The end of the road for Reverse Seoi-Nage

The International Judo Federation has released a new set of rules for the new Olympic cycle. Some of the rules were expected but there was one really big shocker: a ban on reverse seoi-nage. Not only does reverse seoi not score anymore, tori will also get a shido for doing it.

Strangely, there was no explanation given for why reverse seoi is being banned though many people speculate it has something to do with safety.

When you look at the many reverse seois done in competition though, they rarely result in injury. Of course, sometimes injuries happen but injuries happen with osoto-gari, uchimata and seoi-nage too.

In judo, injuries happen. I don’t think reverse seoi causes any more injuries than the other techniques. But if they do, I would love to see the statistics that show that.

I’ve taught reverse seoi and I believe if done well they can be done safely. See my video above for an example of the different ways the reverse seoi can be done, safely.

It’s really unfortunate that yet another dynamic judo technique has been banned and will therefore no longer be practiced in judo. The reverse seoi was one of the coolest techniques in modern competitive judo. It will be missed.