A tying technique that, with the tied person sitting on the floor in the position known as agura, immobilizes their legs through counter-tension.
The agura posture requires deep hip flexion with abduction and external rotation of the thighs, the knees bent until the ankles cross in front of the body and the soles of the feet face upward, which helps the knees reach the floor.
This way of sitting is the informal counterpart of the more ceremonial seiza in Japanese tradition; during the Edo period it was forbidden for women, as it was considered improper because it exposed the legs.
It is a stable and fairly comfortable posture, and there is no historical evidence or logical argument to support its use as a method of torture in the Japanese context.
People with reduced mobility, or with a limited range of hip flexion at floor level, may find it hard to adopt the posture correctly.
In these cases, an auxiliary support that raises the hips makes it easier to reach the agura position safely and with more stability.
The degree of compression it involves means it is mainly used with techniques that seek precisely that effect (compressing the body).
Even so, watch for hyperflexion of the lumbar spine, especially when it is combined with torso harnesses, since it can compromise both the vertebral structures and the sciatic and peroneal nerves.
So we should not “fold the body” toward the floor, but “tilt it” forward from the hips.
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