Developing powerful Judo is not necessarily a bad thing. As long as you are not compensating for poor technique, then using your body in ways which produce powerful throws is good. Here’s a few ideas to start the thread:

(All examples are right-handed throws)

First, your attack should in general start with a 45 degree ‘angle of attack’. Many times, throws fail because your ‘driving leg’ (the leg furthest back, that you are pushing off of) is not in the right position. As an example, on a good Taiotoshi, your left driving leg should be outside, and not too far in front of uke’s left foot. Unfortunately, that’s a very poor position to switch to an Ouchigari. And yet, this is a very popular combination. Next time you try it, take a look where your left foot is at, to ‘make’ the combination, you will generally have to ‘hop’ to the right, and forward (of uke), with your left foot.

Your head… is it turning in the direction of the throw? You lose a tremendous amount of power by not using your head in your throws. A throw can succeed or fail on the turning of the head, so make it count. (Do I have to tell you where to turn the head? Hope not!)

 

Not related to developing power, but just thinking of it: study how to move your opponents head as well as your own. One of my often repeated ‘proverbs’ is ‘Where the head goes, the body will follow’. So, move uke’s head, and see what happens!

Left-hand Pull: On forward throws such as Taiotoshi, instead of driving ‘outward’ with your left hand, tuck it into your stomach at the beginning of your turn (or as you turn – and before the end of the turn). See if this works for you.

Hips: Beginners trying seoinage will most often try bringing their shoulders in first… but try this, if your shoulders move forward, your hips move back! Try leading with your hips, ‘straight-arm’s’ will no longer stop you! In general, lead with your hips on almost all techniques.

Rotation: If you must rotate, do it sharply… and preferably after you’ve made contact with your opponent. As an example, try doing a Taiotoshi, as soon as you’ve got contact and correct position, drive your right shoulder down to your left knee. Solid, sharp, rotation is the key. The most commonly overlooked method for generating powerful throws, is the power generated by rotating hips!

Power is the combination of speed times mass. Something often overlooked here is that the more speed you can get, the more power you can get. And how can you get more speed? How about starting your throw further away from your opponent? Gives you more time to develop your acceleration into faster speed. Give it a try!

Footwork: We often use way too many steps to create an attack. As an example, I learned Taiotoshi as a 3 step process:

1. Step diagonally forward with right foot. (to the left)
2. As you turn, step back (towards uke) with left foot.
3. Pick up right foot again, and drive it across uke’s right foot.

This footwork is fine for demonstration, but in randori or shiai, do it this way, starting from ‘Migi Shizentai’ (Fancy Japanese for putting your right foot forward!)

1. Turning, drive your left foot back (towards uke’s left foot)
2. Pick up right foot, drive it across uke’s right foot.

Hmmm… managed to reduce it by one… now, to reduce it yet again, try this:

1. Jump up, spin 180, land in a split, now rotate and lunge down and to the left.

You’ve now tripled your power in Taiotoshi…

There’s a good drill to work this version of Taiotoshi: without a partner: Jump up, twist 180, land in a split. (legs wide apart). At that moment, take your right elbow, and try to touch your left knee with it. You will land doing a roll over your right shoulder and side. And your roll will not be the picture perfect ‘over the shoulder’ roll, but more across the back, sideways type of roll… you’ll land on the top of your right thigh, and right side… Does this description give you the idea?

I hope these tips will give you a few ideas for developing more power for your throws.

Warning: A general knowledge of these throws is assumed in this message, I’m not trying to *teach* any technique. These are just a few ideas to develop more power to try out.

Many Judoka spend a great deal of time on combination techniques, and little or no time on creating a personal ‘integrated attack system’. (Abreviated to IAS from now on…) Now, while I’m concentrating on Judo here, this information could very well be applied to other arts as well.

What is an ‘integrated attack system’? It’s simply one step beyond ‘combination’ techniques. The basis of personal system, is to take your favorite technique, and create and train in combinations to handle every possible defense. As an example, a common ‘combination’ is to combine Taiotoshi with Ouchigari. But this is only the first technique in a personal IAS, a complete system would also define the follow-up technique for all defenses. I’ll give a summary of a possible IAS here, as an example:

Let’s say your favorite technique is Osotogari… lets look at what your IAS might look like: (All examples given right-sided)

Each attack below starts with your Osotogari attack…

1. One common defense is for uke to step back with his left leg, turning to uke’s left, then initiating an Osotogaeshi. When you’ve seen that uke likes to do this, feint with your Osoto, but continue forward, and plant your attacking leg to the side or behind uke’s right foot… continue your body movement forward until you are actually side by side, or slightly behind uke… then take your left foot, and attack with Nidan Kosotogake. Note: this is not a combination in the normal sense of the word, the Osoto done here is a feint.

2. Another common defense is to pull the attacked leg back, and lean forward… continue your attacking leg until your foot touches his right knee, then spin into Ashiguruma, or hop forward (switching drivers), and switch to Haraitsurikomiashi.

3. Another defense is for uke to start leaning left, in order to initiate a Tani Otoshi, again, hop your driver over, and switch your attack to a left-sided Sasaetsurikomiashi. (An Ouchigari might work here as well)

This is really an abbreviated example, but you see the basic idea. Don’t work on combinations as a unit, but start with one technique (your most powerful and favorite one), and develop every combination that you can out of your one throw, that allows for every defense.

This idea will work just as well for other arts, I invite you to try developing your own Integrated Attack System!

 

A question that I’d like to have everyone ponder here is: “Is Hadakajime an “Air” choke, or a “Blood” choke.“?

Or, perhaps even more basic than this, are there more than one ‘category’ of chokes in Judo? There are those who believe that Judo teaches only “Blood” chokes, and has no other category. In the following, I will attempt to show that there are actually three types of chokes.

1. “Blood” chokes – This isn’t a controversial category at all. You cannot be a practicing Judoka over the age of 13 without becoming familiar with this category!

2. “Air” chokes – chokes that attempt to stop the breathing. As more closely detailed below, this choke in actual practice is generally effective due to the pain & panic involved, and not the actual cutoff of breathing.

3. “Combination” chokes – Those chokes which don’t rely on either of the two above, but is rather a combination of the above two categories.

There are many Judoka who don’t believe that categories 2 and 3 exist in Judo. It is my hope that after reading the resources listed below, those that hold this opinion will be swayed to look more closely into the subject.

In the following text I have quoted all the references that I have access to that relate to this subject. When looking through various Judo books, the description of Hadakajime is often similar to: “Put right arm around throat, clasping left hand… apply pressure.” Well, quite obviously something similar to that will not be useful in determining whether Hadakajime has historically been taught as an “Air” choke, or a “Blood” choke. The following are only the ones (that I have access to) where the text is clear. In many other references the pictures make clear what the text does not (Such as Canon of Judo by Mifune)

 

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Kodokan Judo by Jigoro Kano

“Kneel on the ball of your left foot behind your seated opponent. Your right knee should be just outside his right side. Put your right arm around his neck and bring the inside of your mid-forearm or the thumb side of your wrist up against it. Clasp your hands, left palm up, near his left shoulder. Put the right side of your head against the left side of his, and press his head toward your right arm. At the same time, pull him off balance to his back and pull hard against his windpipe with your right arm.”(Pg. 120)

 

Comments: This appears fairly straightforward, and would appear to demonstrate an “Air” choke. Notice the reference to the windpipe.

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Canon of Judo by Kyuzo Mifune

“This is to wring up the opponent’s throat without touching the clothes. Either in the standing or in the lying trick, this is to bring the opponent to the state of suspended animation by wringing the throat, making him incline backward and breaking his balance in athe most natural way.”(Pg. 136)

Comment: Those of you who are lucky enough to own a copy of “Canon of Judo” are probably just as frustrated as I am at the extremely poor translation. I listed the above paragraph just to give the ‘flavor’ of the translation. To the point in this discussion however, is the ending sentence in his description of ‘Mae Hadakajime’. Although Mae Hadakajime is a variation, and not the exact choke under discussion, it is only a variation, and not an entirely different choke:

“Then wring the throat as mentioned before, and his breathing will stop at once.”(Pg. 137)

Comment: Even as poor as the translation is… Mifune is distinctly discussing the stopping of uke’s breathing.

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Dynamic Judo by Kazuzo Kudo

“The way you get a strangle on your opponent’s neck depends on the type of technique you use: 1. In some you get your hold only on his windpipe. 2. In others you apply pressure to both the windpipe and to the carotid artery. 3. In still others you apply pressure to the carotid artery and the jugular vein.”(Pg. 78)

 

Comments: This clearly indicates the 2 major forms of chokes, ‘air’ and ‘blood’, and also discusses the combination of the two types. Solid evidence for my position.

“In none of the strangles should you cause your opponent pain, but a strangle hold is not a real strangle unless your opponent suddenly finds himself being asphyxiated.”

Comments: As a *general* rule, this is certainly accurate. Chokes that deprive the brain of oxygenated blood (“Blood” chokes), certainly should be for the most part completely painless. Chokes that cut off the air supply however, cannot be. Kudo specified a category of chokes that puts pressure on the windpipe… and there is simply no way to apply pressure to the windpipe that is painless.

“The name of this technique, literally naked strangle, indicates that you make no use of your opponent’s training suit, but strangle him by joining your own two hands together and applying pressure to his throat.”(Pg. 91)

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Shimewaza by Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki

“Ju-jitsu shimewaza attacked three major points where the oxygen supply could be blocked: the neck, the diaphragm, and the face. Standing strangles were rarely employed because the opponent’s hands were then free to hinder the effective shime attack. The shimewaza to the neck had three purposes: to stop the air supply; to block the carotid artery; and to break the neckbone.”(Pg. 12)

Comments: This quote is only given because it is referred to in the quote below. This quote comes from a chapter entitled “A History of Shimewaza”.

“There are two kinds of shimewaza. One stops the blood supply, while the other stops the air supply. As already mentioned in the chapter on the history of shimewaza, the ju-jitsu tradition regarded the smothering of the face being just as much a shimewaza as is an attack on the neck. But judo rules disallow this kind of shimewaza. It is, frankly, difficult to choke an opponent by depressing the trachea because the air tube is large. It is also quite well protected. All that generally happens is that the Adam’s apple is pushed back in the throat which is painful, but not lethal. It can, however, be effective from time to time – especially against the unaware. This is one reason why hadakajime is not seen very often at the top level of competition, though in randori it can still spring a surprise, particularly in combination with something else. A second reason is that the opportunities for it are relatively few. It is quite easy just to push the chin down to the chest to prevent a direct entry; and the defender can also use his hands to block. It is a classic situation of two hands versus two hands, and tori has to be inventive to get past the defence. The best way is often to immobilise one or both of the hands.(Pg. 56)

Comments: Kashiwazaki clearly indicates that there are two types of chokes in Judo… and clearly places Hadakajime in the “Air” category.

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Article by Dr. Koiwai (available on the net)

Dr. Koiwai’s Full Article

“Basically, except for one form of shime-waza, hadaka-jime, the pressure is applied to the lateral side of the neck which the anatomists call the “carotid triangle”. This triangle is formed by the midline, anteriorly (front) from the apex of the chin to the upper part of the sternum (breast bone), superiorly (above) by the line formed by the lower border of the mandible (lower jaw bone) and posteriorly (behind) by the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (strap muscle between the clavicle and to the bone of the skull behind the ear). In the center of this triangle are the jugular veins, carotid artery and its branches and the carotid sinus. No strong muscle protects this area. The pressure is applied in a certain manner, depending upon the technique, directly on these structures. It may be the fist or the collar of the judogi. Very often it is the pressure of the distal end of the radius and the wrist which compresses the soft structures of the neck. Until the above named structures are sufficiently compressed the choke will not be effective. The neophyte may submit not because of the choke but because of the fear of being choked or the pain produced by improper choking methods. Hadaka-jime differs from other forms since part of the pressure is also applied to the larynx and trachea which is extremely painful and the player will usually submit before unconsciousness intervenes.”

Comments: Quite clearly explicit that there are two types of chokes – and which one Hadakajime is.

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Judo Principles – Newaza by Anton Geesink

“To do this I force uke’s head diagonally to the right front, so that the sharp part of my right forearm presses against uke’s throat in such a manner that his breath is cut off.”(Pg. 90)

Comments: Anton Geesink has a clear opinion here.

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Judo Formal Techniques by Otaki & Draeger

“Focus your body power with a squeezing action into both sides of Uke’s trapped neck; use your right arm and the right side of your head to effect the squeeze while Uke is off balance backward. Think of your right arm as a huge nutcracker, with Uke’s neck as the nut. If you have positioned your right arm correctly, you will be able to bring the inner edge of your right wrist against the left front of Uke’s neck, where pressure will shut off the blood flow in his jugular vein; on the right side of Uke’s neck, your upper right arm similarly affects his carotid artery. Do not merely crush his Adam’s apple.”(Pg. 336)

Comments: Otaki & Draeger are apparently the only authoritative source which teaches Hadakajime as a “Blood” choke. Although recognising that it can easily fall into the “combination” camp (Notice the last sentence – a clear implication that the windpipe is being crushed.), it’s clearly taught as a “Blood” choke in this reference.

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The Manual of Judo by E.J. Harrison

“Pass your left hand and arm over his left shoulder and across his throat in front with the thumb edge of your wrist against it and cup the palm of that hand in the upturned palm of your right hand near his right shoulder. Then with th eleft side of your head press strongly against the right side of his head and simultaneously pull hard with your right hand clasping your left so that the sustained twofold pressure on his windpipe and against his head speedily reduces him to submission.”(Pg. 135)

Comments: Some people have put forth the theory that Hadakajime ‘turned into’ an “Air” choke when Judo began participating in the Olympics. Dating as it does from 1952, this one reference appears to undercut this theory that Hadakajime done as an “Air” choke does not predate 1964. And once again, this reference is clearly of the “Air” choke type, as it specifically mentions the pressure on the windpipe.

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The Judo Textbook by Hayward Nishioka & James West

“Choking methods are of two sorts. By applying pressure to the trachea of an opponent, you can cut off the oxygen supply to his lungs. The second method applies pressure to the carotid arteries, denying a blood supply to the brain. Of these, the latter technique is perhaps the more humane in that it is not as painful as applying pressure to the trachea.”(Pg. 107)

Comments: Clearly expresses the idea of two types of chokes.

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Secrets of Judo by Jiichi Watanabe & Lindy Avakian

“… apply pressure with the left radius part of your wrist against the front of his neck… The synchronized operation of these two forces results in simultaneous pressure against the carotid arteries and the windpipe.”(Pg. 172)

Comments: Clearly in the ‘combination’ camp. Again, specifically mentions the pressure against the trachea.

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Basic Judo by E.G. Bartlett

“Some judo strangleholds have as their object constriction of the windpipe to restrict breathing, while the purpose of others is to constrict the carotid arteries and by so restricting the flow of blood to the brain to cause loss of consciousness.”(Pg. 56)

“From the practice position on one knee behind him, pass your right arm over your partner’s right shoulder, with the forearm across the front of his throat and the bony edge of the thumb side in contact with his throat. Pass your left hand over his left shoulder and, with fingers uppermost and the thumb underneath, catch your own right wrist. The back of your right hand is uppermost. Pull back on your right wrist with your left hand to exert pressure against the front of his throat. At the same time, put your right shoulder behind his head and push it forwards to prevent him relieving the pressure by bringing his head back. This constricts the windpipe and is painful.”(Pg. 59)

Comments: Again, clearly demonstrating my position that there are two types of chokes. In the book, this was called ‘Ushirojime’, but it is clearly ‘Hadakajime’ by another name.

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Judo from the Beginning by Phil Porter

“A Judo choke consists of holding the opponent’s head and neck still while one arm presses against the front or side of his neck to cut off the supply of (1) air to the lungs, or (2) blood to the brain.”(pg. 90)

Comments: Can’t be much more clear than this.

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My Method of Judo by Kawaishi

“The OBJECT of the STRANGULATIONS is to cause the victim to lose consciousness: either by compressing the CAROTID ARTERIES from either side of the neck, under the maxillaries and appreciably in the vertical line of the ears, which prevents the irrigation of the brain, and this is the SANGUINEOUS STRANGULATION; or by pressing on the TRACHEA or WINDPIPE in front of the neck, from the Adam’s apple to the summit of the sternum, which prevents renewal of Oxygen of the blood and brings about asphyxia, and this is RESPIRATORY STRANGULATION. There is also a NERVOUS form of strangulation which completes the preceding two, but into details of which it is impossible to enter here.”(pg 132)

Comments: It seems heartless to point out that according to Kawaishi, there are both “Air” and “Blood” chokes.

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Kodokan Judo by Hikoichi Aida – Translated by E.J. Harrison

(Note: Although the title is the same, this is NOT the more famous ‘Kodokan Judo’ by Kano). Although this book has no ‘published’ date, Robert Smith’s ‘A Bibliography of Judo’ lists this book as being published in 1956.)

“Attention: The inner bone (? radius) of the two bones of the right forearm passed round your opponent’s neck is applied to his throat and crushes his trachea or windpipe from the direct front.”(Pg. 210)

Comment: Seems fairly clear here…

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My Study of Judo” by G. Koizumi.

“The objective of Shime-Waza is to effect a comotose state on the opponent. Technically is is to apply pressure to the opponent’s neck to prevent the blood circulation to the brain, or to squeeze the throat or chest to subdue the normal breathing. This can be done by using the jacket, wrists, arms or legs. The former if applied correctly takes effect within a few seconds without undue discomfort to the opponent; the latter a few minutes with much discomfort….”(Pg. 110)

“… To prevent the breathing, the pressure should be applied at the front of the throat or on the floating ribs.”

Comments: Once again, another very clear reference describing two different categories of chokes…

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A comment recently made was "…that judo’s biggest weakness in newaza is the lack of attention paid to positional grappling." I think that virtually everyone who trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can agree with this statement. Unfortunately, it’s wrong.

An equivalent statement by Judoka might be "BJJ’s biggest weakness is their ‘standup’ game…" And although most Judoka would probably subscribe to it, that statement is just as wrong.

Now that I’ve got both BJJ’ers and Judoka’s mad at me, let me make my point, and perhaps we can still learn from each other. The reason that both of these statements are wrong, is that they both carry a hidden assumption. Both statements assume that you can directly compare the two arts. You cannot. They have both different rules (and most everyone immediately understands that), but also different strategies.

It is in the area of strategy where tactics evolve. If your underlying strategy is different, then your tactics will also be different. As an example, let us make the judgment that legs are stronger than arms… Can anyone argue with that? Let us further make the judgment that legs have a further ‘reach’ than arms… again, a perfectly permissible thought. Does this suggest a strategy? It certainly does, it is the basis of the strategy followed by Korean Tae Kwon Do styles.

Now, what is the underlying strategy of BJJ? (Disclaimer here: I do not study BJJ, my knowledge comes only from talking and practicing with BJJ’ers.) Might I suggest that the judgment might be made that most fights end up on the ground? Might I further suggest that an apparently good strategy might be to be better than anyone else at the place where you’ll end up anyway? Someone following this strategy will not evolve complicated tactics for getting someone else down on the ground, under the strategic guidelines, most everyone ends up there anyway. So any tactics for getting someone to the ground will be basic ones, and not emphasized. What will evolve, would be the best methods for stopping someone from continuing to fight when on the ground. Complicated, highly trained methods of taking someone to the ground has rather limited value to BJJ’s strategy.

The comparable underlying strategy of Judo is just as focused. It is to gain control over an opponent by putting him off-balance. Kuzushi is always the start of anything in Judo. Once placed off-balance, a Judoka would like to throw his opponent, and then maintain the control already achieved with a ‘triangle’ of tactics. That triangle being pins, armbars, and chokes. Since the Judoka wishes to maintain a control already achieved, what need does he have of positional grappling? If control is lost, a Judoka probably prefers to begin again where he has been trained to gain that control, standing up. Complex highly trained positional grappling is of limited value to the Judoka’s strategy.

Once the hidden strategies of both arts are examined, can the tactics be understood? I know I cannot be alone among Judoka when I think about the the rather slender grasp of standup skills that many BJJ’ers have… but in view of their strategy, it makes sense. Just as Judo’s tactics make sense when their strategy is examined.

Can the two arts learn from each other? Certainly! But learning from each other is a far cry from believing that the respective arts have ‘holes’ that can only be filled from the skills of the other art.

In a recent interview, a Judoka who’s moved over to BJJ commented "Why doesn’t someone when they see something better come along open their eyes to it and change? I don’t get it." Might I suggest that this person has changed strategies? And is now comparing both arts with the same strategy?

If you’d like to ask the question, which is better, Judo or BJJ… all I have to say is what is better, an apple or an orange?

And better at what?

 

The following information was taken from the book, "Judo for High School & College" by the USJF, editored by George Uchida, George Wilson, and Toyosaburo Fujiwara. This list compiles the winning techniques at the All Japan High School Championships for 10 years (1962-1971).

 

Uchimata .................. 342 Seoinage .................. 206 Osotogari ................. 176 Yoko Shiho Gatame ......... 118 Kuzure Kami Shiho Gatame .. 114 O Uchi Gari ................ 88 Harai Goshi ................ 78 Kaeshi Waza ................ 72 Tai Otoshi ................. 71 Kami Shiho Gatame .......... 68 Tsuri Komi Goshi ........... 64 Okuri Eri Jime ............. 63 Kesa Gatame ................ 63 Ko Soto Gari ............... 53 Harai Makikomi ............. 50 Tate Shiho Gatame .......... 47 Kuzure Kesa Gatame ......... 42 Osoto Otoshi ............... 37 Osoto Makikomi ............. 36 Okuri Ashi Barai ........... 28 Kuzure Yoko Shiho Gatame ... 28 Jujigatame ................. 24 Ko Soto Gake ............... 16 Sukuinage .................. 15 Ogoshi ..................... 13 Ushiro Goshi ............... 12 Sukashi Waza ............... 12 Ushiro Kesa Gatame ......... 11 Tomoenage .................. 11 Morote Gari ................ 11 Jujijime ................... 11 Udegarami ................... 9 Kata Guruma ................. 9 De Ashi Barai ............... 9 Sasae Tsuri Komi Ashi ....... 8 Ude Hishigi Hiza Gatame ..... 7 Kata Gatame ................. 7 Wakagatame .................. 6 Utsuri Goshi ................ 6 Hadakajime .................. 6 Katahajime .................. 5 Uranage ..................... 2 Tani Otoshi ................. 2 Uki Goshi ................... 1 Sankakujime ................. 1 Kuchigi Taoshi .............. 1 Harai Tsuri Komi Ashi ....... 1

 

Begin in the right natural posture.

Make your opponent step forward with his right foot by pulling him gently to his right front corner. Put your left foot outside his right foot to break his balance to this right back corner by pulling him toward you with your left hand and pushing him backward with your right.

Lightly raise your right leg and swing it past your opponent’s right leg. Clip his thigh hard from behind with your thigh. At the same time, pull down hard with your left hand and push toward his right back corner with your right hand.

Your Opponent’s legs will fly up and he will fall directly backward.

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It has long been a pet-peeve of mine that Osotogari is rarely taught as it is actually performed. All of us are familiar with the ‘classical’ form of the technique, as described and shown above. And as many times as we practice that form, when it’s time to actually use this throw, in either randori or shiai, it’s never done this way!! Interestingly enough, Osotogari is generally roughly the third leading throw used in competition, so it’s not by any means a rarely used throw. And yet, it’s rarely taught the way it’s actually performed!

 

My first assertion: This ‘basic’ (or ‘classic’) form of Osotogari doesn’t work. I’m fully aware that most Judoka reading the previous sentence will now think to themselves that I must know very little Judo to make a statement like that. However, Phil Porter makes a very similar statement concerning ‘classical’ Osotogari, so I’m in fairly good company. If you are facing someone who knows no Judo, and can be manipulated easily by you, then yes, this version of Osoto will work. But if you are attempting to make this work against either a resisting opponent, or a knowledgeable opponent, sorry, won’t work.

 

This is rather easy to demonstrate… simply start looking for it. You’ll not see it. It doesn’t occur at all unless you are watching the 6-8 year old yellow belts… When you get to serious randori and shiai, the ‘classical’ form of Osotogari disappears completely.

Now, we saw in the above photos how Anton Geesink demonstrates and teaches Osotogari, let’s examine how he performs Osotogari in competition. As you can see in this photo on the left, it would appear that Anton Geesink forgot everything he ever knew about Osotogari, since he’s doing what is virtually a different throw altogether. Instead of stepping forward with his left foot, he has evidently either left it in place, or even stepped back in order to get a 45 degree ‘angle of attack’ on his opponent. It looks like it might even be the beginning tsukuri of Ashi Guruma, but in this form of Osotogari, uke will be thrown backward. To the right, you can see Yasuhiro Yamashita, who authored a book on Osotogari, executing the dynamic form of Osotogari. And yet, in his book on the subject, this was relegated to a couple of pages as a "variation". Then throughout the book, he taught the classical version, and all the competition photos showed the dynamic form of the technique.

 

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One of the principles of Judo is Seiryoku Zenyo, commonly translated as "Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort". Another way to translate it, and a personal favorite of mine, would be "Best Use of Energy". My second assertion of this article is: The classical version of Osotogari violates the principle of Seiryoku Zenyo. Covered in detail below as I show why the classical version doesn’t work.

Now, a step by step discussion of why this classical version won’t work. I’m going to use the initial description of Osotogari given at the beginning of this article to make my points.

Begin in the right natural posture.
No problem yet…

Make your opponent step forward with his right foot by pulling him gently to his right front corner.
Now we have a problem… why are you going to attack the leg that has no weight on it? If you believe that you can exert enough pull later on to force uke to place his weight on his right foot, doesn’t this violate the principle of maximum efficiency?

Put your left foot outside his right foot
Another huge problem… we are attempting to force uke backwards, but then we place our driving leg in the totally wrong place to exert any force! Take any six year old child, and ask him/her to push as "hard as they can" against a wall… and they will naturally assume a 45 degree ‘angle of attack’ against the wall. If a six year old doesn’t have to be taught how to exert maximum force with minimum effort, why did we forget it? (Think about the ‘driving’ or rear leg of the Boxer doing a right cross, or the batter swinging the bat, or a track & field coming out of the blocks… yep, they’re all at a 45 degree ‘angle of attack’.)

to break his balance to this right back corner by pulling him toward you with your left hand
In order to pull downward (to set uke’s weight on the leg you are attacking), you must be in a position that won’t allow you to exert any force to the rear… you must be ‘even’ with, or slightly behind uke’s vertical line. This particular ‘pull’ must accomplish more here than in the version which follows. Here the pull must actively set uke’s weight on his right leg, in the version which follows, the pull merely keeps the already existing weight in place. Which is a more efficient use of force?

and pushing him backward with your right.
With what force? You are pushing against what? Try stepping right up to a heavy filing cabinet, and see how far you can push it. Then set one or both feet behind you at a 45 degree angle, and see how much easier the task is. Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort is a very real principle that can accomplish things if followed…

Lightly raise your right leg and swing it past your opponent’s right leg.
Raise your leg while you are standing on one foot? I sure hope you succeeded in offbalancing uke to the rear, cause if you didn’t, you’re about to take a nasty fall. In the more dynamic form of Osotogari, you’ll also raise your leg, but your path to the ground is blocked by uke.

Clip his thigh hard from behind with your thigh
Attacking the leg that has only as much of uke’s weight on it as you’ve managed to pull onto it. If you’ve failed to pull enough weight onto it, you are about to take a nasty fall.

At the same time, pull down hard with your left hand
As above, this is only possible if you are in the wrong position to deliver effective backward force. The amount of pull required is greater here in this version than in the more effective version. What’s more efficient?

and push toward his right back corner with your right hand.
Which is at best, weak, and at worst, not possible. Notice, that in the classical version, the pushing and pulling is done with your hands, whereas in the more effective version, the pulling is still done with one hand, but the pushing is done with your whole body, driving off a strongly set leg. What’s more efficient?

Your Opponent’s legs will fly up and he will fall directly backward
You will remain standing, which won’t happen in the dynamic form of Osotogari. And in order to remain standing, and to execute this classical version, you have completely failed to deliver the force needed, at the appropriate locations, with maximum efficiency. It is also very easy to resist this classical version. So easy, in fact, that this classical version is never seen against a knowledgeable, resisting opponent.

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Now, on to the dynamic, better way to do Osotogari, staying within the principles of Judo.

First, let me identify the basic elements that will be important.

1. We want to attack the leg which has the majority of the weight already on it. Generally, this means you’ll attack the rear leg, and in general, against a right-handed opponent, this means his left leg. (Although I’ll give a right side example.)

2. We will want to have a 45 degree ‘angle of attack’. This means that instead of stepping forward into your uke, your first step will more than likely be backward. This is the largest difference between the two types, and the one most easily recognized. There have been those who believe that this doesn’t predate ‘Olympic’ Judo, but here’s a series of photos from 1905 showing a large space between the driving leg and attacked leg: Old Osotogari Not much of a 45 degree angle, but certainly not the current practice of putting tori’s left foot next to, and alongside uke’s right foot.

 

3. Instead of pushing with the right hand, we will be ‘setting’ our entire forearm into uke’s chest. This creates a solid ‘connection’ between uke and the forward momentum of our whole body. Much more effective than ‘pushing’ with the right hand!

4. And… somewhat more ‘esoteric’, this is a ‘driver’, not a ‘roller’ throw (See anything by Geof Gleeson or Phil Porter on these concepts). Your attack will not be from the front of uke towards uke’s back, but from uke’s side to his other side.

To put this effective version of Osoto Gari together, you’ll wait until uke has stepped backward with his right foot… at that time, you’ll step backward and slightly to the right with your left foot. At the same time as you’ve stepped backward, you’ll be slamming your right forearm against uke’s left side chest, and pulling downward with your left hand (Your right arm looks like it’s delivering an uppercut to uke’s chin or ear). You’ll now reach out with your right foot (you are now leaning on your left foot with a 45 degree forward lean), and attempt to ‘hook’ uke’s right knee. Then just ‘drive’ forward… although notice that your ‘forward’ direction is actually more sideways by your uke’s viewpoint. Very common at this point, by the way, is the need to ‘hop’ forward to maintain the optimum 45 degree angle of attack (maximum force).

 

In the Ippon Masterclass "Osotogari" – authored by Yasuhiro Yamashita, the following series of photos appears, and Yamashita titles it "One of the finest Osotogari’s ever photographed"… Angelo Parisi throwing Shota Chochosvilli.

 

Notice the power generated by his ’45 degree angle of attack’ that Parisi has. This is the most efficient use of strength!

 

Demonstrating the ineffectiveness and failure to follow a principle of Judo, does this mean that a classically taught Osoto Gari has no place in modern Judo? No, not at all. The classical version is very easy to take a fall from. It’s doesn’t require the skill at ukemi that the more effective version requires. And during the time that Judoka are acquiring the falling skills needed at the higher levels of Judo, they can still learn the ‘demonstration’ form of throws. And this sort of comparison between classical, and dynamic effective versions, can be done for other throws as well. And in many throws, the classical version is the most effective version as well… De Ashi Harai comes to mind here.

Judo is evolving, both for the good, and in some aspects, for the not so good… and if you are not keeping up on new techniques, and new methods of training, teaching, and doing Judo, then you should look into finding out about these things.

As a side note: the term ‘Classical Judo’ is more commonly meant to refer to the entire repetoire of Judo, including Kata, Atemi, Kappo, and so on. It was being used in this post in it’s more narrow sense to refer to the style of throw… It goes without saying that my comment that ‘Classical Judo’ doesn’t work – was referring to the narrow sense of the term.

Here’s a couple of photo’s from "Judo" by Sakujiro Yokoyama, published in 1915. On the left you’ll see a rather interesting form of Osotogari. On the right, you’ll see a ‘classical’ technique. I always enjoy showing it to Judoka who believe that old classical Judo is the best. Sometimes it’s not… Give it a try next time you’re in the dojo. It was the original form of Seoiotoshi.

I hope I’ve given you something to think about the next time you’re teaching Osotogari. Especially when you’re teaching your more advanced students. I don’t believe that a Judoka should make it past brown belt without a firm grasp of the difference between the classical and the dynamic forms of Osotogari. They really are virtually two different techniques, in my opinion, even though both the IJF and the Kodokan recognize both as the same throw.
 

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Steve Cunningham, owner of the Judo List, has written a rebuttal to the above article. To read it, click Here.