Sode-Osoto-Gari

A classic combination from sode-tsurikomi-goshi is sode-osoto. There are two ways to do this. Shintaro demonstrates both.

The first way can be a combination or a feint where tori first attacks with sode-tsurikomi-goshi. If he turns all the way into the throw and then switches to osoto-gari, it’s considered a combination. If he doesn’t turn in fully but just does a “twitching” action where he makes it look as if he’s about to turn in, in order to get a reaction, then it’s a feint.

Either way, the principle involved is the same. You want to get uke reacting by pulling backwards. This gives you the opportunity to do an osoto-gari.

You begin with a double-sleeve grip.

To elicit a backwards-pull reaction from uke, tori comes in with a sode entry.

As uke begins to pull back to defend against the sode, tori snakes his right leg across for an osoto.

The second version is more of a direct attack osoto, so you can’t really call it a combination or even a feint. It works because the grip alone scares uke enough that she will begin to pull towards her rear, or put more weight towards her back, in order to thwart the throw. So, instead of fighting her resistance, tori goes with the flow and takes her in the direction she is pulling.

So, to be technically accurate, it’s not sode into osoto but an osoto done from a sode grip.

The sode grip alone is a dead giveaway that tori is about to do sode, except that he isn’t. Instead, he snakes his right leg across to do an osoto. This takes uke completely by surprise. This approach works when tori is well-known to be a sode exponent. Then everybody will be scared of his sode.

Watch Shintaro demonstrate the sequences in the video below: