Contents
The falling curriculum (ukemi)
| Ukemi | What it teaches | When it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Ushiro-ukemi (back breakfall) | Absorbing a backward fall: chin tucked, arms slapping the mat | The very first, before any throw |
| Yoko-ukemi (side breakfall) | Absorbing a side fall, both sides | Early kyu |
| Mae-ukemi (front breakfall) | Absorbing a forward fall, on the forearms | Early kyu |
| Mae-mawari-ukemi (forward rolling breakfall) | Rolling out of a forward throw | Before forward throws |
The pedagogy climbs in stages: floor → squat → standing → from a partner's light unbalancing → out of a real throw. The instructions that recur through the whole library: rounded back, chin tucked to the chest, never plant the head or a straight arm, slap the mat with the whole forearm and palm.
Why the obsession: tournament data puts the standing phase above the ground in injuries, and in under-15s, fractures dominate upper-limb injuries, above all at the clavicle: the learned fall is the basic protection of the head and neck (measured in the laboratory in adults, not on injuries in clubs). See Building a session.
The Gokyo families
The Kodokan's classical teaching canon (the Gokyo-no-waza, five groups of throws) is trained by functional family. The exemplars below are the early-belt ones; the belt-by-belt attribution lives in The belt-by-belt programme.
| Family | Lever | Early exemplars | Age note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Te-waza | hand / arm | seoi-nage, ippon-seoi-nage, tai-otoshi | one-hand attacks: only immediate and without neck constraint for the young (FR arbitrage) |
| Koshi-waza | hip | o-goshi, uki-goshi, harai-goshi | koshi-guruma encircles the head; watch the youth grip rule |
| Ashi-waza | foot / leg | de-ashi-barai, o-soto-gari, o-uchi-gari, ko-uchi-gari, hiza-guruma, sasae-tsurikomi-ashi | the safest young-band throwing family: sweeps and reaps with clean falls |
| Ma-sutemi-waza | rear sacrifice | tomoe-nage, sumi-gaeshi | forbidden ≤ benjamin (FR), restricted young |
| Yoko-sutemi-waza | side sacrifice | yoko-tomoe, uki-waza, tani-otoshi | same, and makikomi restricted (never the head encircled for the young) |
The method: uchi-komi → nage-komi → toward randori
| Tool | What it is | What it installs |
|---|---|---|
| Uchi-komi | Repeated entries without throwing: static first, then moving (tsugi-ashi / ayumi-ashi), then with kuzushi | Form, placement, entry speed |
| Nage-komi | The completed throw, onto a secured breakfall | Control to the end, and the partner's ukemi |
| Kakari-geiko | One attacks, the other defends (no counters) | Attacking under light resistance |
| Yaku-soku-geiko | Agreed practice: exchanged, accepted throws | Movement, chaining, trust |
| Randori | Free practice: no winner, no score | Decision-making under real opposition |
Load climbs in that order: cooperative → light resistance → agreed → randori. Skipping a stage asks for decision before form.
Kuzushi, tsukuri, kake: the three-step mechanics
Every throw decomposes into kuzushi (unbalancing, eight directions), tsukuri (fitting the body in), kake (execution). It is the coach's correction grid: a failing throw almost always fails at one precise storey: the unbalance absent, the placement too far, the execution without control. Combinations (renraku-waza) manufacture the kuzushi the opponent refuses to give: a real first threat (ko-uchi-gari) forces the reaction that opens the second throw (seoi-nage); a feint nobody respects opens nothing. See Grip fighting & tactics for the grip-throw link.
FAQ
How many throws should a child know?
How long should static uchi-komi last?
Can we teach kata-guruma or leg grabs?
Sources
Kodokan: the Gokyo-no-waza as the classical teaching canon (five groups; the exact current recognised-technique count belongs to the Kodokan and is not re-derived here); France Judo: grade progression (belt-examined ukemi) and national arbitrage 2025/2026 (per-family age notes); IJF: Contest Rules of 22 February 2025 (the competition register of leg grips); the federal method and lexicon for uchi-komi / nage-komi / kakari-geiko / yaku-soku-geiko. Paak judo corpus, files 03 (technique and pedagogy), 02 (gates) and 10 (lexicon), verified on 28 October 2026.