large outer reap

Large outer reap is the literal English translation of the Japanese osoto gari — the judo throw in which the attacker reaps the opponent’s supporting leg from the outside with a deep leg-and-hip engagement that drives the opponent over backward.

Etymology. The translation renders o (“large”) + soto (“outer”) + gari (“reap”) into English. “Large outer reap” is the alternate translation form to “major outer reap” — both render the same Japanese name, differing only in how the o prefix is translated. “Large” is the more literal English equivalent of o; “major” is the more conventional judo-translation choice. Both labels appear in regional English-language judo material with no mechanical difference between them.

Mechanics. The throw destabilises the opponent’s standing base by reaping the supporting leg out from beneath their hip-line — the reaping leg sweeps deeply through the back of the opponent’s leg while the upper-body drive commits the opponent’s weight backward over the swept leg.

Cross-reference. “Major outer reap” is the alternate translation. Full mechanical coverage on Osoto Gari.