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    Uki-otoshi

    浮落 · うきおとし · floating drop · said OO-kee oh-TOH-shee

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    Demonstrations

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    Illustration: source not recorded. Rights and removal
    Uki-otoshi illustration

    The IJF publishes an animation of Uki-otoshi: watch it on judo.ijf.org.

    About this technique

    A pure hand throw: tori drops one knee and rotates uke's floating balance forward so uke falls with barely any contact.

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    A technique to throw down the opponent by breaking his balance forward and pulling him down toward the frontal-right corner.
    The Kodokan's definition

    Key points

    1. Catch uke's balance floating forward at full commitment
    2. Rotate with both hands in a steering-wheel action
    3. Drop the rear knee as you turn: timing beats strength

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    Te-waza (hand techniques) · Gokyo 4th set

    At a glance

    , classification, Gokyo set, Kodokan number, contest rules, grades that require it
    What it is
    Nage-waza (throwing techniques), Te-waza (hand techniques).
    Gokyo
    4th set (Dai-yonkyo).
    Kodokan number
    108 (UOT).
    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. From a right-handed grip, retreat a step, drawing your partner forward so they follow and their weight rides the front foot.
    2. On their next step, slide back again and sink your body, this time drawing their balance past the edge of that front foot: they are floating, committed beyond their base.
    3. Rotate both hands as one wheel: sleeve hand pulling down towards your hip, lapel hand carrying across and around.
    4. Nothing touches their legs; the turn of your hands and the drop of your body alone steer their floating weight into a forward roll.
    5. They rotate over their own toes and land on their back in front of you. Keep the sleeve so the roll finishes supported.

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    Receiving it

    There is no contact below your waist at all: you are drawn forward until your balance passes your toes, and then the hands simply steer you into a roll. It feels like tripping over nothing. Tuck, follow the rotation, and take a smooth forward breakfall onto your back, free arm slapping; done well it is one of the softest falls in judo.

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    VI judo notes

    Nothing touches their legs, which makes this the purest hands-only throw here and a natural fit for VI judo: it is only their weight travelling past their own foot, and that is something your grips tell you exactly. Draw them into two steps and take the second one further than they expect. Keep the sleeve so the roll finishes supported.

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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

    , 1 awaiting review

    1 more pair involving it is recorded and awaiting review before it gets a page. A video that shows one of them is what gets it reviewed: suggest one.

    None recorded yet. Nobody has written down a counter to Uki-otoshi, or a combination it belongs to. You can suggest one.

    Reference pages elsewhere

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