Alias · Standing
Ura-nage
Also known as Suplex — the canonical term used on this site.
Training background: Judo name — rear throw; mechanically similar arching throw
Japanese — 裏投 rear throw
Ura-nage is the judo name for the suplex — the lifting throw in which the attacker takes the opponent overhead from a rear or rear-side body lock, landing the opponent on their back or shoulders behind the attacker.
Etymology. Ura (裏) means “rear” or “back side”; nage (投) means “throw.” The combined term — rear throw — describes the attacker’s lifting motion: backward and over, rather than forward and around (the rotational throw family) or downward (the foot-sweep family). The technique sits in Kodokan judo’s sutemi-waza (sacrifice throws) catalogue when executed with the attacker following the opponent to the mat; freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling adopted the same mechanics under the “suplex” name without the sacrifice descriptor. The judo terminology remains in active use in judo and judo-influenced cross-training contexts.
Mechanics. The throw requires the attacker to enter a rear or rear-side body lock with both hands locked behind the opponent’s lower back, then drive their hips forward and up while arching their back to lift the opponent overhead. The opponent’s centre of gravity travels backward over the attacker’s centreline; the landing reverses the relative positions, with the opponent on the ground behind where the attacker started.
Cross-reference. English-speaking no-gi and wrestling use “suplex”; Greco-Roman uses “suplex” or “back-arch throw.” Full mechanical coverage on Suplex.