Sumi Gaeshi
Takedown · Standing
A sacrifice throw from the underhook clinch: you sit under them and turn them over your head to land on top. Use it when they bend over you and lean their weight forward. Reach over their back for the belt, or a russian tie or body lock without the gi, and control the sleeve or far collar so they cannot post out. Sit close to your heels right under their hips with your instep inside their thigh, roll back, spring the thigh up with the foot and pull the belt over your head, then follow them over and come up on top. Sitting far from them turns it into a guard pull. If they sit back as you drop, attack a single; if they step over your leg, take the back. Roll over your shoulder, not your neck.
How to do it
- In the clinch, when they lean on you, reach over their back and grab the belt.
- Grip the sleeve or the far collar with the other hand, so the upper body cannot post out to the side.
- Sit down close under them, heels near your buttocks, right under their hips, putting your instep inside their thigh.
- Roll back, lift the inside of their thigh with the foot in a springing motion and pull the belt over your head.
- Keep pulling until they are past you, then follow them over and land on top.
Key details
- They must lean on you: the throw uses their own weight, timing rather than strength.
- Sit close to your own heels, right under their hips: sitting far turns it into a guard pull.
- The belt grip over the back is the lever that pulls them over.
- Lift the inside of their thigh with the top of your foot in a springing motion.
- By the Kodokan names, the belt-grip version is hikikomi-gaeshi; sumi-gaeshi grips the back or the lapel.
- Take away the post: control their arm behind the elbow (the triceps if they will not give you the sleeve), your hand inside their wrist, so the hand cannot reach the mat on the side they are thrown to. If they keep the elbows tight, push their upper body until a hand touches the mat and catch the elbow as they come back up.
Common mistakes
- Sitting far away from them. — You end up pulling guard instead of throwing. — Sit right under their hips, heels close to your buttocks.
- No lift with the foot. — They land on top of you instead of flying over. — Kick your instep up inside their thigh as you roll back.
- Letting go of the belt. — They stop halfway and recover their base. — Keep pulling the belt over your head until they are past you.
How to drill it
From the clinch, 8 throws each side on a crash mat, slowly; then as a counter to a partner who pushes.
Safety
Roll over your shoulder, not the neck, and let the partner turn over the shoulder too.
What comes next
Where it comes from