How to Do an Osoto Gari Leg Throw in Judo

Osoto gari is one of the fundamental aggressive movements in judo. The leg throw works by breaking your opponent's posture and hooking your leg in a forward movement. This judo throw is easy to master and strong in self-defense because of its relatively few vulnerabilities.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Tug out with your hand that is grasping the elbow of your opponent's gi jacket. In the case of a right-handed person, this would be your left hand, if left-handed, it would be your right.

2. Step outside the leg on the same side. Make sure your foot is planted firmly and your posture is moved solidly forward.

3. With your right and (left for left handers) pull your opponent's chest sharply towards you so that he is off balance. It's important to gain control of your opponent's balance if you're to complete the throw successfully.

4. Shoot your right leg (left for left handers) behind your opponent's elbow and bring it smartly back towards you, sweeping their feet out from underneath them.

5. Follow through to the mat to ensure you are in a good judo position to exploit your opponent's weakness once you transition to ground techniques.

Tips & Warnings

• Never commit to osoto gari if you have not shaken your opponent's stance. Doing so puts you in a vulnerable position for counterattack when you begin the leg sweeping stage of the movement.

Who Can Help:

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[judoknight]

on 6/6/2009 ...I suggest beginning to learn it on the weak side first (you'll already be overtraining your strongside leg, foot, and paraspinal muscles), then begin teaching your strong side (use a two for one, once you've reached some competence on the weak side - one side actually teaches the other to some degree anyway).Lastly, learn to train by visual repetition. Sit, get calm, and practice visualizing the throw - against a live opponent. When you can see it in your mind, you can do it. When you can't see it, you'd better not try it. Hope this helps.

[judoknight]

on 6/6/2009 ...I retained it as the basic "takedown" or controlling attack.Osoto must also be different for persons under five feet nine inches or so and taller. It can be more dangerous for a tall person to use against a shorter one, too. More, osoto can have the form of a hand throw, like tai otoshi, for instance, or a hip throw (the Okano version shown here); and, of course, it can be a leg throw - really devastating to some with a good sasaetsurikomiashi. For those who understand what I mean there, a standing (Peter Seisenbacher-style) armlock, osoto should have the hip throw "feel" (you'll need to understand and be skilled with the three ways that is set up and completed. A person who learns and practices osoto on just one side will not only find it much harder to use, he will eventually unbalance his musculature, and screw up his movement and stance. I suggest beginning to learn it on t...

[judoknight]

on 6/6/2009 ... I retained it as the basic "takedown" or controlling attack.Osoto must also be different for persons under five feet nine inches or so and taller. It can be more dangerous for a tall person to use against a shorter one, too. More, osoto can have the form of a hand throw, like tai otoshi, for instance, or a hip throw (the Okano version shown here); and, of course, it can be a leg throw - really devastating to some with a good sasaetsurikomiashi. For those who understand what I mean there, a standing (Peter Seisenbacher-style) armlock, osoto should have the hip throw "feel" (you'll need to understand and be skilled with the three ways that is set up and completed. A person who learns and practices osoto on just one side will not only find it much harder to use, he will eventually unbalance his musculature, and screw up his movement and stance. I suggest beginning to learn it on ...

[judoknight]

on 6/6/2009 I just happened to see this, I almost never comment on the Net even though I've played judo continually since 1950, and it's rather silly to attempt discussion of a waza like osoto with constraints like these, but . . . There are twelve common ways that osoto is done by champion-level players. Kuzushi may be active or passive - you pull or push with one hand or the other or you fool his contest instincts with movement and shifts in balance. Of the two, the latter is usually - even though "tori," the attacker is often unaware of why his attack worked so well - most effective. For a very long (at least compared to the careers of most) time, I used the hipthrow-like (it looks like a hip throw, actually the way it feels to uke, the receiver, is what makes it work) version, and when I invented the "Twenty-One" series now being taught to law enforcement and military special forces, I r...