Nage-waza are the throwing techniques of judo: everything that takes uke from standing to landing on his back. The Kodokan sorts them into five families according to the part of the body doing most of the work, from the arms (te-waza) to the sacrifice throws where tori drops to the mat (sutemi-waza). This page explains each family, what it feels like on the mat, and links to every judo throw.
Standing or sacrifice: the two branches of nage-waza
Before the five families there is a simpler split. Tachi-waza are the throws where tori stays on his feet, using hands, hips or legs. Sutemi-waza are those where tori deliberately gives up his balance and falls with uke, onto his back (ma-sutemi) or onto his side (yoko-sutemi).
This matters in randori. A failed tachi-waza leaves you standing, ready to go again. A failed sutemi-waza leaves you on the mat under your opponent, which opens the door to ground work. You do not attack with them in the same frame of mind.
The 40 official Kodokan throws, arranged in teaching groups, are listed in the judo gokyo. Here we look at them by family.
Te-waza: when the arms decide
In te-waza, the arms and shoulders produce most of the throw. The legs act as a base or a block but do not reap.
The best known is seoi-nage, where tori loads uke onto his back and brings him over the shoulder. Tai-otoshi only needs one straight leg as a barrier while the arms turn uke. Uki-otoshi and sumi-otoshi use almost no leg contact. They rely on timing and the direction of the pull.
Two te-waza in the gokyo grab the legs. Kata-guruma carries uke across the shoulders and sukui-nage scoops him from behind. In their classic forms, leg grabs are penalized under IJF competition rules. They are still studied, and adapted forms exist.
Our view: te-waza are the best ground for small, fast judo players. They punish bad timing, but they do not require size.
Koshi-waza: through the hip
Koshi-waza use tori's hip as the pivot. Tori turns in front of uke, gets his hips under uke's center of gravity and tips him over.
The starting points are o-goshi, with the arm around the waist, and uki-goshi, a shorter version where the hip barely comes in. Koshi-guruma wraps uke's head. Tsurikomi-goshi and sode-tsurikomi-goshi lift and pull through the lapel or the sleeves, which makes them valuable against an opponent who bends forward. Tsuri-goshi works through the belt.
Next come hip throws with a leg action. Harai-goshi sweeps the thigh and hane-goshi lifts it with a bent, springing leg. Finally, two koshi-waza are counters: utsuri-goshi and ushiro-goshi, where tori lifts an uke who has just attacked with a hip throw.
Koshi-waza are often taught first to children because the fall is controlled. They also demand the most precise footwork.
Ashi-waza: the largest family
Ashi-waza throw with the legs and feet: sweeps, reaps, blocks and hooks. It is the biggest family in the gokyo and probably the most educational.
With sweeps, everything depends on the timing of the step. De-ashi-barai sweeps the advancing foot. Okuri-ashi-barai takes both feet during a sideways step. Harai-tsurikomi-ashi sweeps the ankle while the arms lift and pull.
A reap cuts away the support of one leg. Going backward, o-soto-gari and ko-soto-gari attack from the outside, while o-uchi-gari and ko-uchi-gari attack from the inside. Going forward, uchi-mata reaps the inside of the thigh.
In blocking throws, tori's leg becomes the pivot uke rotates around. Sasae-tsurikomi-ashi blocks the ankle, hiza-guruma the knee, and ashi-guruma and o-guruma use a straight leg across the body. O-soto-guruma blocks both legs from the outside. Last, ko-soto-gake hooks the heel instead of reaping it.
If you could only train one family for a season, this would be it. Ashi-waza force you to read uke's movement, and that sense carries over to everything else.
Ma-sutemi-waza: falling onto your back
Ma-sutemi-waza are the sacrifices where tori falls onto his back and sends uke over him. The gokyo has three.
Tomoe-nage is the most spectacular. Tori puts a foot in uke's stomach, rolls back and sends him over in a circle. Sumi-gaeshi uses the instep under uke's thigh, often against a bent-over opponent. Ura-nage is a counter: tori lifts an attacking uke and throws him backward over himself.
Yoko-sutemi-waza: falling onto your side
In yoko-sutemi-waza, tori drops onto his side. Several are counters or last-resort attacks.
Yoko-otoshi, uki-waza and tani-otoshi look alike: tori slides a leg along uke's and falls, dragging him down. Yoko-wakare throws itself across the front of uke. Yoko-guruma is the classic answer to an uke who bends forward to block a hip throw. Yoko-gake hooks the ankle on the way down.
The makikomi (wraparound throws) form their own subgroup. Tori wraps uke's arm around his body and turns to drive him into the mat. Soto-makikomi and hane-makikomi work, but they are hard on both players. Keep them for people who already fall well.
What makes any throw work
Whatever the family, a good throw rests on three phases: off-balancing, entry and execution. The page on kuzushi, tsukuri and kake covers them. Without good gripping (kumikata) you will not off-balance anyone. And without solid ukemi, nobody will agree to fall for you.
To drill entries, uchi-komi remains the basic tool. To feel the full throw, nothing replaces nage-komi.
Building your own throwing system
Players who score a lot do not know more techniques than everyone else. They chain two or three that go in opposite directions. A backward attack like o-uchi-gari makes uke step back. He pushes forward to recover and falls into a forward attack like seoi-nage or uchi-mata.
So pick your throws in pairs across families. One backward ashi-waza plus a forward te-waza or koshi-waza is the core of most systems that work in competition. Keep one sutemi-waza for opponents who bend over and block everything. And to find out which throws really work for you, count them in randori for a month. Your feelings will mislead you more often than your numbers.