Judo Throws Every BJJ Practitioner Should Know
Here are the judo throws every BJJ practitioner should know:
- Kouchi gari
- Ouchi gari
- Kosoto gake
- Osoto gari
- Sasae tsuri komi ashi
- Hiza guruma
- Uchi Mata
- Seoi Nage
- Harai Goshi
- Kosoto Gari
- Tomoe Nage
A lot of Judokas have started participating and training Brazillian Jiu Jitsu.
They may have started because they want to add more attacks which they can utilize as self defense if they find themselves in a bad situation.
As for BJJ practitioners, what benefits can they get from learning Judo throws?
There are alot of Judo throws that they can benefit from. Judo, known to be a gentle art, also allows its practitioners to dominate over bigger and taller opponents with its technique.
Moreover, there are alot of different variations in the type of Judo throws.
There are different positions they will end up landing in depending on the trip/sweep/throw that is executed that any BJJ practitioner could take advantage of by either controlling them from there through a pin or moving directly into a submission.
Read along and we will go over some of the fundamental Judo trips and throws that BJJ practitioners can also utilize in Gi or No Gi sessions.
Check out this video of a Judo Blackbelt doing a Judo throw as a BJJ purple belt in a competition.
Here’s a read from Heavy BJJ about Why BJJ will over take Judo.
Judo Trips
Let’s talk about the different Judo trips.
I personally recommend starting out with leg trips and sweeps when first learning judo for BJJ – while they do require quite a bit of kuzushi (off balancing) there is very little risk on for you or your partner.
Kouchi gari
Ko uchi gari is one of the throws in Judo that does not require a lot of strength but more relies on timing. This type of throw would be great for the smaller students in class to learn so that they can apply it on bigger and stronger opponents.
Tips:
- its used like a boxer’s jab
- make sure to get their weight off the foot you are sweeping
So how to do it? When your opponent is about to step forward, you do a foot sweep even before their foot lands on the ground, making them fall to the ground.
Ouchi gari
If you are familiar with Judo, then you probably heard about O Ouchi Gari already. But if not, O Ouchi Gari is one of the most popular throws in Judo. It is a simple sweep but has been proven to be effective when executed properly.
Tips:
- be close to your opponent
- stay low
- pull them into you to get their weight on their opposite leg
So how does it work? If you want to throw your opponent with the strength of your right leg, then grab them by their lapel, then take one step in between their legs with your left leg and clip their leg causing an imbalance making them fall.
Kosoto gake
Ko Soto Gake is also known as the small outer hook throw. It is a throw focused on footwork by making sure that you are able to break your opponent’s balance to his rear. From there, you will hook his ankle, (in this case we’ll use choose his right ankle) with your left foot and throw him backwards.
Tips:
- try to rotate them instead of attacking straight forward
- apply pressure forward to try to get their upper body to go behind their heels
Osoto gari
O Soto Gari or large outer reap is another vital judo technique that has proven itself to be effective. The goal is to break your opponent’s balance to his (in this case) right rear to make sure that most of his weight is on their right heel.
From here, you will now reap his right leg with your leg to be able to take them to the ground.
Tips:
- can use ouchi gar as a setup for osoto gari (like this video)
- attack the foot once it is weighted
Sasae tsuri komi ashi
Sasae Tsuri Komi Ashi is another throw that relies on breaking the opponent’s balance.
The goal is to balance your opponent by blocking his supporting leg by placing your foot just above his ankle, then by making a pivot point. Lastly, you will now have to lean back and twist in the opposite direction to throw him.
Tips:
- use a strong underhook
- use a strong rotational pressure
Hiza guruma
Hiza Guruma also known as the knee wheel is all about throwing your opponent in a sudden motion by rotating his arm and attacking his leg, just below the knee and making this rorate at 180 degrees causing them to break their balance and fall.
Tips:
- be sure to look in the direction you are throwing
- can you use Ouchi as a setup
Here’s are some resources that you can check out:
Basic Judo Throws
Another core of Judo is its throws. Judo is known as the “gentle way” because it is capable of debilitating one’s opponent with minimum effort. Judo throws are always composed of 4 things. These are:
- Firm grip (Kumi Kata)
- Off balance the opponent (Kuzushi)
- Get into position (Tsukuri)
- Execute the throw (Kake)
Uchi Mata
Uchi Mata is a famous throw in Judo. To acknowledge its popularity, when you go to a Judo competition, you can actually note that it’s being used quite a lot.
So what is it really? It is a throw that starts off by grabbing your opponent and using their arm as your leverage to lift your opponent up.
From here, you will be pulling them towards your back and sweeping them with your leg, making sure that there is no space. From there you will exert effort from your hip to be able to throw them.
Tips:
- keep strong control of their upper body when using your leg for the throw
- can also be used with an overhook in nogi bjj
Seoi Nage
Seoi Nage starts by gripping your opponent by pulling them towards you. From there, you will pick them up and place them on your back and throw them over your shoulder.
The vital key points to remember here is to dip the hip when about to throw making sure to keep the chest close as possible on the back before you throw.
Tips:
- use a short hard push to get them offblanced first then enter into the throw
Harai Goshi
Harai Goshi is also known as the sweeping hip throw. It is one of the most popular throws of Judo that you can see in MMA fights and other grappling sports.
Tips:
- you can practice this throw with a partner using a crash pad for extra cushion
- since its a bigger throw you will need to off balance your opponenet quite a bit usually with a pull or rotational force
- can start by first learning hip throws with two feet planted
In this throw, you can start off by grabbing one side of the lapel and the other hand on your opponent’s sleeve.
From there, you will grab your opponent and create a circular pulling motion. Once they have been placed on your back, you must keep in mind that you will apply Kuzushi (off balance) making sure that you are able to drop them on the ground.
Lastly, note that this throw is done with the help of your hips and buttocks.
Kosoto Gari
Kosoto Gari is also known as the small outer reap. It can be used to reap the opponent’s leg by moving forward against them and scooping their leg from the back and bringing them in your inner thigh. Thus, making them off balanced and eventually throwing them down to the ground.
Tips:
- can use a farside kosot first to set it up and then hit kosoto on their other leg
- focus on cathing just behind their ankle with your foot/toes
Tomoe Nage
Tomoe Nage is also known as the stomach throw or the circle throw. In this throw, you will start off by gripping your opponent and falling on your back. From here, you will pull your opponent by stepping on their stomach as leverage to flip over and send them down to the ground on their back.
Tips:
- can use entering drills to practice this throw (entering drills are commonly used when learning judo techniques)
- commit to doing the entire back roll
- keep tension with your grips on your partner through the entire motion
Judo vs BJJ
Judo is a Japanese sport derived from Jujutsu. Its practitioners still wear the traditional Kimono or Gi when training the sport. Moreover, its foundation and heart are its take downs. To add to that, you can note that there are very few submissions in Judo.
Meanwhile, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a grappling sport. Of course, it starts standing but there are different ways to bring your opponent to the ground and maximize different attacks from there.
To add to that, BJJ is not only being practiced in its traditional uniform which is Gi but also No Gi (usually spats and rash guard.)
Both sports are equally effective as self defense. They both have live sparring during training which gives their practitioners the opportunity to test and learn more about their skillset.
Moreover, these two sports are considered viewer sports that are slowly gaining popularity worldwide.
Lastly, they both involved throws and pinning the opponent making it highly effective when one finds themselves in a street fight.
Which One Should You Learn First – BJJ or Judo
If you are younger and are able to join a legitimate judo gym, we stronly recommend joining and learning judo first.
However, if you are older and are looking for less physically strenuous training learning bjj first and then implementing some judo trips and judo throws like the ones mentiona bove into your jiu jitsu game is also ideal.
What are the Rules and Points for Judo Throws in BJJ Competitions?
Almost all Judo throws are allowed in all major organzied competitions such as the ones held by the IBJJF.
However, the ibjjf doesn’t allow slamming – they considered slamming when you drop your opponent on their head or neck.
So any throw or takedown that lands your opponent on their head or neck will lead to disqualification.
Luckily, most judo throws when done properly do not force your opponent to land in these positions. Some you should be safe to perform judo throws and judo trips in bjj competitions.
Are Single Leg and Double Leg Takedowns in Judo?
While single leg (Kuchiki taoshi) and double leg (Morote gari) takedowns are in judo, since 2010 they have been banned in all judo competitions.
These very common takedowns may still be used in training or practice due to their extreme effectiveness, but in any official judo competition they are not allowed.
These have likely been banned since they want to promote more upright judo techniques.
Speculation has been brought up that they have been banned in judo since they often negate a lot of the other common judo techniques or that judo would like to separate itself from the other more common forms of grappling like wrestling and samob.
I hope this article has been helpful.
If you are interested in learning either BJJ or Judo, one thing you have to consider is why you started in the first place. Do you want to start a physical activity that can keep you fit?
Do you want something more traditional and sport based? Or would you rather do something sport and real world based?
Hope this has been a good read for you! Catch you next time!
Check out this read about why BJJ has the edge over Judo by Heavy BJJ.
