Uki-goshi

Tori breaks Uke’s balance forward, inserts his right (left) arm through Uke’s left (right) armpit, holds the back of Uke’s waist, loads him onto his waist, and throws him by twisting him around the fulcrum of the back of the right (left) hip.

Uki-Goshi – Driving Uke’s Right Leg Back: Tori and Uke grapple in a right natural posture. Tori steps back with the right foot, then the left foot, while pulling Uke, stops, and begins to break his balance. Uke is pulled and steps forward with his left foot, then the right foot, and holds his ground. He steps back with his right foot and begins to return to his original stable posture.

At this moment, Tori lessens the pulling action of both hands as Uke begins to step his right foot back. At that instant, Tori steps his right foot inside Uke’s right foot in a right posture, and at the moment Uke is about to plant his right foot on the mat, Tori raises Uke’s right sleeve so that it opens towards the outside, and pulls and lifts with the right hand. Uke cannot shift his weight onto the right foot, and his balance breaks forward as he rises onto the tips of both feet.

At this moment, Tori lowers his right shoulder and, bending his body, inserts his right arm through Uke’s left armpit, along the back of his belt, and holds the back of his waist while opening the body toward the left by pivoting on the right foot. Tori steps his left foot back and round so that he faces the other direction. And at the same time, Tori holds Uke’s body with the right hand and pulls with the left hand so the front of Uke’s hip touches the back of Tori’s right hip.

Tori pulls the back of Uke’s waist further with the right hand, leans forward, and throws him by twisting towards the left. Uke is thrown in a large circle around the fulcrum of the back of Tori’s right hip.

Firstly, tori assumes a stable right posture by stepping his right foot inside uke’s right foot in time with uke stepping back with his right foot, and breaks uke’s balance forward by lifting him up with both hands. Tori then lowers his right shoulder and, bending his body, inserts his right arm deep through uke’s left armpit. He holds the back of uke’s waist while opening his body towards the left, and steps his left foot back and around.

At this point, tori’s right foot is inside uke’s right foot, and his left foot is positioned outside of uke’s left foot. His right leg is naturally straight, and the left leg is slightly bent. Bending his body, tori’s right arm is inserted deep enough to hold the side of uke’s right hip, pulling him so that the front of uke’s body is tight against the right side of tori’s body from the armpit to the waist.

Takeshi Sakuraba, 8th dan, shared insights about ‘bending the body’ in judo: ‘Bending the body from the waist is important in bringing an opponent tight against you. Master Kano, while explaining uki-goshi, once said it’s good to push the opponent’s upper body back when entering uki-goshi, because if you push him back, he will react by moving forwards. If the opponent’s upper body is leaning forward, it’s difficult to bring him tight against you, so you’ve got to bend your body slightly.’ (Uki-goshi practice, Kodokan Bunkakai, July 1927 issue).

Tori leans forward, lifts uke’s body up, and at the moment he loads uke’s body onto the back of his right hip, he twists to the left and throws uke abruptly and powerfully around the fulcrum of his right hip. If tori pulls uke’s body up and throws him at this point, it is an o-goshi technique.