Reverse Seoi-Nage Part 1: The Grip

One of the most fascinating throws in modern competition judo is the reverse seoi-nage. It’s also popularly known as the Korean seoi-nage as the throw originated from there.

Quite often, when it comes to unorthodox throws, it’s hard to identify who actually started it. Take for example the Khabarelli throw. It’s named after Olympic Champion Shota Khabarelli, who popularized it, but he certainly wasn’t the inventor. It’s based on a Georgian wrestling move and was also used by his contemporaries like David Bodaveli. Khabarelli just happened to be more famous so it became associated with him.

Similarly, when it comes to the one-handed sode-tsurikomi-goshi, many people associate it with the great Toshihiko Koga of Japan but Oren Smadga of Israel and Marino Cattedra of Italy were also using a similar technique around that time.

In the case of the reverse seoi-nage though, we can pinpoint exactly who started it all. That’s Choi Min-ho, who used it to great effect in the 2008 Beijing Olympics although he was seen using it as early as the 2003 Osaka World Championships.

It only became really popular a few years later when it spread throughout Korea and Japan (it would eventually catch on in Europe too). For a while, during the early 2010s, it seemed like every lightweight Korea and Japanese player had the reverse seoi-nage in their arsenal.

One of the big mysteries of the reverse seoi-nage is the grips involved. What do you actually do with your hands? In the video above, Shintaro demonstrates two variations. The first (and the most common) involves an over-arm grip where tori’s arm is above uke’s. The second involves an under-arm grip, where tori’s arm is below uke’s.

Let’s look at the over-arm version first.

With an over-arm grip, you can’t easily turn into the throw because uke’s arm is in the way.

So, tori has to bring his left elbow inside. Once he gets that, he’s in a position to rotate his right arm.

With his right forearm pushing into and against uke’s chest, tori reaches with his left hand to take hold of uke’s lapel (just right above tori’s own right hand).

At this point, uke thinks tori is going to throw to the front. This is, after all, the usual direction for a seoi-nage throw. His natural reaction is to pull back.

Instead of throwing to the front, tori rotates and takes uke towards the direction he is pulling (which is his back).

Uke’s reaction in pulling back is so strong, all tori has to do is take a bow and uke will fall down flat on his back.

Now, let’s look at another variation. This time, with tori having the under-arm grip.

Here, you can see tori’s grip is below uke’s left arm. If tori maintains a strong extended arm, uke will naturally try to push downwards with his left arm. This is an opportunity for tori to do reverse seoi-nage.

As uke pulls his left arm downwards, tori follows the movement and pushes his right forearm against uke’s chest.

Tori takes hold of uke’s left lapel (just above tori’s right hand grip) and begins the rotation process.

Tori spins all the way towards uke’s back, and takes him down in that direction.

Make sure you check out Part 2 to see the two directions you can go to finish off the reverse seoi-nage.