How the Khabareli keeps changing judo’s belt game

Few moves in judo carry as clear a regional signature as obi-tori-gaeshi, better known as the Khabareli. Born from Georgian wrestling traditions and sharpened through Soviet-era competition, the pick-up cemented its place in judo history with figures like Shota Chochishvili and Shota Khabareli.

The classic pattern is simple in concept but brutal in choice: an over-the-top grip on uke’s belt with one hand and a trouser-leg grip with the other, a hook inside uke’s leg in an o-uchi-gari-like position, and then the dilemma. If uke pulls back, tori finishes the o-uchi-gari; if uke stands, they are loaded onto one leg and lifted into an ura-nage-like rotation. Once belt and hook are secure, escape options narrow fast.

The Khabareli has not frozen in time. Variations now drop the trouser grip, rely on upper-body rotation or hybrid pick-ups not listed in the Gokyo. Double Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri has shown modernised versions, adapting the idea to different grips and angles as rules and gripping trends shift.

European athletes have kept the technique visible. Germany’s Anna-Monta Olek and Mascha Ballhaus have used obi-tori-gaeshi at high level, with Ballhaus famously throwing Japan’s Omori for ippon at the 2025 World Championships. Serbia’s Vojin Mandić and Croatia’s Mikita Sviryd are other European exponents, while France’s Stéphane Traineau illustrated the move’s controlled elegance in the past. Rare but potent, the Khabareli rewards commitment, grip dominance and timing.