Yarden Gerbi made history in 2013 by becoming the first Israeli player to win a world championship. She won the championship match in style by strangling Clarisse Agbegnenou from France. Gerbi strangled her with a previously little-known choke in which Gerbi used the hemline of her jacket.
Judo enthusiasts instantly gave this the name “Gerbi Choke.” However, some BJJ enthusiasts counter that it is essentially the Peruvian Necktie.
As a result of the technique’s usage of the jacket skirt, the IJF decided to outlaw it.
One strategy entailed applying a headlock to at least one of uke’s arms, making it similar to a sankaku but using the arms rather than the legs. This is also often called kata-sankaku.
Then, similar to how Gerbi performed her choke, tori would put one leg on the back of uke’s head and the other on his back. This was found permissible since it did not include the jacket skirt.
Instead of using a kata-sankaku, there is another technique known as a “trap choke.” This is where the tori traps the uke’s far lapel with one hand and the back of his collar with the other. One of uke’s arms gets trapped, much like the kata-sankaku. From there, the tori would sit with one leg on uke’s back and the other on the back of his head.
It seems that the IJF has now declared both of these versions as illegal. According to the Arab Judo Referee YouTube Channel, this technique was addressed at a referee’s meeting before the Hungary Grand Slam on July 7, 2022.
It was determined that this technique would no longer be permitted. However, the IJF has not yet issued an official comment on this subject.