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    Yoko-otoshi

    横落 · よこおとし · side drop · said YOH-koh oh-TOH-shee

    About this techniqueJump to step by stepPlain text version

    Demonstrations

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

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

    About this technique

    A side sacrifice: tori drops directly to the side, blocking uke's foot, and throws uke over the outstretched body.

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    A technique to pull and throw down the opponent by breaking his balance rightward and laying down the body onto the left side while sliding the left leg toward the outside of his right foot.
    The Kodokan's definition

    Key points

    1. Slide your leg outside uke's foot as you drop to your side
    2. Pull uke's sleeve down and across as you fall
    3. Commit to the drop: a half-hearted sacrifice throws nobody

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    Yoko-sutemi-waza (side sacrifice techniques) · Gokyo 3rd set

    At a glance

    , classification, Gokyo set, Kodokan number, contest rules, grades that require it
    What it is
    Nage-waza (throwing techniques), Yoko-sutemi-waza (side sacrifice techniques).
    Gokyo
    3rd set (Dai-sankyo).
    Kodokan number
    501 (YOT).
    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, stand roughly square with your partner, feeling their weight settle onto their right foot.
    2. Slide your left leg along the mat past the outside of their right foot, so your extended leg lies beside and beyond it.
    3. Let yourself fall onto your left side, close to their feet; there is no half measure, your body commits fully to the mat.
    4. As you drop, pull down and across with the sleeve hand towards the space beyond your own head, the lapel hand following.
    5. Your fall and pull take them sideways over your extended leg; they land on their back beyond you while you remain on your side holding the sleeve.

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    Receiving it

    Your partner drops suddenly to their side beside your feet and your sleeve is pulled after them: their falling weight, not a lift, is what takes you. You are drawn sideways over their extended leg. Turn with it, slap with your free arm, and land on your back beyond them rather than fighting to stay upright and landing badly.

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    VI judo notes

    The extended leg is slid along the mat past the outside of their foot, so it is placed by contact and cannot be misjudged for height. There is no half measure in the drop: commit fully onto your side and pull across towards the space beyond your own head. Know where the mat edge is before you go down.

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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

    , 7 awaiting review

    7 more pairs involving it are recorded and awaiting review before they get 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 Yoko-otoshi, or a combination it belongs to. You can suggest one.

    Reference pages elsewhere

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