01 / AT A GLANCE
A large inside reap with an upper-body task
O-uchi-gari is the major inner reap, classified as ashi-waza. In the right-sided reference, tori’s right leg works inside uke’s stance to reap uke’s left leg while the upper body is directed backward. The action is not simply placing a foot between the partner’s feet and pushing. The attacked support, body connection and reaping direction need to cooperate.
Convention: you are tori and your partner is uke. Your left hand controls uke’s right sleeve and your right hand holds uke’s left lapel. Your left leg provides support while the right leg attacks uke’s left leg from inside. The opposite-leg relationship is important: it differs from the right-foot-to-right-heel baseline of ko-uchi-gari.
Ouchi gari and o-uchi-gari are spelling variants. A coach may distinguish a hooking continuation from a reaping action, but informal labels should not erase the official technique’s defining action. Describe the contact and direction when seeking feedback, especially if the leg becomes entangled during a moving attack.
This guide concentrates on a controlled standing entry and a safe continuation to the ground. It assumes supervised practice and ukemi. A committed competition drive can be powerful; it should not become a beginner instruction to fall forward onto a partner regardless of balance or leg position.
02 / WATCH THE TECHNIQUE
Watch where the upper body goes
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
The Kodokan demonstration provides the primary reference. Efficient Judo’s basic-principles video is a separate coaching resource. In the first viewing, ignore the reaping foot and watch uke’s shoulders. In the second, identify how tori enters the space. In the third, connect that movement to the right-leg action.
Look for the relationship between tori’s support and the attacked leg. If the attacking leg reaches far away from the body, the upper-body action may no longer support it. In your own footage, compare the last step before contact with the instant uke begins to fall. A missed reap may have begun with a poor approach rather than an inaccurate foot.
Also watch what happens after the projection. Does tori remain standing, follow above uke or arrive with a leg between uke’s legs? Those outcomes create different groundwork problems. A demonstration’s clean finish should not make you assume that every randori attempt leaves an immediate pin.
Use the videos as references for the form shown. Hopping, turning and other competitive adaptations should be identified separately. Their presence in a highlight does not establish that more forward commitment is the right correction for your version.
03 / WHEN TO USE IT
Find a reachable leg and a rearward line
Uke’s left leg accepts weight
The leg must be available within a useful distance, and uke’s upper body must be directed so removing that support matters. If you touch the leg while uke can freely move their shoulders and step away, you may have contact without a real threat. Practise recognising the whole position rather than the foot alone.
Uke resists a forward attack
A response that shifts balance backward can make an inside attack attractive, provided you can return to an organised facing position. If your back is still exposed from the first entry, you have not yet reached the o-uchi starting relationship. Recover your support and grip before changing direction.
Opposite leads and different distances
Right-versus-left stance may change which leg is closer and how the lead arms obstruct entry. Same-sided stance may offer a familiar grip but still leave the target far away. Have your coach teach the approach for each situation instead of reaching deeper with the leg whenever the original entry fails.
A retreating opponent
Following a retreat can maintain pressure, but chasing with the torso ahead of the feet can leave you vulnerable. In a controlled moving drill, let uke occasionally take a larger step. Learn to recognise the lost distance and rebuild rather than forcing the same reap into every retreat.
04 / HOW IT WORKS
Coordinate entry, rearward control and the reap
Prepare the shoulder line
For the right-sided reference, direct uke toward their left-rear corner so their left heel becomes a meaningful support. Use the grips and body movement together; the target is a connected rearward line, not a sideways shove. The sleeve connection should help prevent an easy turn away while the lapel side stays organised. Avoid treating the right arm as an isolated shove; a long reach through the arms can leave the rest of your body too far away.
Bring the support with you
Enter close enough for the right leg to work without stretching away from your base. The supporting left foot must allow continued movement and balance. Too much distance makes the reap weak; excessive crowding can jam the legs. Use a slow fit to let the coach identify which problem your pair actually has.
Reap from inside
The right leg enters the inside space and reaps uke’s left leg in a broad action toward your right, following the official reference. Coordinate the reaping path with the rearward movement of the upper body. Do not twist sideways against a trapped knee or use an uncontrolled kick to force contact. If the legs tangle, stop and reset the relationship.
Continue through the changing support
As uke’s balance changes, your own support must remain organised. A controlled forward continuation may be part of the taught form, but falling onto uke without controlling their torso and legs is not the objective. The hands, hips and supporting leg should keep the action connected.
Know the ground arrival
If you follow the throw down, identify whether your leg is trapped and whether uke can frame or recover their knees. The throw’s success does not finish the exchange automatically. In practice, reduce the pace enough to establish a clear position before adding a resisted ground continuation.
05 / KEY POINTS
Five cues for the inside attack
- Attack the body over the leg. Ask whether uke’s shoulders are being directed backward as the leg action begins. Touching a foot without changing the upper body is not the same as moving balance.
- Enter with support, not a reach. Check whether your right leg can act while your left side remains stable. A long stretch may reveal that your approach stopped too far away.
- Keep the sleeve connected. Watch whether uke turns away freely at first contact. If so, inspect the hand relationship before increasing drive.
- Let the reap and projection agree. Your upper-body direction and leg action should contribute to the same fall. A sideways twist against a fixed knee is a reason to stop and refit.
- Arrive ready for the ground task. After a controlled throw, identify whether you are outside the legs or caught between them. That observation determines the continuation.
Use the cues to choose one adjustment, not to freeze into a checklist during randori. A technical change earns its place when it improves the relevant relationship under the conditions you are practising.
06 / PROBLEMS & ADJUSTMENTS
Contact is not always control
The foot hooks but uke does not move
The upper body may remain balanced, or your leg may be reaching without support. Return to a slow entry and ask the coach whether uke’s shoulders are directed before the reap. Do not immediately tighten the hook or twist harder; the missing action may be above the waist.
Uke withdraws the attacked leg easily
You may be announcing the attack with the leg before the body arrives, or entering after the useful step has passed. Use one predictable step and inspect timing. Later, vary the step so you learn when to continue and when to reset. A withdrawn leg can create another opportunity, but only if your posture survives.
You fall forward while uke stays standing
Your torso may be ahead of a disconnected base, or the grip may have released during commitment. Reduce the exercise to entering and returning to stance. Ask where your balance first becomes dependent on uke cooperating. Fix that stage before restoring a driving finish.
The knees become entangled
Stop rather than wrenching through. Have the coach inspect entry angle, depth and the partner’s response. Rehearse the leg relationship without a throw before increasing movement. Entanglement is not something to solve by asking uke to resist harder.
The throw lands but you remain trapped in the legs
That may be a predictable ground outcome, not proof that the throw was wrong. Identify whether you have top control, which leg is caught and where uke’s frames are. Practise a coached pass from that established position instead of improvising a knee extraction at full speed after every throw.
07 / SETUPS & COMBINATIONS
Make the recovery leg tell you what comes next
O-uchi-gari to ko-uchi-gari
Attack uke’s left leg from inside. If they remove that leg and reorganise weight onto a reachable right heel while your upper-body connection remains, ko-uchi-gari may be available. Recover your own support before changing the target. If uke retreats out of range, follow with posture and rebuild rather than flicking at both heels from a distance.
O-uchi-gari to uchi-mata
If the backward threat makes uke recover forward and the inside line remains usable, uchi-mata offers a different direction. The upper-body turn and support must change with the attack. Do not simply raise the reaping leg higher and call it a combination. Practise the transition only from the response your coach has identified.
O-uchi-gari to a shoulder throw
A forward recovery can also bring a controlled sleeve and shoulder into a seoi-nage entry. Choose the shoulder throw only while the grip and distance support it. If uke stays vulnerable backward, finish the first attack. If they stiffen and remain distant, another turn may only expose your back.
A good combination drill includes at least one repetition in which the expected second attack is declined. That makes the first technique a real attempt and the continuation a response, rather than a two-name routine performed irrespective of the partner.
08 / DEFENCES & COUNTERS
Remove the target without losing the rest of your position
Early defence can involve recovering the attacked leg and changing the upper-body line before the reap becomes committed. Work with your coach on stepping and posture together. Pulling the leg away while leaving the shoulders driven backward may simply exchange one vulnerable support for another.
O-uchi-gaeshi is a distinct recognised counter. Learn its timing and action separately instead of treating every sideways twist as a counter. Both partners should know the intended response in initial practice; unexpected resistance against an engaged leg can make a simple drill unsafe.
If the fall is committed, use ukemi rather than posting behind you or attempting to land on a locked arm. Tori should maintain controlled contact and avoid landing with uncontrolled force. Agree whether the drill continues to the ground before beginning.
For tori, recognise the moment the target disappears while your body keeps driving. Restore a stable base or change to the coach-agreed continuation only if connection remains. Continuing straight ahead after the grip and leg relationship are lost may give uke a counter or top position without creating a meaningful attack.
09 / GROUND TRANSITIONS
The throw often creates a passing problem
You arrive between uke’s legs
Establish posture and upper-body control, then identify frames and the trapped leg. You are not automatically in a hold-down merely because uke’s back is on the mat. Use the passing action your coach has taught, keeping the knee and ankle aligned rather than twisting them free against resistance.
You land beside the torso
If both legs are clear and the upper body is controlled, work toward yoko-shiho-gatame. Secure the shoulders and hips before relaxing into pressure. If the near arm is available and your orientation fits, kesa-gatame is another possible destination.
Uke turns before you settle
Follow the actual position. A turned partner may need a turnover or a change of angle, while a partner facing you may be rebuilding frames. Do not pull on the head as a substitute for controlling the torso. Separate the ground task and practise it from a safe static start when necessary.
You lose top position
Stop thinking of the action as a nearly completed throw and recognise the new defensive task. Learn the appropriate recovery with a coach. Record the arrival as well as the score so that a technically successful reap does not hide a recurring positional loss.
10 / PRACTICE PROGRESSION
Separate the reap from the drive
Fit and return
Start with a cooperative leg relationship and minimal force. Enter, establish the intended upper-body line and return to stance. Progress when the right leg can find its route without reaching, twisting or making the partner uncomfortable. The coach decides when a complete throw is appropriate.
Controlled finish
Add the projection and landing with a partner prepared for the backward fall. Keep the movement small enough to observe. Confirm that the shoulder direction and reap agree and that you can identify the position afterward. Do not use a powerful drive to hide a poor fit.
Moving target
Uke takes one agreed step. Tori attacks when the left leg and upper body are available, then later declines when uke takes a longer retreat. Compare timing errors separately from distance errors. This is more informative than counting every missed foot contact as the same failure.
Two-way reaction drill
Use the o-uchi threat and allow uke to recover either onto the other support or forward. Begin with only one trained follow-up, then add a second once the first decision is clear. Keep a reset option. A combination that requires guessing the partner’s next step is not yet a reliable response.
Throw-to-pass practice
After controlled nage-komi, continue to one agreed ground objective, such as clearing a trapped leg and establishing side control. Alternatively start directly from the landing position. Progress when both partners can distinguish a genuine pass, a stalled position and a safe reset without wrenching the legs.
If obtaining the starting grip is the limiting step, use the grip-fighting drills guide to work on that approach before increasing throwing repetitions.
11 / COMPETITION EXAMPLE
Abe’s spinning finish at Antalya 2024
The IJF Antalya 2024 −66 kg report describes Hifumi Abe defeating Nurali Emomali in the final with a spinning o-uchi-gari for ippon. The report’s description supports the named example; this page does not independently assign an exact grip or leg path to every moment of the action.
The useful viewing question is how the turning movement changes the rearward line while the attacker stays connected. Compare the approach and opponent response with the more linear learning drill above. Do not assume that adding rotation to a disconnected basic reap will reproduce the competitive result.
Use the IJF o-uchi-gari library to find additional applications. Record the athlete, event and starting situation for each selected clip. A comparison between a direct and turning entry can be useful, but only when you identify what changed rather than treating both as proof that the technique works from any position.
12 / VARIATIONS & COMPARISONS
Large inside reap, small inside reap and outer reap
Ko-uchi-gari uses a smaller heel-focused action; the right-sided baseline targets uke’s right heel. O-uchi-gari’s baseline right leg attacks uke’s left leg from inside. This distinction helps you understand why a recovery from one may offer the other.
O-soto-gari works from outside against uke’s right leg in its right-sided reference. Changing from o-uchi to an outside attack requires repositioning the body and support, not merely redirecting the foot while the rest of the action stays fixed.
Hooking, hopping and spinning descriptions can identify useful variations, but they do not replace a precise account of the body relationship. Ask whether your version is solving distance, sustaining contact or changing the direction of balance. If a variation only helps against a compliant partner, retain it as a practice experiment rather than declaring it your new competition answer.
13 / YOUR NEXT PRACTICE
Track the arrival as well as the throw
Plan a short block with one partner and a coach-selected moving entry. Ask: “Does my upper body arrive close enough to make the inside reap matter?” Then add one ground objective if the throw is controlled. Avoid changing both the entry and pass in the same comparison.
Record usable entries, lost targets, controlled throws and ground arrivals: outside the legs, one leg trapped, or underneath. These categories reveal whether the next priority is the standing approach or the ground continuation. Your partner should also report whether the contact was comfortable and predictable.
Illustrative note: “Eight attacks; five connected, three reached. Four connected attacks landed on top, but three left a leg trapped. Next session: preserve the improved entry and practise the pass from that landing separately.” That is a more useful plan than labelling the whole technique unsuccessful because the pin did not follow immediately.
Use the practice record template or Judo AI to retain the observation. At the next session, ask whether the passing improvement survives a partner who actively recovers their knee. The task should grow from the evidence in your own rounds.
14 / SOURCES & REVIEW
Sources, authorship and review
Kodokan official technique names establish the name and category. The IJF O-uchi-gari definition and video library and linked Kodokan demonstration are the primary technical references. The second video above is credited separately. The competition report linked in section 11 supports the named example, not every coaching suggestion on this page.
By Judo AI · Editorial review: October 9, 2026. Definitions, source identity, article consistency and links have been checked. Practice tasks and diagnostic questions are editorial proposals to discuss with your coach, not a validated training protocol. Named technical-coach approval is still pending. Video identities were verified; complete playback and every contest detail have not been independently analysed.
Rules and scope: this is a supervised judo study guide, not a current refereeing manual. Historical scores describe the cited event. Ask your coach to check the applicable age group and event rules before using grip variations or submissions in shiai; this draft does not certify their legality. Stop a practice action when your partner taps, asks to stop or reports pain.