Foot sweep
Martial art technique
- Type
- Sweeps and reaps, Throws and takedowns
- Martial arts
- Jujutsu
- Classified as
- kick
- Listed in
- Nage Te –Shoden level (Danzan-ryū jujutsu)
King's Kung-Fu and Tai Chi has taught 5 Animal 5 Family kung fu, tai chi and chi kung in Southern California since 1982. These original school pages cover this style:
The foot sweep (also footsweep) is a move in many different styles of martial arts. It refers to the use of any part of the foot or leg to trip an opponent or cause them to lose balance. Foot sweeps as an act of human aggression have likely existed worldwide since prehistory, which explains why it is prevalent in many martial arts across the world. However, the earliest documentation of foot sweeps used in self-defense, sport fighting and combat is seen in Chinese Martial arts, Judo, Jujutsu as well as Karate and Muay Thai.
Other Jujutsu sweeps and reaps
Japanese terms for sweeps and reaps
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 足払い | ashibarai | ashibarai; foot sweep |
| 払い腰 | haraigoshi | harai goshi (judo); sweeping hip throw |
| 出足払い | deashibarai | advancing foot sweep |
| 蹴手繰り | ketaguri | pulling inside ankle sweep |
| 小内刈り | kouchigari | kouchigari (judo); minor inner reap |
| 双手刈り | morotegari | morote gari (judo takedown); two-hand reap |
| 大外刈り | oosotogari | osotogari (judo); major outer reap |
| 大内刈り | oouchigari | ouchigari (judo); major inner reap |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q5465757 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.