O-soto-gari (major outer reap) is one of the best-known throws in judo. Tori breaks uke's balance backward, steps alongside and reaps the supporting leg from behind with their own leg. It belongs to group one of the gokyo and is taught from the very first belts. Some people search for it as "osoto gari", but it is the same throw.
Simple on paper and brutal when it lands. It is also harder than it looks against someone who knows where to put their weight.
Safety first
We start here because o-soto-gari drops uke backward, fast, with the head near the mat. A solid back breakfall is a prerequisite. If your partners do not have a clean one yet, work on it first (see our page on ukemi).
Tori has a job here too. The hand holding the sleeve never lets go. It pulls up at impact so that uke lands on the back and not on the neck.
Where uke's weight goes
The kuzushi for o-soto-gari aims at uke's rear right corner (for a right-hander attacking). Uke's weight must move onto the right heel. The left hand (hikite) pulls the sleeve down toward your left hip. The right hand (tsurite) drives the lapel back and up, forearm against uke's chest.
You know it is working when uke arches slightly and the right toes lift.
How to do o-soto-gari
- Left foot next to uke's right foot, on the outside, about 15 cm away. Left knee bent.
- Chest to chest on the right side. Your head passes next to uke's head.
- The right leg swings past uke's right leg, then rises forward.
- It comes back down and reaps the back of uke's thigh or calf, downward and backward, calf against calf.
- During the reap your upper body moves forward and your head drops. Think of a seesaw.
The reap is not a kick. The whole leg sweeps from the hip, toes pointed.
Typical mistakes
The standing leg is too far away. If your left foot is behind, you reap thin air and you are the one off-balance backward. An alert uke cashes in straight away.
Next comes an upper body that stays upright, or worse, leans back while the leg reaps. Without the body moving forward, a leg alone will not drop an adult.
The last one is reaping a leg that carries no weight. If uke's weight sits on the left foot, reaping the right leg does nothing. The kuzushi decides which leg you reap.
Counters: o-soto-gaeshi and its cousins
When tori attacks without off-balance, uke can hold, then reap tori's standing leg in turn. That is o-soto-gaeshi. The same movement done earlier becomes a return o-soto-gari, with both judoka reaping at once. Whoever has the better balance wins.
To protect yourself, keep the standing leg bent and close to uke. Never reap before your chest is in contact.
Variations and combinations
When uke pulls the attacked leg back and brings the feet together, o-soto-guruma takes over: tori's leg crosses behind both of uke's legs and bars them at once. If uke steps back with the feet wide instead, ko-soto-gari picks up the heel left behind.
The other way round, o-uchi-gari sets up o-soto-gari nicely. Uke pulls the left leg away from the inner reap and shifts the weight onto the right.
The go-to takedown in BJJ
O-soto-gari is one of the basic BJJ takedowns because it ends in a dominant position without giving up the back. Tori finishes beside the opponent. It works gi or no-gi. Without the gi it is often set up from a collar tie and arm control.
How to train it
In uchi-komi, stop just before the reap with the reaping leg raised, balanced on the standing leg. If you wobble, your placement is wrong. Then move to nage-komi on a thick mat.
One piece of advice: against a taller opponent, o-soto-gari is rarely a good direct attack, because you cannot reach the chest. Save it for opponents your size or smaller, and for moments when they back up on their own.