Counters

Kaeshi-waza use the opening created by an opponent's attack. Each entry pairs an attack with its classical counter.

De-ashi-harai countered by Ko-uchi-gariVideoA sweep that misses leaves your partner standing on one leg with their sweeping foot in the air. Reaping the leg they are standing on answers it directly.
De-ashi-harai countered by Tsubame-gaeshiVideoThe swallow counter, and the reason De-ashi-barai is taught with a warning. You withdraw the foot they are sweeping and sweep theirs on the same line while it is still travelling.
Hane-goshi countered by Hane-goshi-gaeshiAs your partner turns in for the springing hip throw, the leg they spring with is off the mat and the leg they stand on is committed. Reaping the standing leg from the outside as the spring begins is the springing hip counter, the named answer.
Harai-goshi countered by Harai-goshi-gaeshiAs the sweeping leg comes across, your partner is standing on one leg with their back to you. Hooking that supporting leg from behind and reaping it is the sweeping hip counter, the named answer.
Harai-goshi countered by Ushiro-goshiVideoThe classical answer to the sweeping hip throw: as the attack turns in, the defender sinks their hips below it, wraps the waist, and lifts the whole attack off the floor. Timing is everything; a beat late and the sweep has already bitten.
Harai-goshi countered by Utsuri-goshiUtsuri-goshi answers a hip throw by accepting it and then taking it over. You absorb the entry, lift them off your own hip and transfer them to the other side.
Hiza-guruma countered by Ko-uchi-gariVideoThe wheel needs your weight on the blocked leg; lifting it over the blocking foot leaves the attacker balanced on one heel, and the small inner reap takes it.
Hiza-guruma countered by O-uchi-gariVideoA knee wheel needs your partner to be on one leg with the other extended as a block. Stepping past the block and reaping the inside of their supporting leg takes it away.
Hiza-guruma countered by Okuri-ashi-haraiVideoSliding sideways off the wheel puts the attacker's feet together in motion, which is precisely what the double sweep punishes.
Kata-juji-jime countered by Hiza-gatameA strangle attempted from underneath has to extend an arm to reach the collar. Hiza-gatame takes that arm. Practise it slowly and only under supervision, and never apply it to the point of pain.
Ko-soto-gake countered by Tai-otoshiVideoThe hooking leg commits the attacker close and square; turning in and dropping the blocking leg across their shin turns their hook into your body drop.
Ko-soto-gari countered by Uchi-mataVideoTheir minor outer reap turns their hips towards you and leaves them briefly on one leg with the other lifted. Uchi-mata attacks that gap before the foot lands.
Ko-uchi-gari countered by Harai-tsurikomi-ashiVideoWithdrawing the reaped foot and sweeping the ankle they are standing on answers the minor inner reap on the same beat, before their weight has finished transferring.
Ko-uchi-gari countered by Ko-uchi-gaeshiAs your partner reaps your heel from the inside, lifting the attacked foot clear and reaping their reaping leg with it is the minor inner counter, the named answer.
Koshi-guruma countered by Ura-nageA hip wheel entered high and loose leaves your partner's waist available and their weight above yours. Ura-nage drops beneath it and throws them backwards over your own shoulder.
O-goshi countered by Utsuri-goshiThe changing hip throw is the counter that turns a hip attack into your own: absorb the entry by dropping lower than the attacker, lift them clear, and switch your hips beneath them as they come down. One throw becomes another in mid-air.
O-soto-gari countered by O-soto-gaeshiVideoThe direct answer to a major outer reap: the reaping leg is off the mat and carrying no weight, so reaping it in turn takes their only remaining support.
O-soto-gari countered by Sumi-otoshiVideoThe reaping entry arrives on one leg; stepping the target leg clear and tipping to the rear corner with the hands alone drops the attacker into the space behind them.
O-soto-gari countered by Te-gurumaVideoThe outer reap arrives chest to chest with the reaping leg in the air, and that leg is what the hand wheel takes: tori drops the hips, catches the raised thigh with one hand and the back with the other, and lifts the whole attack over to land flat. The filmed version runs straight on into the chest hold.
O-uchi-gari countered by Hiza-gurumaVideoThe inner reap is an entry on one supporting leg; blocking that knee and steering the shoulders wheels the attacker over their own attack.
O-uchi-gari countered by Ko-soto-gariEscaping the inner reap loads your partner's outside foot. Reaping the outside of that foot answers on the opposite line, while they are still turned in from their own attack.
O-uchi-gari countered by O-uchi-gaeshiAs your partner reaps from the inside, lifting the attacked leg and sweeping their reaping leg out with it is the major inner counter, the named answer.
O-uchi-gari countered by Seoi-nageVideoSlipping the reap leaves the attacker square-on and committed forward; turning in under the gripping arm converts their commitment into the shoulder throw.
O-uchi-gari countered by Sode-tsurikomi-goshiVideoThe same slipped reap answered with the sleeve lift: the attacker's reaching arm is carried high and their forward weight goes over the hip.
O-uchi-gari countered by Tai-otoshiWhen the major inner reap misses, your partner's reaping leg is between yours and their weight is forward. Turning in and putting your leg across their standing shin takes them over it.
O-uchi-gari countered by Tsurikomi-goshiVideoAbsorbing the inner reap leaves your partner standing on one leg and leaning forward into you. Tsuri-komi-goshi lifts and draws from exactly that position, and every syllabus in this reference names the pair.
Okuri-ashi-harai countered by Tsubame-gaeshiVideoThe double sweep asks both of your feet to travel together, which is exactly the moment the swallow counter wants. You withdraw the foot they are sweeping and sweep their sweeping leg on the same line while it is still in the air. The book records the same answer to de-ashi-harai; here the timing is finer, because both of your feet were already moving when the attack came.
Seoi-nage countered by Ura-nageAgainst a shoulder throw that turns in a fraction slow, the defender clamps the attacker's trunk, drops their hips, and bridges backwards, throwing the attacker over their shoulder. A heavy fall to give and to take; drill it slowly and with crash mats before ever using it live.
Tai-otoshi countered by Ko-soto-gakeVideoThe extended blocking leg of a Tai-otoshi carries no weight. Hooking behind it while your partner is committed to the turn drops them backwards over their own block.
Tai-otoshi countered by Ko-soto-gariVideoThe same opening answered by reaping instead of hooking. Whether you hook or reap depends on how much room their supporting foot has, and the syllabuses list both.
Tsurikomi-goshi countered by Utsuri-goshiVideoThe lifting hip throw is answered the way utsuri-goshi answers every hip attack: you sink beneath the entry as the lapel hand drives up, wrap the waist and lift, and switch your own hips underneath before they come down. One throw becomes the other in the transfer.
Uchi-mata countered by Ko-soto-gakeVideoAs the inner thigh swings up, everything rests on the attacker's standing heel, and hooking it from outside takes the whole throw down backwards.
Uchi-mata countered by Tai-otoshiWhen your partner commits to Uchi-mata their lifting leg is off the mat and everything rests on one foot. Blocking that foot and turning them is the standard answer.
Uchi-mata countered by Uchi-mata-gaeshiAs the sweeping leg rises between yours, your partner is on one leg with their back turning to you. Catching the sweeping leg on your thigh and reaping the standing one is the inner thigh counter, the named answer.
Uchi-mata countered by Uchi-mata-sukashiVideoThe slip: instead of blocking the throw you remove yourself from it, and your partner's own committed turn puts them on the mat. Nothing is added but timing.