Collar-and-Elbow Tie – Yoko Wakare-like Sutemi – One-Arm Wrap Shihō Nage Kuzushi Variation

Uke and Tori engage in a collar-and-elbow tie. Tori releases the collar tie and wraps his arm around Uke’s arm, passing over it and under the elbow. This turns Uke’s elbow inward, creating the Shihō Nage Kuzushi that unbalances Uke and causes him to release the collar tie, opening space. Tori uses this opening to deliver an open-palm atemi to Uke’s face.
As he strikes, Tori drops his body and falls to the ground into a position perpendicular to Uke’s feet, making Uke fall over him in a sutemi. The mechanics of the throw are very similar to Jūdō’s Yoko Wakare, with the key difference being that Tori wraps his arm over Uke’s arm at the elbow instead of gripping the sleeve as in the standard Jūdō variation. This change in control also changes the kuzushi, here a Shihō Nage kuzushi that breaks Uke’s posture laterally, whereas the Jūdō variation’s kuzushi is more linear.