Uwatenage vs Shitatenage: Sumo's Two Throws
A man is swung down onto the clay. The name announced is either 上手投げ or 下手投げ, and from the stands the two look identical. They are separated by one thing, and it is not the throw.
Oshidashi and yorikiri both end with a man walked out of the ring. These two both end with a man put down on the clay.
And as with that pair, the difference is not in the ending. It is in the arm.
Over or under
When two wrestlers lock up, their arms interlace. Each man has arms on the inside of his opponent's, on the outside, or one of each. That is where the two names come from.
上手(uwate) — the outside position. Your arm has gone over the top of his arm.下手(shitate) — the inside position. Your arm has gone under his, against his body.
Add 投げ (nage), meaning throw, and you have both names:
上手投げ(uwatenage) — a throw made with the outside arm, the overarm throw下手投げ(shitatenage) — a throw made with the inside arm, the underarm throw
Why the same wrestler can have both
Here is the part that catches people out. In many locks, one of a wrestler's arms is outside and the other is inside. He is not an "over" wrestler or an "under" wrestler — he is holding both at once.
Not always, though. Both arms can end up inside, and both arms can end up outside; those situations have names of their own. But the common picture is one of each.
So the name is decided by which arm he threw with, not by what kind of wrestler he is. The same man in the same grip could produce either name depending on which side he chose to work from.
The trap for new viewers
Do not try to read the name off the direction the loser fell, or off how spectacular it looked. Neither tells you anything. Look at the winner's arms in the instant before the throw, and find which one is doing the work.
Which one you will hear more
The outside arm reaches further and has more room to swing, which is why uwatenage often looks like the bigger, more dramatic throw. The inside arm is shorter and jammed against the opponent's body, so shitatenage tends to be a tighter, closer action, worked from underneath.
The overarm throw is also the one you will hear announced more often — roughly twice as often as the underarm throw. Both are ordinary, everyday results, but if you are learning one of the two names first, learn uwatenage.
Where this connects
These names come from the same vocabulary as the two styles in push or grapple. A wrestler who never lets his opponent get hold of him will rarely produce either throw; a belt wrestler who lives in the lock will produce them often.
They also sit next to oshidashi and yorikiri: those two are ways of putting a man out, and these two are ways of putting a man down. Between them, that is a large share of what you will hear announced.
What to watch for
When two men are locked up and one of them suddenly drops the other, replay the moment in your head and ask one question.
Was the throwing arm over the top, or underneath? Over is uwatenage. Under is shitatenage. Then listen, and check yourself against the announcement.
Why some wrestlers spend a career in this grip and others spend it avoiding one.