The more I look at tournament judo these days, the less variation I see. It looks to me as if throws like Uki Otoshi and Kata Garuma are getting left by the wayside, or are being altered so drastically that you can barely recognize the current versions from the original throw. Were these ever useful in tournaments? Are the rules making it too difficult for them to be pulled of without too much risk? Am I completely wrong in my observations, and just need a wider range of tournament footage? I'd like to hear what everyone has to say. Thanks
well uki otoshi is mostly used in kata to teach uki how to fall, so u'll probably never see it used in shia. As for kata guruma, it is used all the time. The reason that u see all the diferent variations being used in shia is that it takes alot of strenght and speed to be able to pull of a kata guruma the traditiona way, variations such as dropping one knee on the floor as u pull kata guruma do not require as much strenght. You are right though most people just consentrate on a few throws and thats all they use in tournaments.
I may be wrong but Uki Otoshi is not used to teach Uki how to fall. Uki OToshi comes from Jujitsu where the Samurai would of been wearing armour. The technique would work quite nicely if you were heavily weighed down with armour. The reason that Uki OToshi is the first technique in Nage is because Nage is about logical progression. The first thing Uki does is reach out to grab you. You use this to your advantage and drop out of sight. And so on.
