Te-waza
手技
A group of judo throws in which the arms and shoulders mainly carry the throw. The Kodokan lists 16 techniques in it, among them seoi-nage and tai-otoshi.
Quick Facts
Word breakdown
Definition
Te-waza (手技) means “hand techniques”: te is hand, waza is technique. In judo it is a group of standing throws (tachi-waza) in which the arms and shoulders do the main work of the throw, not the hips or legs. The Kodokan places 16 techniques in te-waza: seoi-nage, ippon-seoi-nage, seoi-otoshi, tai-otoshi, kata-guruma, sukui-nage, obi-otoshi, uki-otoshi, sumi-otoshi, yama-arashi, obi-tori-gaeshi, morote-gari, kuchiki-taoshi, kibisu-gaeshi, uchi-mata-sukashi and ko-uchi-gaeshi. Some of them, such as uchi-mata-sukashi and ko-uchi-gaeshi, are counter-throws in which the attacker uses the opponent's own attempt at a throw.
In practice
The best-known technique of the group is seoi-nage, the shoulder throw, in which the attacker turns their back to the opponent and pulls them over the shoulder. In many techniques of this group, such as tai-otoshi or uki-otoshi, the attacker hardly touches the opponent with the hips or legs and the throw comes from the timing of the pull and the off-balancing.
Relations to other terms
See also
A group of judo throws in which the attacker's hips serve as the support and axis of the throw. The Kodokan lists ten techniques in it, for example o-goshi.
Te手Hand in Japanese. As a word element it is in the name karate and in terms such as te-waza or tegatana. In Okinawa it was also the name of the local martial art.