Tsubame gaeshi
Judo technique
燕返
- Type
- Holds and pins, Grappling positions, Throws and takedowns
- Martial arts
- Judo
- Japanese
- 燕返
- Meaning
- Swallow counter
- Classified as
- judo technique, throw
- Listed in
- Shinmeisho no waza (Kodokan judo), Ashi-waza (judo techniques)
Tsubame Gaeshi (燕返し) is a Judo throw that falls within the seventeen techniques of the Shimmeisho no waza, officially recognised by the Kodokan in 1982. Literally translated as "Swallow Counter", Tsubame gaeshi is the countering of an ashi waza with Deashi harai from the opposite leg. A right-handed Deashi-harai executed by uke, for instance, would be avoided by tori bending his right knee, followed by a left-handed Deashi-harai. Tsubame gaeshi as a counter against uke's Deashi harai is the opening move of the Kaeshi-no-kata. As a counter against Okuriashi harai, it forms the sixth technique of the Nage-Waza-Ura-no-kata.
The name Tsubame Gaeshi is a reference to the famous technique of the legendary Japanese swordsman Sasaki Kojirō. It was an overhead katana (or, in Sasaki's case, a nodachi) stroke that was performed so swiftly it resembled the flight of a swallow, hence the name.
Kanji in 燕返
The name word by word
Each part of the romanized name looked up in the JMdict Japanese dictionary.
| Word | Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tsubame gaeshi | 燕返し | tsubamegaeshi | quickly reversed cut (sword technique) |
Other Judo holds and pins
- Arm triangle choke
- Ashi-Hishigi
- Daki age
- Grappling hold
- Gyaku Jūji-jime
- Do-jime
- Kawazu gake
- Ura gatame
- Ushiro-kesa-gatame
- Kesa-gatame
- Hane makikomi
- Daki wakare
- Kuzure kami shiho gatame
- Kuzure kesa gatame
- Tate shiho gatame
- Yoko shiho gatame
- Ura kesa gatame
- Ganseki otoshi
- Hasami jime
Japanese terms for holds and pins
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 逆手 | sakate | underhand grip (e.g. in gymnastics, etc.) |
| 遁術 | tonjutsu | Ninja art of escape |
| 遁法 | tonpou | Ninja art of escape |
| 裸絞め | hadakajime | rear naked choke; sleeper hold |
| 左上手 | hidariuwate | left-handed outside grip (on one's opponent's belt) |
| 左四つ | hidariyotsu | hold in which both wrestlers obtain an underarm grip with the left hand and an over-arm grip with the right |
| 隠遁術 | intonjutsu | Ninja art of escape |
| 右上手 | migiuwate | right-handed outside grip (on one's opponent's belt) |
| 右四つ | migiyotsu | hold in which both wrestlers obtain an underarm grip with the right hand and an overarm grip with the left |
| 両差し | morozashi | deep double underarm grip which prevents the opponent from grabbing the belt |
| 四つ身 | yotsumi | cross-grips (situation in which each rikishi has an underarm grip on the other) |
| 腕を返す | kainaokaesu | to place one's arms under those of the opponent and lift them up, in order to prevent an overhand grip on one's mawashi |
23 terms in total on the holds and pins page.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q7849895 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); kanji data KANJIDIC2 and KanjiVG. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.