第五教 · Dai Gokyo

Uki Waza 浮技

Floating Technique

Uki Waza (Floating Technique), sumi-e ink drawing of the judo throw
The throw
The cat in the hallway: the everyday analogy for Uki Waza
The cat in the hallway

Mechanic

As uke drives forward into tori, tori simply drops to their own side and stretches one leg out as a low block in front of uke's advancing foot. Uke's own forward momentum, plus tori's pull, sends them sailing over it. Tori never lifts anything.

Analogy

You come charging down the hall at full speed and the cat has chosen this exact moment to lie stretched out flat across the floor in front of your foot. It does not move an inch. You leave the ground entirely and cover the rest of the hallway as a glider.

Why it maps

The cat is already down on the floor offering a low, immovable block right in front of the advancing foot, and every bit of the energy is yours, so forward momentum meeting an ankle-height bar turns a run into flight.