The Easiest Way To Remember All Judo Throws & Techniques

Considering that judo is a Japanese martial art, it can be very difficult for westerners to get a good grip of technique names. Whilst many of the ground techniques have commonly used western names such as “armbar” or “bow and arrow choke”, for some reason standing techniques do not. There are throws that do have western names, but these usually come from wrestling and involve leg grabs. On the other hand, classical kodokan techniques are still mostly referred to as they were hundreds of years ago.

In all honesty, remembering the names of all the judo throws is nowhere near as important as becoming proficient at them. However, it certainly does help to recall names of throws on demand, especially when others are discussing them.

Repeating each throw many times is one way to learn, or simply staring at a poster of techniques and forcing yourself to remember everything. However, these techniques are both time consuming and not an efficient way of learning. If you don’t have a photographic memory, this is going to be fairly difficult.

Thankfully, there is a (fairly) easy way to remember the name of each throw with a little work, that does not rely too much on memory, but more so upon logic.

This method requires learning a handful of Japanese words rather than just trying to memorize all techniques. After all, kodokan judo has 67 throws, which does not include any newaza technique names. Add in various banned throws and general technical references, this is a lot of words to remember in a foreign language that you don’t speak.

The Method Of Learning Japanese Judo Terminology

Japanese is a very logical language that mostly just combines two words to form a relatable longer word.

An easy example of this is the following:

Ashi = Legs

Garami = Entanglement

Therefore, ashi garami means leg entanglement.

By the same logic this can be applied to stand up judo.

Another example would be ashi-waza:

Since we already know ashi means legs, we just need to find out what waza means. Waza is a common term within judo and simply means technique, therefore you will find many throws and positions using this word.

Ashi + Waza = leg technique

Although this is a very direct translation, you can easily summarise that leg technique is a throw involving leg based takedowns.

Helpful Glossary

The terminology below will help you identify any judo throw. If you are able to identify the following words, once they are put together you will be able to decipher which throw somebody is talking about.

First Word Throwing Terminology

Ashi / Hiza / Goshi / Te = Foot / Knee / Hip / Te

Tai = Body

O / Ko = Major / Minor

Yoko = Side

Soto / Uchi = Outer / Inner

Uki = Floating

Sukui = Scoop

Tsurikomi = Pulling

Second & Third Word Finishing Terminology

Gari / Gake / Harai = Reap / Hook / Sweeping

Otoshi = Drop

Makikomi = Wraparound

Guruma = Wheel

Waza = Technique

Nage = Throw

This is not a 100% exhaustive list but will allow you to both understand and remember almost all of the important and most commonly used throws in judo. As stated previously, Newaza techniques are often easier to remember since they have very commonly used English names.

If you still cannot be bothered to remember everything, there are judo apps available for your phone. Judo Reference is a solid and free app that has a list of every judo throw in both Japanese and English.

Key Examples

When combining words from the lists above, you can see that some of the judo throws begin to make more sense. Although this is not how you would describe some of them in exact English – they do at least make logical sense for the most part.

Tai Otoshi = Body Drop

Ko Soto Gari = Minor Outer Reap

Te Guruma = Hand Wheel