Kata guruma (肩車) is one of the traditional forty throws of judo as developed by Kano Jigoro. Kata guruma belongs to the third group of the traditional throwing list in the Gokyo no waza of the Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo. Because the technique is not a sweep nor a trip and requires tori to pull uke into a carry, it is categorized as a hand throwing technique (tewaza).
Kata guruma was commissioned in 2018. The client wanted an abstracted version of the judo throw, which was a perfect development from the Morote Seionage that I had made for the London Olympics. A further reduction of the throw to a series of curves and circles, with just a brief nod to the human form. The sculpture is very site specific, for a square area in front of the new build house in Minnesota, and can be rotated. I met the client at the foundry in the Czech Republic for the final signing off. The only major problem after that was the shipping and installation – an issue due to the permafrost in Minnesota that makes digging holes very difficult.
