Search: “waza”

Shikake Waza (initiating techniques) are the offensive tactics in kendō where the attacker creates an opening in the opponent's guard and strikes first, including debana-waza (striking as the opponent...

Ōji Waza (counter techniques) are defensive-offensive tactics in kendō where the defender responds to the opponent's attack with a parry, block, or evasion followed by an immediate counter-strike, inc...

Sacrifice Throw, known in Japanese as Sutemi Waza, is the group of throwing techniques in which the thrower deliberately abandons their own standing base to complete the throw. [1] Unlike standing thr...

The Kendō Waza subfamily covers the competitive techniques of kendō — the four valid target strikes (men, kote, dō, tsuki), the footwork that delivers them, and the tactical categories of shikake-waza...

The Foot-Leg Technique Throw group, known in Japanese as ashi-waza, comprises all throwing techniques in which the primary mechanism of force generation is the action of the thrower's foot or leg agai...

The Hip Technique Throw group, known in Japanese as koshi-waza, comprises all throwing techniques in which the thrower's hip serves as the primary fulcrum or lifting mechanism, rotating or wheeling th...

The Hand Technique Throw group, known in Japanese as te-waza, comprises all throwing techniques in which the primary mechanism of the throw is the action of the hands and arms rather than the hips or ...

Uki Waza is a side sacrifice throw where the attacker drops to the side while pulling the opponent over their body in a floating motion. [1] The attacker falls to their side, extending one leg across ...

Side control is a dominant ground position where the top player lies chest-to-chest across the opponent's torso, perpendicular to their body, using a combination of crossface, underhook, and chest pre...

The Throw group covers all standing throwing techniques where the thrower uses leverage, momentum, and body mechanics to project the opponent through the air onto the ground — the most spectacular and...

Sacrifice throws (sutemi waza) are techniques where the thrower deliberately falls to the ground while executing the throw, using their own bodyweight, falling momentum, and the element of surprise to...

The Side Sacrifice (Yoko Sutemi Waza) family covers sacrifice throws where the thrower falls to their side while executing the throw — one of two sacrifice throw sub-categories in judo (alongside ma s...

The Sacrifice Arm Throw family covers te-waza techniques in which the thrower sacrifices their own standing position, falling or dropping to the mat while using the arms to drive the opponent into a t...

The Aikido Throw group covers the throwing techniques of aikido — the modern Japanese martial art founded by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) that emphasises blending with and redirecting an opponent's ene...

The Judo Combination Throw family (renraku waza, 連絡技) covers the art of linking two or more throwing techniques together, where the first throw creates the reaction or off-balance needed for the secon...

O Soto Guruma is a judo throwing technique classified as ashi waza (foot/leg technique) in the Kodokan syllabus. [1] The attacker breaks the opponent's balance to the rear and sweeps both legs simulta...

Elbow locks are joint lock submissions that hyperextend or hyperrotate the elbow joint, attacking the ligaments and tendons that hold the forearm to the upper arm. [1] The armbar (juji-gatame) — isola...

Yama Arashi (mountain storm) is a powerful te-waza technique in which the thrower secures a deep lapel grip, often gripping over the shoulder or at the neck, turns in, and drives the opponent forward ...

The Foot Sweep group covers throwing techniques where the thrower uses their foot or leg to sweep, reap, hook, or trip the opponent's supporting leg, causing them to lose balance and fall — the most t...

Joint locks are submission techniques that isolate a joint — elbow, shoulder, knee, ankle, hip, wrist, or spine — and apply force to hyperextend, hyperrotate, or compress it beyond its anatomical rang...

The Trip Takedown group encompasses all takedowns that primarily use the attacker's legs or feet to disrupt the opponent's base by tripping, sweeping, or reaping their feet or legs. [1] Unlike leg-att...

Finger locks are small-joint manipulation techniques that isolate and hyperextend, hyperflex, or laterally deviate one or more fingers beyond their anatomical range. [1,2] Techniques include single-fi...

The Karate Block family covers traditional karate blocking techniques (uke waza, 受け技) — the formalised defensive system of Japanese and Okinawan karate that uses powerful, decisive arm movements to in...

The Arm Lock family encompasses all joint lock submissions that target the shoulder, elbow, or wrist — hyperextending, rotating, or compressing these joints beyond their normal range of motion to forc...

Hiza Guruma is a judo foot technique (ashi waza) where the attacker blocks the opponent's knee with the sole of the foot while pulling them forward and around, causing them to wheel over the blocked l...

Submissions are techniques that force an opponent to concede defeat — typically by tapping out — through the application of joint locks, chokes, strangles, cranks, compression locks, or pain complianc...

Obi Otoshi is a judo hand technique where the attacker grabs the opponent's belt, lifts them, and drops them to the ground. [1] The attacker secures a deep grip on the opponent's belt with both hands,...

The Riposte is the offensive action delivered immediately after a successful parry, completing the defensive-offensive cycle that is the foundation of fencing tactics — the defender parries the incomi...

The Major Hip Throw family covers the foundational koshi-waza techniques in which the thrower turns in, places the hip beneath the opponent's centre of gravity, and wheels the opponent over the hip us...

Nerve locks are submission techniques that apply focused pressure directly to nerve bundles or pressure points, causing acute pain without necessarily threatening joint, vascular, or respiratory integ...

Pain compliance holds are submission techniques that generate sustained pain through pressure, pinching, or grinding — without directly threatening a joint, blood supply, or airway. [5] The goal is to...

Shoulder locks are submissions that attack the glenohumeral joint (shoulder socket) by forcing the arm into extreme internal rotation, external rotation, or abduction. [1,2] The shoulder is the most m...

The standing ear pull is a pain compliance technique applied during upright confrontations by gripping and pulling or twisting the opponent's ear to control their head position and movement. [1,2] The...

Te Guruma (hand wheel) is a judo throwing technique classified under te-waza (hand techniques) where the attacker scoops under the opponent's thigh with one arm while controlling the collar with the o...

The Defence class encompasses all techniques designed to prevent, neutralise, or mitigate an opponent's offensive actions across all ranges and phases of combat. [1] Defence is the complementary pilla...

The Body Drop family centres on tai-otoshi, a fundamental te-waza technique in which the thrower turns in and extends the leg across the opponent's path as a trip while pulling the opponent forward an...

The Block group encompasses all defensive techniques that use the arms, hands, legs, or body to physically intercept and absorb incoming strikes — the most fundamental form of defence across every str...

Tai Otoshi (body drop) is a te-waza technique in which the thrower turns in, extends one leg across and in front of the opponent's lead leg, and pulls the opponent forward and over the outstretched le...

Chokes and strangles are submission techniques that restrict either blood flow (strangles) or airflow (chokes) to force a tap out or render an opponent unconscious. [6] The distinction between a choke...

De Ashi Barai (advancing foot sweep) is a fundamental ashi-waza technique in which the thrower sweeps the opponent's advancing foot at the moment it is about to bear weight, using a lateral brushing a...

Ko Soto Gake (minor outer hook) is a judo ashi-waza technique in which the thrower hooks the opponent's heel or ankle from the outside with the sole of the foot, trapping the foot while driving the op...

Uki Otoshi (floating drop) is a te-waza technique in which the thrower drops to one knee while pulling the opponent forward and downward, using the sudden level change and pulling action to project th...

Kata Guruma (shoulder wheel) is a te-waza technique in which the thrower lifts the opponent across the shoulders in a fireman's carry position and then wheels them over to the mat. [1] The classical e...

Aiki Nage is the Family-level grouping of the canonical aikido throws — the throws that most explicitly demonstrate the aiki principle of blending with and redirecting the opponent's energy. [1,2] The...

The Strike class encompasses all combat techniques in which a fighter delivers percussive force to an opponent using a part of the body — fist, elbow, knee, shin, foot, or head — to cause damage, crea...

The arm drag from standing with wrist flexion is applied by gripping the opponent's wrist and dragging the arm across the body while simultaneously bending the wrist into a flexion lock. [1,2] The sta...

Counter O Soto Gari is a kaeshi-waza (counter technique) in which the defender defeats an incoming o-soto-gari by absorbing or blocking the reaping leg and then executing their own o-soto-gari against...

Techniques that off-balance and project an opponent from a standing position to the ground, using leverage, momentum, and body mechanics as the primary force multipliers.

The Clinch class encompasses all standing grappling positions where two fighters are in direct body-to-body contact, using grips on the opponent's body, limbs, or clothing to control distance, posture...

O Uchi Gari (major inner reap) is a judo ashi-waza technique in which the thrower drives the leg between the opponent's legs and reaps the far leg from the inside, sweeping it backward while pushing t...