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    Tsubame-gaeshi

    燕返 · つばめがえし · swallow counter · said tsoo-BAH-meh gah-EH-shee

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    Demonstrations

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    About this technique

    The swallow's counter: uke attacks with a foot sweep, and tori's attacked foot dips under the sweep and sweeps back in the same beat, like a swallow turning in flight. The Kodokan treats it as a form of de-ashi-harai.

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    A technique to throw down the opponent by fending off his foot sweeping attempt and counter-sweeping with the same foot that was being attacked.
    The Kodokan's definition

    Key points

    1. Dodge and counter are a single motion of the same foot
    2. The foot curls under their sweep, then sweeps their sweeping foot
    3. Hands steer in the new direction the instant the counter lands

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    Ashi-waza (foot and leg techniques)

    At a glance

    , classification, Gokyo set, Kodokan number, contest rules, grades that require it
    What it is
    Nage-waza (throwing techniques), Ashi-waza (foot and leg techniques).
    Kodokan number
    316 (TSU).
    Contest rules
    No rule singles it out.
    Required for

    Step by step

    These steps describe the standard right-handed form without relying on the video.

    1. Your partner attacks your right foot with a sideways foot sweep.
    2. Curl that foot up and back so their sweep passes beneath it: a small, soft dodge, knee bending.
    3. In the same motion, before their sweeping foot lands, sweep it with your sole in the direction it was already travelling.
    4. Steer with both hands the same way, carrying their body after their swept foot.
    5. They land on their side or back beside you, taken by their own sweep's momentum; hold the sleeve firmly through the fast landing.

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    Receiving it

    Your foot sweep meets air, and in the same beat your sweeping foot is itself swept: the counter uses your own momentum, and the fall is as sudden as the throw you attempted. Slap hard with your free arm as your side lands, and trust the held sleeve; this is the fastest landing in the counters.

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    VI judo notes

    You feel their sweep coming before it takes your foot, and that is the whole opportunity: curl the foot up and back so their sole passes underneath, then sweep back along the same line while their foot is still travelling. It happens in one beat, so act on the first touch rather than waiting to confirm it. Hold the sleeve firmly, because both of you are moving fast.

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    In competition

    , how often it scores at IJF level, and two contests where it worked

    Senior IJF competition, 2020 to 2026, from 73,099 contests. Counts scores, not attempts.

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    In combinations, counters and transitions

    , 2 recorded

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    Reference pages elsewhere

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