The osotogari-haraigoshi connection

Once I was demonstrating osotogari for a class and after that class I had an interesting conversation with a fellow black belt. It went something like this:

“You meant to call that haraigoshi, right?”

“No, that was osotogari.”

“No, it was haraigoshi.”

“osoto”

“harai”

“osoto”

“harai”

and so on.
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Here’s you a point to ponder – does it seem to you that in haraigoshi and osotogari, tori’s motion is roughly the same? That’s because they are the same technique from tori’s point of view. What makes the difference is how uke chooses to fall out of it or how he tries to escape it. If you do this technique when uke is turning in toward you, it tends to make uke fall forward and turn over, like haraigoshi. On the other hand, if you do this sweeping motion while uke is trying to turn out away from you, it tends to smash uke backward onto his back, like osotogari.
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Following is a video of one of the famous (or should I say infamous) 1950’s Kodokan instructors (Isao Okano) doing osotogari. On some of the entries, if you didn’t already know he was throwing osotogari, you’d swear he’s getting ready for a shoulder throw or a haraigoshi.

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