Let’s face it, most BJJ players could do with more Judo in their game. Not only is it awesome for self defense, but it also looks slick and is massively effective. Simply put, there’s no greater feeling than using leverage and mechanics to put someone on the floor in style. One common issue with BJJ is that its players focus on the ground game too much and neglect the origins of the art, which was in stand up.
It’s no secret that BJJ originated from Judo but these days some are too happy to sit down and pull guard. Whilst this is fine, it would also be a little embarrassing to reach the rank of black belt without a real stand up game. Of course, wrestling is great for takedowns too, but in this particular article we shall be looking at Judo.
Table of Contents
Harai Goshi
Favored by Roger Gracie, the Harai Goshi is a staple of Judo takedowns and can almost guarantee victory if done correctly. The throw begins with typical Judo grips, so remember to have a Judo stance with a leading leg, grip on the sleeve and grip on the collar. The next step is to use quick feet to circle to the side of the opponent where you are holding the sleeve. In short, you should be controlling the inside space at this point, remember to keep your grips as if you lose them, you can get reversed and get taken down or even get your back taken.
You should then load your opponent onto your hips as if going for a Seoi Nagi. However, to finish the throw you must use your outside foot to trip their leg. As you are gripping their sleeve on the same side, it will mean they can’t base and are forced onto the floor. If done correctly you should end up in a knee on belly or side control position. Even better, you can sometimes transition into an armbar if the opponent is too slow to react.
Tomoe Nage
The Tomoe Nage was often used by the legendary Megaton Dias in competition and if it fails, you can always use it to pull guard. Once again starting from established Judo grips, you should then step towards your opponent as if you’re ready to pull guard.
However, where you would usually put the foot on the hip of the controlled arm, you instead put your foot on the other hip. This means potentially, the opponent could grab your pants whilst you do this and sit, meaning you could possibly give away two points in a competition setting, so please be aware of this.
The benefit of this throw is that it’s somewhat sneaky as most BJJ players are hardwired to defend the other side of their hip when initiating grips. With the foot on the hip, you should then sit and elevate them into the air and kick them to the side or over your body, similar to doing a balloon sweep. Again, you should maintain the sleeve grip to stop them from basing or recover. One positive of this move is if done badly, you can use it to unorthodoxly pull guard.
Osoto Gari
This move is commonly referred to as the outside trip in BJJ as that is what it roughly means in English. Starting from regular Judo grips, you should pull yourself into the opponent and step into the inside space. You should also step slightly outside of them whilst doing this. From here, your nearest foot should chop backward into the lower part of their leg and kick back. This should be done on the side of the grabbed arm to stop them from defending.
A tip is to have pointed toes whilst kicking back to get more power with your leg muscles. The arm grabbing their lapel on the other side of their body should punch forward which combined with the leg trip should put them on the floor. In some cases, some Judoka’s will kick several times and hop with their other foot to stop the opponent from recovering.
O Goshi
Commonly known as the hip toss, this is often one of the first Judo moves taught to new BJJ practitioners. This has a similar set up to the Harai Goshi. What is meant by this is you should get your grips and circle inside. The idea behind this is to get your hips below your opponent’s hips. By doing this, you can gain greater leverage on your opponent which makes it easier to throw people.
Because of this, it’s easier to set up for smaller people. From this position, you can swap the lapel grip to one around the back like an underhook. This grip should be below the opponent’s arm and you can grab the belt if needed. Then you can finish by throwing them over your hip. By keeping control of their arm, they should not be able to counter once loaded onto your hips.
Kosoto Gari
This move is possibly the hardest to pull off on the list. However, it is also probably the lowest in terms of risk. That means, if the Kosoto Gari fails, you have little to worry about. Sometimes in Judo, if you botch a move you can pay for it tremendously, whereas the Kosoto Gari has little payback.
With Judo grips, you should step off to the side of the arm grip and kick your foot to the side of the base of their foot. If done right, this should sweep the opponent off their feet. Like the Harai Goshi, Roger Gracie was a big fan of this, so you’re in good hands.
The Kosoto Gari relies heavily on off-balancing the opponent and feinting other attacks to get a reaction. Basically, you should get the opponent’s foot off the floor so they are unbalanced, then you should sweep your leg upwards as you make contact with their foot. A common mistake with this is trying to do it when the opponent is still and with their foot on the ground. Sometimes you will see people kicking hopelessly without understanding why it doesn’t work.
Final Thoughts
Like BJJ, Judo throws will rarely work in isolation so they should be chained with other moves to make them work. It is a fairly low percentage having only one move and being overly reliant on it. With this said, it’s good to learn at least a couple of moves from this list to make them work more successfully.
It should also be added that with Judo, grips are vitally important. There’s no point trying throws without establishing dominant grips to begin with. Your grips should be used to control and isolate your opponent, so being aggressive is often advised too.
Lastly, remember to try and off-balance your opponent and control the space. By literally keeping them on their toes, you should be able to set up openings to take people down and enter trips and takedowns. In summary, if you put time into your Judo then it will pay off in the long-run and help you become a more rounded martial artist as a result.
Want to take your takedown game to the next level? Check out Judo Basics by Shintaro Higashi.
