Kouchi

Kouchi is the shortened judo name for kouchi gari — the small inner reap, a foot sweep that catches the inside of the opponent’s near leg from a closer angle than the deeper o-uchi-gari.

Etymology. Ko (小) means “small”; uchi (内) means “inside.” The shortened form kouchi predominates in spoken judo and submission grappling vocabulary, where the full kouchi gari is reserved for formal instructional contexts and competition commentary. The technique appears in the foundational go-kyo of judo throws and remains one of the most-used setup sweeps in competitive judo and wrestling-context attacks. The shortened form’s prevalence reflects the technique’s frequency — high-use techniques tend to shed their formal suffixes in spoken vocabulary.

Mechanics. The sweep catches the inside of the opponent’s near leg with a foot motion timed to the moment of forward weight transfer. Unlike o-uchi-gari, which reaps deeper across the opponent’s centreline, kouchi gari catches the leg closer to the attacker, requiring less depth of entry but tighter timing. Kuzushi — the sustained off-balance loading — is the prerequisite for the sweep to redirect meaningful structure rather than just contact the leg superficially.

Cross-reference. Full term is kouchi gari. English-speaking no-gi and wrestling generally use the descriptive “inside trip” or “inside reap.” Full mechanical coverage on Kouchi Gari.