drop seoi nage

Drop Seoi Nage is the judo name for the kneeling-entry variant of ippon seoi nage — the back-carry throw in which the attacker drops to one or both knees during the entry, lowering their centre of gravity below the opponent’s to set up the over-the-shoulder rotation.

Etymology. “Drop” describes the entry method — the attacker drops to one or both knees rather than entering from a fully standing position. Seoi (背負) means “back-carry”; nage (投) means “throw.” The technique sits in Kodokan judo’s te-waza (hand techniques) catalogue as a variant of the standard standing ippon seoi nage. The “drop” variant became prominent in international judo competition as a low-risk entry against opponents with strong upper-body defence — the kneeling entry circumvents the standing-defence options without committing the attacker to a full standing-throw entry.

Mechanics. The throw requires the attacker to drop their hips below the opponent’s centre of gravity by going to one or both knees, secure a deep two-on-one grip on the target arm, and rotate the body so the opponent travels over the attacker’s shoulder. The kneeling entry replaces the level-change footwork of the standing variant with a more direct drop; the rotational mechanics of the shoulder carry are otherwise identical.

Cross-reference. “Drop seoi” is the shortened version of the same term. English-speaking wrestling and no-gi often use “kneeling seoi” or “low seoi” descriptively. Full mechanical coverage on Ippon Seoi Nage.