Osoto Gari
大外刈
Literally: major outer reap
A judo throw from the first gokyo group in which the attacker reaps the opponent's leg from behind and pushes his shoulder backward.
Quick Facts
About
Osoto gari (大外刈) is made up of the words great, outer, and reaping — literally great outer reaping. In the right-side version, the attacker places his left foot next to the opponent and reaps the opponent's right leg with his right leg at the back of the thigh. The execution is fluid, because the leg reap and the backward push on the opponent's shoulder happen almost simultaneously. The technique is among the original 40 judo throws compiled by Jigoro Kano. In Kodokan's traditional gokyo no waza list it stands in the first group, dai ikkyo; it is also among today's 67 recognized throws and classed among leg techniques (ashi waza). The related osoto otoshi neither reaps nor lifts the leg off the ground, only blocks it with a hook, tipping the opponent upward with a slight backward lean. Osoto guruma, in turn, spins the opponent using both legs, which osoto gari does not do. Under IJF rules the throw is scored ippon in competition when it combines speed, power, the opponent's impact on his back, and a controlled completion of the fall.