How to do the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi Judo foot sweep

The Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi is a Judo foot sweep which is one of the art’s oldest moves. Not only this but the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi is also one of the coolest moves to pull off. Put another way, it looks incredibly slick and fluid when done correctly. The term roughly translates to ‘kicking the foot’ in English. In fact, the term ‘Ashi’ means foot, hence the other term ‘Ashi Garame’.

Aside from its history, the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi works by twisting your opponent’s upper body whilst sweeping their foot the other way. In short, it is a foot sweep that works on timing and balance. If you can time it to perfection and off-balance the opponent then the chance of success is far greater. Although it is a gi-based move, it can also be used in a no gi setting if done correctly. So, if you want to learn how to do the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi, please read on…

Setting up the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi

The Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi begins with standard Judo grips. This means one grip on the collar and one on the elbow. If you prefer, you can grip under the armpit or behind the tricep. This is down to personal preference and is completely up to the individual. You should also be mindful of your lapel grip.

Although most Judo competitions now ban wristlocks, if you’re in the dojo playing wristlock rules then you can get caught with one. This is done by having your lapel grip too low. If higher, towards the shoulder then the wristlock is not viable. Regarding the lapel grip, some people sometimes grab over the shoulder onto any spare fabric if desired. In brief, it’s up to you and what feels most comfortable. Once these grips have been established, you’re ready to start the sweep.

Using your legs to hit the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi sweep

To hit the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi, you need to first off-balance the opponent. This is probably the number one reason why people fail with this technique. Basically, you want to feint other attacks such as the Ouchi Gari. This will keep the opponent guessing and become paranoid. In doing this, you want to keep them constantly moving and moving their base. When the time is correct, you want to have the opponent having their weight off the foot you desire to kick. The reason for this is that if this particular leg is heavy, it will be far harder to sweep. However, if it is light then it becomes far easier to move.

For instance, if you want to sweep the foot on the side of the elbow grip then you will need to get their other foot planted onto the ground. In doing this, the lighter foot becomes available to attack. The next step is to slightly move your non-sweeping foot forwards. The idea of this is to get closer to the opponent which will generate more power in your sweep and stop them from literally seeing the move due to closing the distance.

Once this has been accomplished, you can then go for the sweep. As mentioned earlier, the biggest problem people find is initially off-balancing the opponent. However, there is a second issue that many people encounter. In brief, many people will try kicking the foot of the opponent which is incorrect. The way to sweep properly is to use the inside of your foot as a scoop. This requires dragging it against the outside of the opponent’s foot and lifting up.

Imagine your foot is a scoop and the opponent’s foot is ice cream. You want to collect the ice cream up by going under it and then lifting upwards. This technique differs significantly compared to a kick that lacks any finesse. The difference between a scooping motion and kick is massive, the scoop will succeed far more than kicking ever will. Nonetheless, it is not uncommon to see people try kicking the foot instead.

Using your upper body to land the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi sweep

Like most Judo throws, the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi can be divided into the upper and lower body when thinking about control. As mentioned, there’s a lot going on in the footwork, but the upper body shouldn’t be ignored either. To do this correctly, you basically want to steer the opponent’s body like a wheel.

This steering motion should be away from the foot that you desire to sweep. Put another way, let’s say you plan on sweeping the right leg. You should therefore steer the arms away from the right leg. This has two main reasons. The first is that it puts the opponent’s weight off the isolated leg.

As discussed earlier, it’s important to make this foot as light as possible. Secondly, it also opens the leg up to attack. If the upper body isn’t moved out the way then the opponent may be able to defend. This means their arm on the same side may be able to fend you off and provide some defense. However, if this arm is twisted away then the defense has been removed. Doing this will make the sweep much easier to accomplish. As you may have guessed by now, a lot of the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi involves moving the opponent around, both with their feet and arms.

Variations of the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi

So far we’ve described the conventional aspects of the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi. Now we shall discuss a few variations, starting with a no gi version. This can be done by modifying your upper body work which obviously needs changing. However, the lower body movements are the same. Due to this, you’re still making a small step forward and then sweeping using the scooping movement. The main difference is no material to grab on, so instead, you can use wrestling under and overhooks.

Imagine you’re in a neutral position where you have an overhook on the one side and underhook on the other side of the opponent. From here, you want to sweep the leg on the same side as your overhook. The reason for this is to stop the opponent from possibly balancing and posting out with their free arm. As you have this arm trapped with an overhook, this simply isn’t possible. Popular in MMA, this takedown was often favored by the likes of Daniel Cormier and Khabib. Unsurprisingly, these two had some of the greatest ever takedowns ever seen in the MMA world.

The second variation we shall discuss returns to the Judo world. In some cases, it’s good to down the opponent with a typical Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi. However, in other scenarios you may want to fall with them and land in a top-pin such as kesa gatame. The obvious benefit of this is that you could also land an Ippon or transition into a submission. To do this, the sweep takes place as usual, however with the lapel grip, you’re also twisting it to the side of the sweeping foot whilst in mid-air.

You should note that this move is more advanced and technical than a regular Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi. Basically, once in mid-air your own body twists to mirror that of the opponent. You’re also using the non-sweeping leg to not only base but also kick-off to generate power. This variation is cross between the original sweep, but then turns into a throw whilst in the air. It almost finishes as a Judo-wrestling suplex-hybrid which is of course fully legal in Judo.

Final Thoughts

The Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi is not an easy Judo throw to master. However, it certainly has its benefits. Not only is it a good standalone attack, but it also benefits when chained together with other threats. Another positive of the move is that it is very low risk. If your foot sweep fails then don’t fear, the opponent won’t counter easily. Due to this, it can be good to go for as a sneak attack with little or no negative consequences.

Like many Judo moves however, the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi requires a lot of patience and practice. The likelihood is that during the early stages of randori you won’t be able to pull this off immediately. Nonetheless, with enough work, you will get there eventually. In summary, the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi is a great move to get into.

If done correctly it is one of the best Judo trips in terms of aesthetics. Not only this but it is also fundamentally sound and is especially useful against heavier opponents. If done correctly, it can make even the largest man in the room appear very light. Due to this, the Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi would make a fine addition to most people’s Judo, so give it a go today.