How to learn the Tai Otoshi Judo throw

The Tai Otoshi is a Judo throw that involves bringing your body in front of your opponent. Once there, you then use your arms to bring their weight forward and sprawl your leg out to trip them onto the floor. If done correctly it can result in an Ippon or juji gatame submission. Like many Judo throws, the Tai Otoshi relies heavily on weight distribution, foot movement, timing, and grips. With this in place, you can successfully attack the Tai Otoshi and enjoy the success of putting your foe to the floor. Due to its nature, the translation in English literally means ‘body drop’.

Not only this but away from the dojo it can also be taught as a self-defense move. If an attacker gets your back, then you can initiate grips on a coat and then start setting up the throw from there. Whilst this is situational and depends on specific clothing, it nonetheless offers a viable solution to having your back taken by surprise. Below is a step-by-step guide to completing the Tai Otoshi from start to finish.

Setting up the Tai Otoshi

The Tai Otoshi begins with typical Judo grips, so make sure your one hand is gripping the elbow with the other on the lapel collar. You should then step your leg forward on the same side as the lapel grip. Remember to have a tight and deep collar grip which will help the throw later on. The idea of stepping your leg forward is equally as important.

The need for this is to close the distance on the opponent and get into the inside space. Remember in Judo, you will often want to get in close when choosing to attack and create space when defending. Like many Judo moves, you will also need to use your hips to pivot as well. This creates an angle to turn away from the opponent which is imperative when using the Tai Otoshi.

A good way to practice the entry is to drill this with an uke. You can get your initial grips and then step inwards. After this, you can then pivot your hips and turn into your training partner. You can do this to build speed and fluidity. As is often the case in Judo, you are also reliant on your foot steps when pivoting in. In brief, you will need to make small steps to fully get your back turned away from your partner. Repetitive drilling of this movement is the key. Arguably the hardest part of the Tai Otoshi is the initial entry, so it’s worth training this move until it’s firmly ingrained into your muscle memory.

Attacking the Tai Otoshi

Once the footwork has been set up you can then begin to start the middle part of the trip. This involves turning your hips into the opponent and pivoting to face away from them. This means to finish the trip you want to effectively give your back to the opponent. Of course, you should still be safe when completing the throw due to your grips. However, it is worth thinking about the importance of your grips with the Tai Otoshi as it relies heavily on keeping the opponent from resisting.

With this in mind, the lapel grip should be punching up towards the ceiling. This will help elevate the opponent and control their posture. By doing this, you should be taking the weight off their feet which will eventually make the throw easier. Notice the speed of the footwork in the throw below.

Finishing the Tai Otoshi

To finish the Tai Otoshi, you want to twist the upper body of the opponent. This involves pulling at the elbow to manipulate the movement of the opponent and putting them towards the floor. At the same time, you want to spread your far leg out to trip the opponent. There are two ways to do this depending on your preference. The first route is by having a straight leg that has your foot planted to the floor. This should cover the far foot of the opponent to take away their base.

The second way is by using the same leg but then bending the lower part below the knee. This mimics the movement of an inside trip takedown where you’re basically relying on your leg to off-balance the opponent. Finally, you should combine this with your upper body grips to force the opponent over your leg that is spread out. This will put them onto the floor where you can pin them or attack the arm. To attack the arm, you should keep hold of the elbow grip throughout the throw. At the end with them on the floor, you can then choose to pull the arm up and swing your legs into a juji gatame.

Remember, timing is often crucial in Judo and it’s a very large part of successfully hitting the Tai Otoshi. Basically, it relies on an element of speed and timing more so than certain other techniques. With this said, it really can’t be stated enough how important it is to keep the opponent’s feet moving, especially in the earlier stages of the move.

Problems with the Tai Otoshi

Whilst the Tai Otoshi is a solid enough throw, it does have certain issues and like all moves in Judo it has some weaknesses. The first issue with this move is that if you lose control of the grip battle midway through, then it can be fatal. In other words, if the opponent manages to get their elbow free or lapel loose, then they can end up countering the throw.

For instance, if they can free their arms and create a good angle, then the Tai Otoshi can be potentially countered by a Tani Otoshi. This means it’s vital to make sure everything is set up perfectly before exposing your back. Of course, experienced Judoka will rarely run into this problem, but it’s nonetheless something that new students will encounter.

The second issue with the Tai Otoshi is one of safety. As mentioned, there are two ways to finish the trip. The first is with an extended leg that trips the opponent and the second is with the leg bent at the knee. Whilst it may be easier to throw with the first method, it can also injure your own leg.

In brief, if your leg is fully extended and the execution of the throw is sloppy, then the bodyweight of the opponent may drop onto your leg. This could break your leg if the throw is botched so it’s something to consider. However, the bent leg variation is far safer as your leg isn’t extended. This makes it possible to hit the throw with less worry in your mind. Of course, this is a personal preference and depends on the confidence of each individual when doing the takedown.

Lastly, the Tai Otoshi has some setbacks outside of wearing the gi. As its grips are so important, it’s not really something that you can attempt outside of Judo. For instance, in an MMA setting, certain throws and footsweeps can translate successfully. However, the Tai Otoshi is pretty exclusive to Judo. With this said, this point is irrelevant if you are looking at it from an exclusive Judo standpoint.

Final Thoughts

This is a fundamentally strong throw that has been used in Judo for hundreds of years. Having said this, it may take time to pull off during randori so be patient when learning and practicing the move. Perhaps the best way to enter this move is by chaining it together with foot sweeps and generally getting your opponent to move around. At that point, you can choose to move in and go for the attack.

Overall, the Tai Otoshi is a great way to down the opponent and has similarities with the Seoi Nage which also works by putting your back towards the opponent with the aim of doing a shoulder throw. However, the main benefit of the Tai Otoshi is that it’s less of a shoulder throw and more of a trip. Because of this, it generally requires less strength and effort and is therefore suited for technical Judoka’s who rely on leverage more so than muscle.