About This Technique
Tawara Gaeshi (俵返), or the rice bale overturn, is a rear sacrifice technique (ma-sutemi-waza) in Judo. It is primarily used as a direct counter-attack against low-shooting attacks or deeply bent-over opponents, involving wrapping both arms around the opponent's torso—like hugging a heavy bale of rice—and dropping straight backward onto your spine to lift and flip them overhead.
Because leg-grabbing attacks are restricted under current IJF competition rules, Tawara Gaeshi is less frequently seen in Olympic Judo today, but it remains a staple of traditional Kodokan syllabus and self-defense scenarios against low, forward-leaning posture.
