Dimitri Dragin is one of the World’s best practitioners of Ashi waza.

Throughout his competitive career the list of those he foot-swept is like a who’s who of Judoka.

He was able to execute his De Ashi Barai from almost any position

Although intending to attack with De Ashi barai, in competiti...

Dragin’s De ashi Barai is executed off a sleeve and lapel grip.

He starts by bunching up the sleeve, making it tight on Uke’s arm. With this strong grip, Dragin pulls their arm across the front of his body, making contact with his chest.

He then leans forward a fraction, applying tension down ...

From the triangle position, Dragin can move onto the next stage. He says there are 3 really important things to remember, to make sure Uke ends up in the correct position: Sleeve, Lapel, and hips.

To be able to attack the leg, Dragin needs to break Uke’s balance, positioning them up on their toe...

Dragin states that ‘the timing for the sweep is of utmost importance, it must come right at the last second.

Uke is almost up in the air before the contact is made.

Dragin wants the under-side of his foot to connect with Uke’s leg.

In order to do this, he needs to make sure that he opens his h...

Now let’s look at Dimitri Dragin using his De Ashi Barai in competition against opponent’s in an extreme right handed stance.

At the 2011 World Team Championships in Paris, Dragin executes what is considered to be one of the greatest pieces of Ashi-Waza ever seen on the international stage.

Af...