Yama-arashi

Tori grips Uke’s right collar and right sleeve (or left collar and sleeve, but always on the same side) using both hands and lifts and pulls him. He lifts Uke to his right front corner, breaking his balance, and sweeps up Uke’s right leg with his right leg to throw him down. Similar techniques are covered in this section.

Yama-arashi-with the right arm on Uke’s right chest area: Tori and Uke grapple in right natural posture. Tori advances, pushing Uke backwards, and comes to a halt in a left defensive posture. Uke is pushed and steps backward; he stands his ground with his right foot stepped back. He pushes back and begins to return to his original posture.

At that moment, Tori lessens the pushing movement of both hands, changes his right grip to Uke’s right inside collar (with the thumb inside), and, at the same time, steps back with his left foot and steps his right foot between Uke’s feet to assume a right han-mi posture. Tori moves backward with his body lowered, and at the moment Uke starts to step forward with his right foot, he pulls Uke’s body downwards. Uke defends in right defensive posture with his right foot stepped forward and, while straightening up, begins to return to a stable posture.

Tori lessens the action of pulling downwards with both hands so that Uke straightens up. At that moment, Tori steps further backward (from a right han-mi posture) with the left foot leading and the right foot following in the tsugi-ashi form, while pulling Uke’s upper body down once again, in time with his own movements.

Then, Tori lessens the pulling action of both hands again, and at the moment Uke straightens up, Tori changes the action of both hands to lifting and pulling Uke forward so that Uke’s weight falls over the tip of his right foot, and he rises to the right front corner as his balance breaks.

At this moment, Tori steps in with his right foot to the tip of Uke’s right foot and opens his body towards the left while turning and stepping his left foot backward in front of Uke’s left foot. Then, Tori lifts and raises him upwards with the exterior of his right arm on the right side of Uke’s chest, and pulls upwards with the left hand to further lift Uke to the right front corner and break his balance.

Supporting his body on the left leg, Tori puts his right leg over the front of Uke’s left leg, in the harai-goshi right ankle form, and wraps the tip of his right foot around Uke’s.

At this point, the right side of Tori’s back should be tight against the right side of Uke’s torso.

Tori lifts upwards with the right hand again, and in combination with the pulling movement of the left hand, sweeps upwards with the right leg and throws Uke straight forwards by pulling upwards with both hands.

Tori grips uke’s right front collar with the thumb inside and the four fingers outside (little finger above). Alternatively, he can also grip with the thumb outside and the four fingers inside. While stepping backward and pulling uke’s upper body downwards, tori varies the pulling action by lessening, pausing, and then intensifying it.

At the moment uke starts to straighten up about halfway, tori changes the action of both hands and lifts him to the right front corner to break his balance. The key to breaking uke’s balance lies in skillfully leading him at the moment he responds and straightens up, lifting him towards the right front corner.

At this critical moment, tori lowers his waist and enters uke’s front with a large turning movement. He pushes up with the right arm and places his right rear hip tightly against uke’s lower abdomen. The exterior of tori’s right arm should be against the right side of uke’s chest.

Tori places his right calf over uke’s right shin and wraps the tip of his right foot around uke’s right ankle. In the unique feature of this technique, tori then sweeps up with his right leg placed tightly against uke’s right leg. This sweeping technique differs from the method employed in harai-goshi.

While straightening the left leg and raising his hips, tori pulls uke up with both hands and throws him forward in a large motion.