Outside Trip
The outside trip hooks the opponent's near leg from the outside — stepping behind or around the lead leg — and trips it inward while upper body pressure…
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The outside trip is a clinch takedown in which the practitioner hooks their near leg behind the outside of the opponent’s near leg — stepping to the outside of the opponent’s lead foot — and trips the leg inward while driving the upper body in the same direction. The approach from the outside of the leg means the tripping leg contacts the outside of the opponent’s ankle, calf, or knee and sweeps it inward or forward, removing it from its support position.
The outside trip is the complement to the inside trip: where the inside trip enters between the opponent’s feet, the outside trip approaches from beyond the outside of the near foot. Each approach has different setups and applications. The inside trip is more accessible from a neutral clinch; the outside trip is more effective when the opponent’s near foot is stepped forward or when the practitioner has an outside angle from a clinch position.
In judo, the outside trip family includes o-soto-gari (major outer reaping), which is the archetypal outside trip — a powerful takedown that is among the most scored throws at elite judo competition. In wrestling and submission grappling, the outside trip appears primarily from body locks and over-under clinches when the practitioner has an angular position.
INV-13Invariant "Destabilisation precedes control. An opponent who retains structural balance can generate defensive force regardless of the position they are in."
Why it works hereThe outside trip attacks the most exposed angle of the opponent's base — the outside of their near foot. The two-force pattern is the same as the inside trip but mirrored: the leg sweeps inward, the upper-body drive pushes outward and back, and the opponent rotates over their own ankle. A balanced opponent who has not been disrupted simply steps the threatened foot away; the trip works on a foot that is loaded and committed.
See full invariant page → INV-ST01Invariant "Destabilising the opponent requires controlling the secondary leg — the leg that is not the primary base. Moving the secondary leg removes the opponent's ability to rebalance."
Why it works hereThe outside trip removes the near leg as the opponent's outside support — the foot that is acting as their primary base when the upper body is being driven backward and outward. Sweeping that leg inward leaves the opponent with their far leg as their only support, which is on the wrong side of the displaced centre of mass. There is no foot available to rebalance over because the trip puts the swept leg between the attacker's legs rather than back on the mat.