s knee, a necessity for finishing any leg attack. As this takes place, what was originally Imanari’s rear hand circles to the inside of his opponent’s leg so that once he secures the saddle position he is able to immediately apply the inside heel hook, which is the most devastating move in submission grappling. Imanari completes the technique by swinging his free leg behind his opponent’s knee and entering the saddle.
Once Imanari is able to get in on his opponent’s leg, he consistently looks to enter the saddle position, even if he is already in the 50-50 position, as once he secures it, his opponent can no longer attempt to counter attack him with leglocks of their own.
Starting in the 50-50 position, Imanari uses his own foot to drive a wedge between both of his opponent’s legs so that he can enter the saddle position. Once secured, Imanari goes for the inside heel hook, which forces his opponent to roll in an attempt to escape. To counter this, Imanari goes belly down to stop his opponent from being able to continue the roll, while forcing his own hips down to create the requisite breaking pressure to finish the inside heel hook.
Belingon immediately attempts to clear his knee line to escape the saddle position by turning away from Imanari and extracting his leg, but Imanari counters by keeping control of Belingon’s foot and maintaining his bite. Once the position is secured, Imanari pulls Belingon’s trapped foot to his outside hip to stop Belingon from attempting the same escape. Imanari then attacks the heel of Belingon while off balancing him through the elevation of his hips. Once he gets in the position to finish the heel hook, Belingon attempts to roll, which is countered by Imanari going belly down, yet because he lost the grip on the foot, Belingon is able stand up. As this occurs, Imanari pulls Belingon’s foot to his inside hip so that he is in position to attack the more powerful inside heel hook.
Even though Imanari primarily used the saddle position to finish his opponents, he also employed the 50-50 position as another way to attack the lower extremities of his opponents.
Here Imanari enters the 50-50 position by first underhooking his opponent’s leg to keep his opponent from being able to immediately bail on the exchange. Once the grip is established, Imanari throws his right leg above his opponent’s knee, while sliding his left leg under it to secure the 50-50 position. When both legs are in their proper position, Imanari triangles his legs together to create the proper bite, while trapping his opponent’s arm, a bonus. With no means to protect himself, Imanari’s opponent is forced to submit to a toehold.
While seventeen of Imanari’s wins can be directly attributed to a leg lock, it would be a misnomer to classify him as a pure leg locker. When Imanari does not enter exchanges with his opponents with a leg attack, he is content to rush at his opponent with strikes and jump to his back after attaching himself to them.
If he is not immediately able to finish his opponents as he pulls guard, Imanari’s closed guard is another gambit for his opponent to try to survive. Once in firm control, Imanari looks to transition to the rubber guard position and use the threat of the omoplata to force his opponents to succumb to either the armbar or the Imanari choke.
Once he is able to break down his opponent’s posture by attempting a kimura, Imanari brings his left foot in front of his opponent’s head. The purpose of this is that Imanari’s thigh is in the proper position to create adequate separation between his opponent’s elbow and the rest of his body. When this separation is established Imanari is able to hip escape to his opponent’s side while hooking his opponent’s leg to stop him from standing up in addition to the pressure on the trapped shoulder. During the entirety of the sequence, Imanari controls the wrist of his opponent so that once his opponent is able to escape by posturing and turning toward Imanari, Imanari is able to transition to a triangle, then an armbar to secure the victory.
If Imanari is able to properly secure the omoplata, he is content to make a crossface on his opponent and sits to his back. Imanari then uses the crossface to pry his opponent’s chin up so that he can secure the rear naked choke with his opponent’s shoulder trapped.
A two division world champion in the Japanese Promotion, DEEP, and the only Cage Rage Featherweight Champion, Masakazu Imanari has left an indelible mark on both the grappling and mixed martial arts world. As one of the first grapplers to create a system surrounding leg entanglements, Imanari’s influence can clearly be seen in the modern submission grappling metagame, primarily due to the success of the Danaher Death Squad and their exploitation of the saddle position. In MMA, much of Imanari’s game can be seen in Ryan Hall, who while controversial, has won eight consecutive fights, four of which have come in the UFC.
While Imanari might never win a championship in a top flight organization, his impact on both submission grappling and mixed martial arts ensures his rightful place as a legend, and one of MMA’s greatest specialists.