De-ashi-barai — the advanced foot sweep
De-ashi-barai is the sweep of the advancing foot: judo's purest timing throw. Execution and drills.
De-ashi-barai (出足払) is the sweep of the advancing foot: you sweep uke's foot away the moment it lands but carries no weight yet.
What is De-ashi-barai — the advanced foot sweep?
De-ashi-barai (出足払) is the sweep of the advancing foot: you sweep uke's foot away the moment it lands but carries no weight yet.
How does De-ashi-barai — the advanced foot sweep work?
Technically it is judo's simplest throw — one sweeping motion with the sole of the foot — and simultaneously one of the hardest, because the window is milliseconds wide. Too early and uke steps over it; too late and the foot is planted. That is why de-ashi-barai is learned through movement drills rather than static repetition. A clean de-ashi-barai in randori feels like the highest judo.
de-ashi-barai in Amsterdam dojos
Amstelland clinics often set de-ashi as the theme for a whole morning. de-ashi-barai is rarely drilled in isolation here: coaches link it to ashi-waza, with slow uke drills before pace and theme randori. Parents know the name from pools; what they miss is the quiet before the throw — grip, angle, timing. After class ask which cue was central that week.
What de-ashi-barai actually is
de-ashi-barai belongs to ashi-waza. advanced-foot sweep when uke’s weight shifts You learn the full chain: kumi-kata, kuzushi, entry, finish and partner ukemi. Without that chain de-ashi-barai stays a trick on cooperative ukes. Pedagogically the line sits close to Kodokan teaching; competition variants follow IJF criteria for grip and landing. Dutch clubs map that onto JBN kyu programmes. Ask which variant your club teaches (classic versus modern grip) so you do not mix two systems. Film one slow-motion entry each week. Most progress in de-ashi-barai lives in the first two seconds — foot angle, elbow height, pull direction — not in a spectacular mirror finish.
How to train de-ashi-barai safely
timing drills on metronome or clap; sweep only the unloaded leg Safety for de-ashi-barai: enough distance to the mat edge, an uke who knows the fall, and volume that drops when the group is tired. Children start with uchi-komi without full projection; only then nage-komi. Core mistake: sweeping while uke still loads that leg — you get blocked or fall yourself Halve the pace and let your sensei coach only the entry until it is clean. Add power again only after three clean reps in a row. Partner agreements: switch left/right, switch who is tori each minute, and stop with a clear tap signal. de-ashi-barai without communication is how injuries happen — not how belts are earned.
de-ashi-barai in shiai and scoring
ideal opening for combinations into osoto or uchi-mata Referees judge force, control and landing surface. One clean de-ashi-barai outweighs two half-hearted attempts. Also drill the exit: release dangerous grips after the throw. Amsterdam pools often reward quick, clean landings. Combine your own shiai video with club feedback; online glamour clips miss shido risks (passivity, illegal grips) that do get called in Noord-Holland halls. After each pool note: which setup led to de-ashi-barai, which grip failed, which opponent ukemi was awkward. Those three lines accelerate your next class more than randomly training harder.
Exams and progression for de-ashi-barai
early kyu technique with high timing demand; quality over power On JBN kyu exams you show de-ashi-barai inside a throw set plus ukemi. Higher belts demand cleaner kuzushi and left/right on a moving uke. At dan level kata matters; individual nage-waza stays coach-dependent. Checklist before exam night: grip, angle, foot placement, finish, uke communication — signed off by your sensei. Without that list, “I can do de-ashi-barai” is not evidence. For children: do not schedule an exam in the same week as a heavy tournament. Recovery and sleep outweigh one extra training night of poor de-ashi-barai reps.
Local choices around de-ashi-barai
Amstelland clinics often set de-ashi as the theme for a whole morning. Use the dojo guide to find a club where de-ashi-barai sits in the syllabus, not only as a show for parents. Calendar clinics that deepen this exact technique are gold. Then read knowledge pages on kuzushi, kumi-kata and ukemi — the building blocks under de-ashi-barai. Sources below are federation- or institute-grade; we rewrite claims and never copy official sentences. If torn between clubs: visit two trials and watch how coaches correct de-ashi-barai. That correction language predicts your learning curve better than website photos.
Practice block 1: de-ashi-barai
de-ashi-barai deserves its own microcycle inside ashi-waza. Monday: uchi-komi aimed at advanced-foot sweep when uke’s weight shifts. Wednesday: timing drills on metronome or clap; sweep only the unloaded leg. Friday: light nage-komi actively avoiding: sweeping while uke still loads that leg — you get blocked or fall yourself. Weekend: only mobility, breathing and a three-minute ukemi review — no max power. That keeps the nervous system fresh and stops de-ashi-barai from grinding into a sloppy habit. Each evening note one sentence about what the sensei corrected; after fourteen days you see patterns video alone will not show.
Practice block 2: de-ashi-barai
Parent communication around de-ashi-barai: explain this is ashi-waza, not an isolated trick. Shiai side: ideal opening for combinations into osoto or uchi-mata. Exam side: early kyu technique with high timing demand; quality over power. Local colour: Amstelland clinics often set de-ashi as the theme for a whole morning.. Ask parents not to give YouTube tips that cross the syllabus. Offer slow-motion visualisation of the entry and chin-tuck on imaginary ukemi, without throwing on carpet.
Practice block 3: de-ashi-barai
Error lab exclusive to de-ashi-barai: film three attempts from the side. Mark kuzushi with a pause in the video. If sweeping while uke still loads that leg — you get blocked or fall yourself is visible, stop the set immediately. Reset to uchi-komi at 50 percent pace until three clean reps land in a row. Do not reuse this lab for another throw in the same class.
Practice block 4: de-ashi-barai
Transfer and recoveries for de-ashi-barai: can you still set it up after the first grip fails? Drill second-chance entries with an uke who disrupts the grip. Competition-minded Amsterdam clubs build this into theme randori; recreational groups stop at clean nage-komi. Both choices are legitimate when the sensei makes it explicit.
Practice block 5: de-ashi-barai
Season placement of de-ashi-barai: do not stack it with a heavy tournament plus an exam in the same week. Choose build, peak or maintenance mode with matching volumes. Children in school exam week and adults in a work crunch choose maintenance. The technique is patient; your calendar must be too.
Practice block 6: de-ashi-barai
Sources and claims about de-ashi-barai: use Kodokan/IJF for technique and contest, JBN for Dutch exams. Always rewrite in your own words. On conflicting grip details, the club line wins for class and the federation source for exam facts.
Practice block 7: de-ashi-barai
Deepening case for de-ashi-barai: describe a concrete Amsterdam class situation (youth or senior) where this concept went wrong, which cue the sensei gave, and how the next three sessions were adapted. Write at least eighty words in your log; without that case theory stays floating. Then attach a measurable drill (time, reps or checklist) that applies only to this concept.
Practice block 8: de-ashi-barai
Check moment for de-ashi-barai: have a partner quiz you with five open questions that cannot be answered yes/no. Note gaps. Schedule a remedial drill within seven days. This check does not replace a federation exam but prevents discovering shaky definitions only on exam night.
Practice block 9: de-ashi-barai
Integration with neighbouring concepts around de-ashi-barai: pick two knowledge pages that logically sit beside it and write a paragraph on how they reinforce each other on the mat. Read that paragraph aloud to your sensei for correction. That builds a network of ideas instead of isolated lemmas.
Practice block 10: de-ashi-barai
Quality bar for de-ashi-barai: state when you are satisfied (for example three clean reps, a faultless etiquette sequence, or a clear parent explanation). Share that bar with your coach. Without your own bar, progress stays vague and you only compare yourself to others.
Examples
- Sweep on the sideways step
- Okuri-ashi-barai — both feet together
- Timing drills in tsugi-ashi movement
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