Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

Hello Sensei Sloan,

This is my first post on this forum and let me just take a minute to thank you and Sensei Lowry for all of the awesome, very informative, and thought provoking videos you have posted here and on Youtube; I have learned a lot from studying them.

I have a question for you (or anyone else who might be able to offer some insight/explanation) regarding O Soto Gari.

I have observed from watching your Ashi Waza instructionals that there are essentially two timings and "styles" of leg throws the way you teach them:

1) the "trip wire" effect- this is performed on "body rise" as you call it when the weight has just shifted fully to the supporting leg and the "light" leg is either obstructed from being able to step to regain/maintain balance (Hiza Guruma, Ashi Guruma, O Guruma, Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi), or it's movement is exaggerated (Uchi Mata, Okuri Ashi Harai, De Ashi Harai, etc...)

2) the "patch of ice" effect- this is performed during "body fall" while the weight is fully on the support leg and you are attempting to put the "light" leg down. Tori exaggerates the length of the step you take to make you fall (Ko Uchi Gari, O Uchi Gari, Ko Soto Gari)

Both of these timings are based on manipulated the "light"/non supporting leg. However, when performing O Soto you seem to break this pattern and instead of manipulating the "light" leg, you instead cleave out the supporting "heavy" leg. I was taught a similar method when doing O Soto (the way I was taught was more physical though), but was also taught to do O Uchi, Ko Soto, and Ko Uchi with similar "cleaving" concepts. I am able to pull off this type of O Soto on similar sized or smaller opponents if I really exaggerate driving them onto their heals first, but against bigger or very athletic opponents I can never pull this off (they either "step off" with the other foot or just don't let me push them onto their heals).

So my question is...why don't you advocate utilizing the "patch of ice" effect with O Soto and extend the forward step before it hits the ground (when it's still "light") instead of letting the bodyweight shift to the leg before trying to chop through it? Is there inherently something different about this throw that you feel forces you to use different mechanics to all other Ashi Waza techniques?

Thanks again.

Keegan

in the old videos of Tokio Hirano, he seemed to favor this light-leg slipping osoto. Matl sensei also throws it this way.

Nick'san and his teacher have both taught this slipping instead of reaping osoto occasionally. it's kinda nice.

I prefer putting uke's weight into the outside corner of his heel, probably on a spot about the size of a quarter. His weight is trapped there sufficiently that downward pressure on the same side elbow typically collapses the structure. The weight really needs to be focused toward the outside corner, maybe midway between the heel & ankle. Just my preference, your mileage may vary.

Think about other -gari throws too, and how those feel. Ouchi-gari and osoto-gari are really the same throw, just done to the other leg. Kouchi-gari has a nice, icy parking lot slipping feel to it, and when osoto takes on that quality it gets downright spooky. I've had it come of me during quick live nage-komi and such, but I've never been able to replicate it as a slowed down lesson plan. I suspect the issue is body movement, and that my support foot needs to be planted a hair earlier than usual, so that the reaping leg catches uke's leg as it just begins to load weight. My body knows the magical spot on the X to go to, but it only comes out of me organically when there's a little juicy movement going on.