Seoi Nage Reference: Mechanics, Entry Standards, and the Body
Mat Manual companion guide to "Seoi Nage Should Not Hurt: The Entry Is the Injury." Print it. The article explains why the throw bills the shoulder, the back, and the knees. This book specifies all five variants, grades…
| Art | Kodokan Judo |
|---|---|
| Family | Kodokan Judo |
| Level | beginner |
| Format | reference |
| Topics | throws, safety, fundamentals, training-plans |
Mat Manual companion guide to "Seoi Nage Should Not Hurt: The Entry Is the Injury." Print it. The article explains why the throw bills the shoulder, the back, and the knees. This book specifies all five variants, grades the entry from the side of the mat, programs uchikomi by speed and volume, sets the strength standards that make a deep entry available, and doses the drop version honestly.
Name: ______________________________ Dojo: ______________________________ Grade: ______________ Main variant: ______________
SAFETY, BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE ☐ Ukemi before throws, always. No drill in this book runs with a partner who cannot fall safely from the throw being practiced. ☐ Joint pain that persists into the next session, pain that changes how you move the next day, or any knee swelling after training leaves drill territory. The triage table in Part 7 routes it; a clinician outranks this book. ☐ Drop seoi volume limits in Part 6 are ceilings, not targets. A knee history of any kind moves a student to the standing program until a clinician says otherwise. ☐ Uchikomi speed is earned by the entry standard, never by the calendar. A coach or partner grades the standard; the thrower does not grade their own entry at speed. ☐ In all partner work, uke's honest fall is part of tori's safety. No jumping, no stiff posting, no early weight dumps. Part 8 states uke's standards.
Part 1: The Five Variants, Specified
All five share one skeleton: kuzushi to the front corner, a complete turn-in, the shoulder sealed under uke's armpit, hips dropped below uke's belt line inside his base, and a leg drive that throws. What changes is the connection and the finish.
| Variant | Connection | Carrying surface | Finish | The body and game it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ippon seoi nage | One arm: tori's arm wraps uke's arm, held to tori's chest/shoulder | Upper arm and shoulder on the wrapped side | Standing | The default standing base for most players; strong against a same-side grip |
| Morote seoi nage | Two hands: lapel hand and sleeve hand both keep their grips | Shoulder and upper arm, sealed by the lapel-side elbow deep across | Standing | Players who throw from the standard lapel-and-sleeve grip; the most-taught form |
| Eri seoi nage | Lapel-side variant: the throwing side works off the lapel grip with the elbow driving across uke's chest | Shoulder and forearm line | Standing | Useful when the sleeve side is denied; pairs naturally with morote as its mirror answer |
| Seoi otoshi | Any of the above connections | Same carrying structure | Tori drops to one or both knees to finish | A dosed tool (Part 6): beats taller posture, finishes entries at close range; knee cost is real |
| Reverse seoi nage | Spinning entry (tori rotates the "wrong" way into the throw) | Shoulder, arrived at from rotation | Standing | A specialist's addition for advanced players; legal for seniors/juniors under the current IJF cycle, penalized for cadets |
Variant selection order (the book's standing rule). Build standing ippon or morote first, to the Part 2 standard. Add eri when grip denial demands it. Dose seoi otoshi per Part 6. Add reverse seoi last, if at all, and only on a standing entry that already passes the standard — rotation hides depth faults even better than dropping does.
Seoi Nage Reference: Mechanics, Entry Standards, and the Body
Mat Manual companion guide to "Seoi Nage Should Not Hurt: The Entry Is the Injury." Print it. The article explains why the throw bills the shoulder, the back, and the knees. This book specifies all five variants, grades the entry from the side of the mat, programs uchikomi by speed and volume, sets the strength standards that make a deep entry available, and doses the drop version honestly.
What's Inside
- Part 1: The Five Variants, Specified
- Part 2: The Entry Standard — A Coach's Grading Page
- Part 3: Uchikomi Programming
- Part 4: Strength and Mobility Standards — Making the Deep Entry Available
- Part 5: The Entry Drill Library
- Part 6: The Drop Seoi Protocol
- …and 18 more sections
The full guide is a paid Mat Manual product. Checkout is not connected yet — no payment is taken on this page.
Free companion article: Seoi Nage Should Not Hurt: The Entry Is the Injury — the full article, free in full.
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