How To Do The Tawara Gaeshi – Rice Bag Throw

The tawara gaeshi is pretty much an unseen move in the world of judo. Whilst it was most likely used in all grappling sports before records began, the first documented use is as a sacrifice throw in Judo.

Literally translating to a “rice bag reversal throw” it does not have a particularly appealing name for western practitioners. Perhaps this is why almost every throw in Judo is referred to by its Japanese name.

Due to the controversial rule change of 2013 in which you are forbidden to touch your opponent below the belt. We do not see ANY single or double leg takedowns in judo, as attempting to do so would result in immediate disqualification. As a result of this, we do not see tawara gaeshi much at all.

If we think of tawara gaeshi as a positional throw, the only real-time the opponent is in the posture to execute this counter is from morote gari. With the morote gari takedown being banned. Tawara gaeshi finds itself in the strange realm of not being banned but instead being almost completely useless in modern judo competition.

The Only Real Entry To Tawara Gaeshi

The only realistic entry to a tawara gaeshi is from some form of morote gari (double leg takedown). Whilst it is possible in other forms of grappling due to various submission counters, the tawara gaeshi is pretty much a pre-2013 judo throw.

When your opponent lowers their head and wraps their arms around your legs they are in the perfect position for a tawara gaeshi. This is because their upper body is now completely bent over and all of their weight is going forwards. This makes the hips a lot lighter and able to be lifted from the ground.

Mechanics Of Tawara Gaeshi Throw

Once the opponent has shot in for their morote gari, it is very important to grab around their waist and connect your hands together. Whatever grip you use is not really too important. An S-grip or a gable grip is fine, just make sure you do not use an interlocking fingers grip for your own safety.

As soon as you feel the momentum of the opponent coming forwards, you must try and throw them to the opposite side of their head. This will take a lot of practice and timing, but eventually will be very smooth when you get it right.

Much like other sacrifice throws in judo, you must outstretch the leg on the side you are throwing. Your other leg can either be used to stomp the ground and generate some power to throw the opponent. Or if you are concerned about the weight of the opponent, the leg can also be used as a butterfly hook to scoop the opponent up and over your outstretched leg. Although the tawara gaeshi is an upper body throw, you want to generate the power of lifting the opponent through your quad muscles.

When done correctly you will land in an ippon position with yourself on top. In BJJ and MMA this position is known as mount. The idea behind this is that you are proving to the referee this is a counter throw and you are in control. If you do not roll to the top, it could be viewed that you were simply taken down by a morote gari.

Like all judo throws, there are slighy variations for different versions of the sacrifice throw. You should be doing what you feel you are most comfortable with, alongside adjusting for any movements that the opponent makes.

Tawara Gaeshi Uses Outside Of Judo

Tawara Gasehi is an extremely popular throw outside of Judo. It has uses in BJJ, wrestling, sambo and has been used at collective grappling events such as ADCC. Here the rules are more relaxed surrounding takedowns, or at least they have different rulesets for judo. Whilst some moves are banned from these disciplines, in general, you have more freedom to take the opponent to the floor in comparison with restrictive judo rules.

The tawara gaeshi is also used in MMA. The morote gari is a reasonably common takedown and features heavily from those who have a wrestling background. The tawara gaeshi allows you to get top position as a counter. This is especially important when strikes are added to a competition as now you are no longer going to be punched in the head repeatedly. Remember that whilst judo competitions end with an ippon, a lot other grappling rulesets do not.

The Future For Tawara Gaeshi

The future of Tawara Gaeshi in competitive judo is really uncertain. For the foreseeable future, it seems high likely that it is going to remain in the obscure category of being neither illegal nor possible to use. Unless judokas start leading with their head lower than their hips then we are not going to see this throw any time soon.

Perhaps the only possible way of seeing this throw in professional judo again is if the rules are changed. There is no real logical reason for morote gari being banned, so if the governing bodies are able to see sense, we may see taware gaeshi again in the future. Certainly, if morote gari did make a return, we definitely would see more tawara gaeshi. Otherwise, it would surely be a certain ippon loss for whoever got hit by a double leg takedown.