Shiro Saigo's (6th dan) Yama arashi

The technique of Yama arashi can be found as Yamaotoshi in Sekiguchi-ryu (which is the old style of Jujitsu). Shiro Saigo studied and developed this old technique to use in Judo practice by himself and became very famous in the Judo world. The people said: "There is no Yamaarashi before Saigo and after Saigo." To understand the technique of Yamaarashi, it is important to know the technique of Saigo.

In the book, Sugata Sanshiro, written by Tsuneo Tomita, published by Shunpo-do in 1950, the author describes Saigo's Yama arashi. As you know, the author's father (Tsunejiro Tomita, 8th dan) was the first Judo student of Jigoro Kano and was known as one of the famous four. He left many articles about development of Judo techniques. The author of this book uses his fathers articles as follows: "When Kodokan Judo fought against many other old Jujitsu schools, Shiro Saigo successfully used his unique Yama arashi to defeat others and left many outstanding winning records. But, nowadays, nobody tries this unique technique and many black belts do not know the technique of Yamaarashi. Therefore, I explain the technique of Yamaarashi on behalf of the late Saigo. Before I explain this technique, I would like to tell you about Saigo's personality.

He was born in Aizu, Japan. When he was a lad, he wanted to be an army general. He was a very small man. But, he had a giant heart and was a brave man. The technique of Yama arashi is not depended upon powerful arms or body. It depends upon a strong mind, such as, the spirit of go for broke.

According to the dynamics, the logic of Yamaarashi is based on the breaking of the opponent's balance within a short distance and attacking with full speed. It is the most dynamic and skillful of all other techniques. If we hold each other in right handed position (Saigo was left handed), Tori grabs Uke's right collar deeply with the right hand and grip Uke's right sleeve with the left hand to take an extremely right handed position. Tori moves his body up and down to pressure Uke backward. In response to Tori's controlling movement, Uke tries to push forward to regain his position. When Uke tries to come forward, Tori picks up Uke's body on his shoulder in full speed and sweeps Uke's right ankle like a Haraigoshi (a gust of wind).

It can be considered a combination technique of Haraigoshi and Seoinage (the thumb of the hand grabbing the collar can be inside or outside of the collar). According to my memory, Saigo used both ways. This technique seems easy enough for anyone. However, in reality, it is a very difficult technique. Why did Saigo use this technique as his favorite technique? Saigo had two distinctive physical characteristics.

First of all, he was a very short person. Therefore, he did not need to lower his hip to pick up an opponent who was pushing back. He saved time because he did not need to lower his body and did not need to worry about being squashed down. Another characteristic was that his toes were different from others. All the toes were pointed downward like a rake. Therefore, when he sweeps his legs like Haraigoshi against the opponent's ankle, he never missed the aimed spot. His toes always stuck to his opponent's leg like an octopus.

Furthermore, when he executes his throwing techniques, he always aimed for only one shot and he never failed to throw the opponent. This technique is more effective for a short person rather than a tall person." According to the record, the height of Saigo was 153 cm and weight was 53 kg.