How To Okuri Ashi Harai – The Classic Judo Foot Sweep

Okuri ashi harai is a classic judo foot sweep created by judo pioneer Kano Jigoro. The technique is not a throw, it is a pure sweep, so is classified as an ashiwaza. The comes from the school of traditional Kodokan judo. It should be noted that in some circles, the throw is known as okuri ashi barai. This is exactly the same sweep, it just has a slightly different name.

The okuri ashi harai best works against a backstepping opponent who is retreating. If both feet are off the ground, or weight is not distributed correctly, then the foot sweep will become available. If for example both of the opponent’s feet are firmly planted, there is no chance of any footsweep, let alone an okuri ashi harai.

Although all judo throws are extremely sensitive to timing, the okuri ashi harai is one of the most challenging footsweeps to learn as it requires almost perfect timing. Whilst it is reasonably easy to hit against a uke who is sidestepping with you at the same pace. Against a resisting opponent, it takes a lot of knowledge and experience to know when the technique can be executed.

Okuri Ashi Harai Setup

The okuri ashi harai has a few variations, but the standard technique is to start with a basic collar & sleeve grip. Your opponent will most likely mirror this grip – if they don’t, it’s likely they will be making themselves vulnerable to other throws.

Overall, the entry to okuri ashi harai is very simple and basic. It is not a difficult or complicated setup like many other throws. Your goal is just to make your opponent take 1 or more sidesteps with you, after this you should be ready to attempt the technique.

When attempting the sweep, your posture MUST be upright. The last thing you want to do is bring your weight forwards over the top of your hips. This creates a lot of distance between your feet and your opponent’s legs, something you definitely don’t want.

Ideally, you want to begin moving sideways with your opponent and trail slightly behind them. This will give you more room to swing your leg and will not waste time bringing your leg backward before you bring it forward.

Mechanics Of The Sweep

When performing the okuri ashi harai you want to SWEEP your opponent’s leg, NOT kick. Kicking is far less effective since if the initial contact is dodged or negated, it is likely you will not finish the sweep. In addition to this, in gym randori, you really will annoy your training partners if you are continuously kicking at their legs.

The ideal place to land the foot sweep is right on the ankle or just below. You want to curve your foot around the opponent’s ankle joint and bring their weightless leg into their standing leg. By curving your foot rather than kicking, you are stopping the opponent from escaping or jumping over your leg. This full control of the opponent’s ankle is exactly what you need to complete the sweep. They will only be able to stand on one leg with no balance for a certain amount of time before falling.

A good detail to remember is that you are trying to pin one of your opponent’s ankles to the other, this puts their center of gravity into a much smaller area.

Your upper body is not used too much during the okuri ashi harai, some practitioners almost don’t use it at all. A good practice to get into is to bring your arms in the opposite direction to your sweeping leg. This will help you in taking your opponent off balance. Other than this, you just want to maintain your grips, as this is the most important detail.

By the way, if you’re looking to improve your general foot sweeps in Judo, this book in particular is a great place to start.

Fake Into Harai Goshi

One great application of a fake or failed okuri ashi harai, is the easy entry into a hip throw such as the harai goshi. If you are against a good opponent who knows that the sweep is coming, a common defense is to move their front leg backward and away from the sweep. The problem with this is that the uke often leans their weight forwards to compensate for this adjustment in weight.

As the opponent is leaning forwards you can quickly move your feet and hips straight into a harai goshi. Your grips will not need changing and this is a classic counter to an over-adjustment.

Risk / Reward

If we compare the okuri ashi harai to many other throws in judo, it has an excellent risk to reward ratio. Even if your chance of finishing a foot sweep is significantly lower, that is really not a bad trade-off, since you risk very little for attempting one.

Compared to a sacrifice throw or even a hip throw, you are not putting yourself in a bad situation at all.

This is why it’s fundamentally important to have some foot sweeps such as okuri ashi harai in your arsenal. Even if they only work 5% of the time, this is really not too bad. In addition to this, the pure threat of this sweep will often open your opponent up to other throws. Their bodyweight adjustments will open them up to other techniques as they will be overly concerned about getting their legs swept out from underneath them.

No Gi Application Of Okuri Ashi Harai

Although the roots of okuri ashi harai are embedded firmly in judo, it does have applications to other grappling arts and MMA.

The set up of the foot sweep is very similar. Although there is no kimono, standard judo grips are very easily duplicated by the human body. The standard collar sleeve grips are exchanged with a collar tie and a bicep grip. Whilst this does not give you the supreme control that gripping the kimono does, it is at least a very good copy of what you’re trying to achieve.

The rest of the throw is exactly the same. The legs of a human work whether or not they are wearing gi pants, so no changes need to be made. The only real difference comes from MMA in the clinch position. Here the fighter needs to be aware of strikes, to the head. This is why we do not see the okuri ashi harai very often in MMA. There are other variables that the fighter needs to be more concerned with.