Cobra Twist

In Japanese, a "cobra twist," katakanized kobura tsuisuto コブラツイスト, better known in English as "abdominal stretch," is a wrestling hold in which a wrestler, from behind, locks the opponent's arm, and bends them to a side. There are variations, but essentially:

• Left arm weaves in front of the opponent's right arm and behind their neck.
• Right hand grabs left hand, pressing the forearms against the opponent's neck.
• Left leg wraps the opponent's left leg, or is placed in front of it.
• The attacker squats, or pushes the receiver down by their neck, shoulders, bending their trunk, abdomen, to a side.

Attacker: Mizuki Natsumi 水木なつみ
Receiver: Yamaguchi Daisuke 山口大介
Anime: Mama wa Shougaku Yon'nensei ママは小学４年生 (1992, Episode 1)

• Examples
  • Peculiar Examples
• Octopus Hold

Examples

For reference, some examples of the cobra twist in anime:

Attacker: Yamanaka Sawako 山中さわ子
Receiver: Tainaka Ritsu 田井中律
Left: Akiyama Mio 秋山澪
Right: Hirasawa Yui 平沢唯
Anime: K-On!!, Keion!! けいおん！！ (Season 2) (Episode 4)

Attacker: Kinohata Mira 木ノ幡みら
Receiver: Suzuya Moe 鈴矢萌
Anime: Koi Suru Asteroid, 恋する小惑星 (Episode 7)

An example in real life:

Attacker: Natalya
Receiver: Layla
Source: Megan Elice Meadows on Flickr, accessed 2020-16-14 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Attacker: Kanamori Sayaka 金森さやか
Receiver: Asakusa Midori 浅草みどり
Anime: Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na! 映像研には手を出すな！ (Episode 10)

Attacker: Dekomori Sanae 凸守早苗
Receiver: Nibutani Shinka 丹生谷森夏
Left: Shichimiya Satone 七宮智音
Anime: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren 中二病でも恋がしたい！戀 (Season 2) (Episode 12)

Attacker: Kaizaki Nao 貝崎名緒
Receiver: Amakasu Hisone 甘粕ひそね
Anime: Hisone to Maso-tan ひそねとまそたん (Episode 3)

Attacker: Hagiwara Sakura 萩原さくら
Receiver: Fukuoka Moe 福岡萌
Anime: Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! 世界でいちばん強くなりたい！ (Episode 10)

Attacker: Hidaka Azumi 日高安純
Receiver: Minami Kaede 南楓
Anime: Wagamama Fairy Mirumo de Pon! Golden, わがまま☆フェアリー ミルモでポン！ ごおるでん (Episode 4)

Attacker: Kiriha 桐葉
Receiver: Kukuri くくり
Anime: Tsugumomo つぐもも (Episode 7)

Attacker: Shibata Genzou 柴田源蔵
Receiver: Vanstein Carmilla ヴァンシュタイン・カーミラ
Anime: Hataage! Kemono Michi 旗揚!！けものみち (Episode 11)

Attacker: Matsuhara Dai 松原ダイ
Receiver: Akatsutsumi Momoko 赤堤ももこ, in the body of Matsuhara Kaoru 松原かおる
Anime: Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z, 出ましたっ！パワパフガールズＺ (Episode 41)

Attacker: "Landlady," Ooya 大家
Receiver: Jahy, ジャヒー
Anime: Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai!, ジャヒー様はくじけない！ (Episode 1, Stitch)

Attacker: Shibata Genzou 柴田源蔵
Receiver: Wolfgang von Kraftman ヴォルフガング・フォン・クラフトマン
Anime: Hataage! Kemono Michi 旗揚!！けものみち (Episode 8)

Attacker: Tachibana Jun'ichi 橘純一
Receiver: Umehara Masayoshi 梅原正吉
Anime: Amagami SS, アマガミＳＳ (Episode 2)

Attacker: Barbara バルバラ
Receiver: Haruhiro ハルヒロ
Anime: Hai to Gensou no Grimgar, 灰と幻想のグリムガル (Episode 1)

Peculiar Examples

For reference, some peculiar examples of the cobra twist in anime:

Attacker: Nyaruko ニャル子
Receiver: Cthuko クー子
Anime: Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W, 這いよれ！ニャル子さん W (Season 2) (Episode 8)

• Context: H.P. Lovecraft characters Nyarlathotep and Cthulhu drawn as cute anime girls, with Nyarlathotep using one of her Space Close Quarters Combat techniques on Cthulhu.
• Uchuu Shi Kyuu Shi Meijou Shi-gatai Jigoku-meita Kobura Tsuisuto!
  宇宙Ｃ．Ｑ．Ｃ．名状しがたい怪物の地獄めいたコブラツイスト！
  Space C.Q.C.: Indescribable Monster's Hell-esque Cobra Twist!
  • meijou shi-gatai
    名状しがたい
    Hard to describe. (eldritch abominations are said to be so abominable they're beyond human comprehension, and therefore impossible to describe with human words.)

In Love Live! Sunshine!!, Tsushima Yoshiko 津島善子 puts both Kurosawa sisters in cobra twist in the same episode.

Attacker: Tsushima Yoshiko 津島善子
Receiver: Kurosawa Ruby 黒澤ルビィ
Anime: Love Live! Sunshine!! (Episode 9, Stitch)

Attacker: Tsushima Yoshiko 津島善子
Receiver: Kurosawa Dia 黒澤ダイヤ
Anime: Love Live! Sunshine!! (Episode 9)

In Kemono Michi 獣道, episode 7, a half-lizard girl shows up only to be instantly defeated by a figure-four leglock. She pesters Shibata Genzou 柴田源蔵 to the point he gives an ultimatum: if she continues he'll use the cobra twist on her. Later, he spends the whole episode trying to use the technique on a different character, Vanstein Carmilla ヴァンシュタイン・カーミラ.

Attacker: Shibata Genzou 柴田源蔵
Receiver: Vanstein Carmilla ヴァンシュタイン・カーミラ
Left: Hanako 花子
Anime: Hataage! Kemono Michi 旗揚!！けものみち (Episode 7, Collage)

In Futari wa Precure ふたりはプリキュア, Misumi Nagisa 美墨なぎさ uses the cobra twist on her younger brother, Misumi Ryouta 美墨亮太, various times through the series to punish him for annoying her.

Attacker: Misumi Nagisa 美墨なぎさ
Receiver: Misumi Ryouta 美墨亮太
Anime: Futari wa Precure, ふたりはプリキュア (Collage, Episodes: Left: 2, 8, 10, Stitch: 11, Bottom: 17, 32)

Attacker: Misumi Nagisa 美墨なぎさ
Receiver: Misumi Ryouta 美墨亮太
Instructor: Misumi Takashi 美墨岳
Anime: Futari wa Precure, ふたりはプリキュア (Collage, Episode 11)

• Context: on episode 11, after Nagisa uses the technique on Ryouta for eating a strawberry that was supposed to be hers, Ryouta asks their father, Takashi, for help, who helps Nagisa use the technique properly.
• otousan, tasukete
  お父さん、助けて
  Dad, help [me].
• Nagisa! kobura tsuisuto toiu mono wa na, hora, hidari-ude de Ryouta no migi-ude wo osae-konde karada wo nobasu. kore de yoshi to.
  なぎさ！コブラツイストというものはな、ほら、左腕で亮太の右腕押さえ込んで体を伸ばす。これでよしと。
  Nagisa! [To do] a cobra twist, [you see], [you lock] Ryouta's right arm with your left arm and stretch [his] body. [Now it's alright].
  • kore de yoshi
    これでよし
    With this, [it's] fine.
    After doing this, it's alright.
    Now that I've done this, it's good.

Attacker: Moegi Emo 萌黄えも
Receiver: Moegi Shunta 萌黄春太
Anime: Kiratto Pri☆chan, キラッとプリ☆チャン (Episode 16)

• Context: Emo says that if her younger brother, Shunta, were to tell her to quit Pri☆chan, she would use the "Emo Special," Emo Supesharu えもスペシャル, on him, a wrestling hold apparently based on the cobra twist.
  • Note: this isn't a real wrestling hold. It's common for techniques to be named after wrestlers in the pattern "wrestler name special," and in this case the wrestler is Moegi Emo.

Octopus Hold

The cobra twist is sometimes mistaken for the manji-gatame 卍固め, octopus hold. The difference being that in a manji-gatame the left leg is placed over the opponent's head, rather than wrapping around the opponent.

Attacker: Shi Miao 時秒
Receiver: Shi Fen 時分
Anime: Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 兄に付ける薬はない！ (Episode 4)