Obi Otoshi

Obi otoshi is accomplished by grabbing Uke's belt in the front with Tori's right hand (or left hand) and as he continues to pull, Tori steps behind Tori's right (or left). Tori holds Uke's hip from Uke's right side (or left side) and scoops up and drops. All similar to this is considered Obi-otoshi.

[edit]Technique

Hold each other in right natural posture. Tori steps back his right foot. At the same time Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front with the right hand facing upward (with four finger inserted upward)(picture 1). Tori pulls Uke close to his body to place Uke in a floating position. Then Tori steps back his left foot and pulls his left hand to make Uke off balance to his right front forward and stop. At this time, Tori moves his left foot back as he places his right foot in front of Uke's right foot. This right foot movement is very important because it is necessary to step his left foot in behind Uke. Uke resists Tori's pull by stretching his arms stiffly and bending his body backwards. He continues to resist by stepping the left foot, right foot forward. Since Uke's belt in the front is pulled by Tori, Uke bends his body backward for defense.

At this moment, Tori pulls Uke to his right side without loosening his right grip. Sweeps away Uke's right hand with his left hand (the hand gripping Tori's left collar). Tori slides his left hand over Uke's stomach and using his right foot as a shaft, he steps his left foot between Uke's legs. Tori puts his left hand behind Uke's left hip to hold Uke's lower body to make him off balance backwards. Since Uke bends his body backwards, his weight goes to his heels to lose his balance.

At this time, Tori places his left foot behind Uke's left heel and puts right foot near the outside of Uke's right heel. Bend both knees and drop his hip to take a well-balanced position. Tori slides his left-hand down over Uke's right chest to his hip to hold Uke's upper body. Tori puts left hip against Uke's right hip and pull hands tight for close body contact

Tori, using his front hip, pushes Uke's hip upward while holding Uke and scoops upward with his left hand and by twisting his body to the left and throws down. Uke's body falls to Tori's left backward

The key point of this technique is to pull Uke's belt in the front tight and make Uke bend his body backward to make him off balance. Therefore, Tori keeps pulling his right hand tight and controls Uke for close body contact. If Tori loosens his right hand pull, Uke will step his right foot back to make some distance from Tori and returns to a secure position. Therefore, Tori will miss his opportunity for Obi-otoshi. So, if Tori controls Uke's legs to prevent movement (lower body) and only allows Uke's upper body to bend backward, control can be achieved.

When Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front, there are two ways to insert his fingers. 1.Gyaku-insert four fingers upward. 2. Jun-insert four fingers downward.

In order to pull Uke's body upward into floating position, it is more efficient to use gyaku grip. However, in some cases jun grip can also be efficient. The right hand grip has a great advantage because of the strength of the pull.

However, it can be easily detected and blocked by Uke. Therefore, Tori must take some advantageous movement. Such as, pulling Uke's front belt quickly, stepping quickly behind Uke, and holding Uke's body by one hand and using his hip to scoop up Uke's body. Using this movement in sequence in split second is most important.

You can apply this technique to the following. When Uke grabs Tori behind the neck with his right hand and pulls Tori close to this body, and steps his right foot between Tori's legs to turn his body half way to execute Haraigoshi.

At this moment, Tori steps his left foot behind Uke's right side, drops his hip and stick his left hand over Uke's stomach, and holds Uke's left hip. Then, grabs Uke's belt in the front with his right hand and pull close to control Uke's upper body (picture 13, 14). Scoops up Uke, like Type 1 and throws down. If, Tori sacrifices his body backward to throw Uke, it is categorized as Yokosutemi. Therefore, it is classified as Taniotoshi.

[edit]Difference between Obi otoshi and Sukui nage

Obi otoshi: Grabs Uke's belt in the front with one hand to pull and the other hand holds Uke on the hip in the back to scoop up. Sukui nage: Use both hands to hold Uke behind the hip to scoop up

There is a difference of using the right or left hand in the above techniques. But, the concept of scooping up and dropping are the same. So, Obi-otoshi can be considered as "using the belt Sukui-nage". During the Meiji Era, Obi-otoshi seemed to have been used in Rondori practice, because we can find this technique in Gokyonowaza #3-6, which was set in the 28th year of Meiji. However, the 9th year of Taisho, the rule was revised, and Obi-otoshi was eliminated due to not being practical for Rondori practice.

[edit]References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. This article is excerpted from the book "Kodokan Nage Waza" written by Daigo Toshiro 10dan. (Picture, Tori: Sengoku Tsuneo 7dan, Uke: Sato Tadashi 8dan)