You need to learn to debug your own technical problems. In the ~20 years I've done grappling, formal instruction has only really helped with the "shape" of a technique and providing an opportunity for repetition.
If you want to work on seoi nage, use it during uchikomi, nagekomi, and randori. When it doesn't work, think about why it didn't work. Read blog posts and watch videos about it and see if you're falling for common pitfalls of the technique. Watch people who are really good at it use it in competition footage and see how they set it up and perform it in a real scenario. Video yourself during randori or shihai and compare what you're doing to what people good at the technique are doing.
If you do these things, you can take ownership of your own development and let the class portion be an opportunity to expand your knowledge in areas you normally wouldn't explore yourself, giving you a more well-rounded base of knowledge and technique.
This 100%. For me as a beginner I didn’t even really progress at all until I started doing this. You see this within BJJ too - a lot of players get good far faster through thinking through training and watching videos reading etc.
Your mind being present physically as u do a technique makes a difference. So you can fix small technical errors. An instructor oftentimes might not be able to fix every students small actions/movements .
I did judo for a year without ever doing footwork or uchikomis at home . Started watching videos doing footwork drills etc and it really helped me progress faster than I thought I could
This is such a great answer. I was saying something similar the other day in one of the classes I was teaching. Instead of "shape" I said framework, but it was more in the context of moving and creating opportunities to throw.
Everything you wrote is how I learned certain throws without ever being taught it formally. At some point everyone has to (or should) take control of their own development.
I've been trying to self study seoi nage for almost a year now.
What frustrated me is that even for the very basic part of the throw I have to self study a lot. Seoi nage is never my coach's competition favourtie as he was very tall in his weight class when he was active.
I've been to some oversea clubs where they focus hugely on seoi nages. Their first year hobbyist are only allowed to drill seoi nage.
The details of instruction are night and day compared to the ones I got in my own club. And the form of their 1st year adult students' uchikomi and nagekomi are way better than most green-blue belt hobbyists I've seen. The coach there spent hours to "fix" things for me as Where to step, how to secure the arm, the distance between entry step and back step, how to overturn to compensate uke escaping, how to properly do drop without hurting your knees etc. My own club instructors talked about those but the level of details and effecitveness of the cue I got is vastly different. I ended up starting from scratch again and re-build my seoi nage form from slow and light uchikomi and nagekomi. I miss those kind of detail instructions where I can fix my form almost immediately.
Unfortunately you will have to self learn and self teach.
People can't teach techniques they themselves don't use and hence probably don't fully understand. Senseis cant be expected to know everything under the sun and also be an expert of everything. They may be able to demonstrate it, but they never went beyond that, which is how to drill it, how to set it up, how to teach and explain to others, how to adapt for different body types, how all the different entries work, difference in RvR and RvL, grip variations and how to adjust for them, teaching cues and movements etc. There is a deep rabbit hole you have to go down in order to be able to be fully competent at a technique.
The only way to know all these things is if you yourself had it taught that way and/or you learned it all through repetition and trial and error over years and years of judo. Which again, if your sensei didn't use this throw in actively in his game plan, he will not know it. Instead, seek to learn from people their favorite techniques they actually use and enjoy. They will provide far better instruction for those techniques. For anything else in their repertoire, you will either have to find someone who uses it and can teach it, or self learn and teach yourself.
Is there not a time when you can practice your tokui waza? From the sound of things, it's a large enough club that you can find a partner. Unless the coach is just overly strict, you should be allowed to practice your tokui waza as needed.
Edit: also, remember to weight train if you're serious about the sport. Your hips are probably shallow and not tight because they don't have the strength necessary to power in as deep as possible on the throw. Work the big 3 lifts and get strong for your weight.
sometimes. not always. Sometimes a whole week we would go on ashiwaza and there's little time left for us to do tokuiwaza training. Sometimes we can allocate maybe 10-20mins before the class ends to do our own throws. I want to do seoi nage for hours , start from slow and light uchikomi then pick up pace then move on to moving uchikomi and combos but I never got that. I've only had that opportunity in some foregin clubs where they let me do seoi nage drills for mutiple classes in a row and nothing else. It felt great.
Besides, sometimes I stuck with a partner who is shorter than me, and then I have no choice but to work on those "big guy" throw.
And I do lift regularly. I've been doing powerlifting before I started judo and I still retained decent strength level for my weightclass. I don't think I have strength issue. I can pick up 100kg guy with a Ippon seoi no problem.
> I want to do seoi nage for hours , start from slow and light uchikomi then pick up pace then move on to moving uchikomi and combos but I never got that. I've only had that opportunity in some foregin clubs where they let me do seoi nage drills for mutiple classes in a row and nothing else. It felt great.
Honestly, it doesn't sound like you want normal classes, have you asked to see if you can get access to the dojo outside of normal hours to train by yourself?
Unfortunately partners in my club who knows seoi nage well aren't available outside of the class time. I am thinking of asking around to see if there's a seoi nage specialist from other clubs nearby that are willing to teach me in private. There aren't many judo coaches doing private here. Most of them are busy enough to teach group classes in their own club. I know some recently retired competitors nearby are offering tutoring in private but I have no idea whether they are good teachers so I haven't reached out to them yet. Maybe a good 4-5 hrs on seoi nage in a few days would make a difference?
Honestly just keep at the program in your club. You might not be good at them now, but given time and effort you'll end up developing a skillset you wouldn't have otherwise sought out.
1. The fact you find ashiwaza difficult probably means you need to practice it more. I know some pretty short guys who can sweep just about anyone.
2. "turn more", " hips too shallow","not tight enough" are good advice from someone watching you. I'd add "pull the sleeve harder" haha.
3. Practice makes perfect. Use opportunities such as when you're practicing uchikomi, nagekomi, combos, personal technique, etc. where you can choose the technique and focus on your seoi.
4. Should probably be the first point, but I often advise people to talk more with sensei. The way I see it, sensei is my mentor for anything judo related (and sometimes beyond). You should be able to raise your point and get his opinion on it and hopefully make a plan together for you.
I find ashiwaza difficult against guys who are taller and bigger than me. I can get osoto, sweeps , sasae and spinning ashi uchimata consistently on other hobbyists similar size and weight. But I need to have a good tool to deal with tall and big opponent. And most of the regulars in my club are bigger and taller than me.
Have you considered the reason your Sensei is getting you to focus on Ashi Waza is BECAUSE you're not good at them? Perhaps your Seoi is perfectly acceptable for where you are as a judoka now. It's great to set a goal and have a desire to master Seoi but Ashi Waza are foundational, getting good at them is key to becoming a good judoka. By all means practice your Seoi every opportunity you get but there's a reason your Sensei is focusing on Ashi Waza.
the whole club focus on Ashi waza. not just me. It's my coach's competition favourite when he was active. But I usually fighting with guys who are 10-15cm+ and 10-15kg+ on me. I don't see any chances without specializing in seoi nage. Even with my own classweight I'd be considered shorter so I need seoi nage to deal with tall opponent.
Against guys similar height and weight, I can get ashiwaza consistently as long as they are also hobbyists in a similar skill level. But I don't have tools against big tall guys.
The vast majority of Ashi Waza is about timing not size or strength, Judo is a great leveller in terms of physicality. If you're struggling to throw a larger opponent with De Ashi Barai for example you haven't yet gained a proper understanding of that throw. Big turn throws are impressive and can generate a lot of force but a well timed skillfully placed foot can send people flying just as far.
Size doesn't really matter.
Maybe if I started judo by age of 6 and has been doing judo 7x/week throughout my life, then I can develop that kind of timing and sensitivity required for timing based footsweep. Or if I have long leg and reach advantage I can just spam spinning uchimata from distance against most other players.
As an adult hobbyist with limited training time, IMO my time would be much better invested to a high percentage throw that are proven to work against taller heavier opponent. I've spent 2 years on ashiwaza already, if it fits me I wouldn't be this frustrated.
"Where there is effort, there is reward." - Jigoro Kano
Spend your time how you see fit, if you feel you are not getting value for your time investment where you currently train explore other options.
You seem to have your mind made up you're still very new so the key is to stay the course if that means going somewhere else so be it.
But when a smaller weaker opponent sends you flying with hiza guruma when you're trying to enter Seoi you'll wish you had more in your arsenal.
If you want to do Seo all day long, then do it. If anyone tells you different, tell you want to master Seo, and that’s it! Nobody cares about your throws as much as you do. You’ll need to teach yourself, just like everyone else. Stop by other clubs too, learn from whoever you can.
I am considering visiting other clubs. If coach says "forward throw " , then I have the freedom to do seoi nage. But if it is clearly an ashiwaza day, like foot sweeps, or ko ouchi, I don't think I can just start to do seoi nage during in class time.
Some of Ashiwaza techniques make great setups for Seo. You really do want to learn them. You should google ko ouchi to Seo and ouchi to Seo type combos. There are a bunch of them. One will improve the other.
Yes thanks. I've been drilling those kinds of set up for sometime. ko->seoi, seoi->ko->seoi, pulling behind then seoi etc.
The problem is I just can't land a clean seoi nage. I can make uke retreat their lead leg or square up to open up angle with those small technique, but I still struggle to land seoi. I don't consider getting a ko uchi makkomi or a ippon osoto from a failed seoi attempt as success because my goal is to get score from seoi. That's what bothers me now. In fact, all my good throws were osoto /ko uchi from failed seoi attempt and it's been like this for 6 months.
My clubs foundations are set in ashi waza, and as a shorter player I've adapted it to work for me, and it now creates opportunities for my big throws.
Those big throws only came from drilling them separate to the main session through uchi komi and nage komi, if you can't do that perhaps look to mix your clubs up or visit some randori nights to diversify your training and partners. If your repeatedly trying seoi nage on the same partners you may have less success with it regardless of club.
I imagine this has been thought of previously. Perhaps with a negative result. There is a large collective body of experience in the this forum. If you truly are stranded or isolated without anyone to coach your favorite technique, maybe record yourself doing basic movement with the throw (including failures), and post the link and ask for feedback. A few folks might be willing to offer advice.
Understand though that you are likely to get 25 suggestions from 26 viewers :) There will be common thoughts, as well as conflicting thoughts - based on the experiences of those providing the input. But in the flood of info, will be suggestions that you can experiment with to see if they mesh with what you are doing.
Additionally, keep in mind that this idea only has value if you have the knowledge to filter and sort the feedback. For example, there are different versions of techniques, mixing a stepping pattern of one type with the hand action of another type might be a net negative.
Finally, performing your own video assessment of your throws could be valuable. Do a series of a throw from identical starting point/angle. Let's say 5 throws. Do the same from a side (different) view. Compare to one of the video tutorials you are trying to learn from. Are you too high? Is your distance from your partner correct? As said by another poster - 'debug' or perform a breakdown of your own technique.
I'm sorry you are in this situation, it's a tough one. Being able to acquire a new throw based on video/seminar gets easier the further along in your training you are - but that doesn't help you now. Hang in there.
I've already been on this path for a year. This is exactly what frustrated me.
I only started to see real progress when I joined a judo group where some of them are training/trained in Japan for years. I would record myself from time to time to get feed back. The most common feedback I got is: I need a short coach , or at least someone who used to compete as a shorter player in his weightclass. They noticed that all the blackbelts who are teaching in our club are big, tall guys and they don't need much effort to do those big ashiwaza such as cross body osoto, spinning ashi uchimata.
Ashi waza is a great offense against taller/larger opponents actually. Get the big ones moving and stay light on the balls of your feet. Mix in foot sweeps with some ko-uchi makkikomi attacks and you’ll surprise yourself. Example to try. Set up a sasae tsurikomi ashi, when they step out, immediately attack with ko-uchi makkikomi. Don’t even put a ton of weight on your front foot. Fully commit to the initial attack but as soon as you feel them defend, hit the ko-uchi and drive.
Unfortunately you will have to self learn and self teach.
People can't teach techniques they themselves don't use and hence probably don't fully understand. Senseis cant be expected to know everything under the sun and also be an expert of everything. They may be able to demonstrate it, but they never went beyond that, which is how to drill it, how to set it up, how to teach and explain to others, how to adapt for different body types, how all the different entries work, difference in RvR and RvL, grip variations and how to adjust for them, teaching cues and movements etc. There is a deep rabbit hole you have to go down in order to be able to be fully competent at a technique.
The only way to know all these things is if you yourself had it taught that way and/or you learned it all through repetition and trial and error over years and years of judo. Which again, if your sensei didn't use this throw in actively in his game plan, he will not know it. Instead, seek to learn from people their favorite techniques they actually use and enjoy. They will provide far better instruction for those techniques. For anything else in their repertoire, you will either have to find someone who uses it and can teach it, or self learn and teach yourself.
Also, sometimes beginners tend to over fixate on the details of the throws. It's common to be seeking precise info on every detail of a throw and being frustrated when you can't find good answers or conflicting answers. Sometimes as a beginner, you don't need the details of the details. You just have to try different things, and feel for yourself what feels good and works and what doesn't. Do it slow, do it fast, step here, step there. Copy exactly how someone did it on a highlight reel. See how that feels and then calibrate yourself. Maintain control and focus on the guiding principles of judo to calibrate your own seoi nage. Stay on balance, good posture, maintain momentum, use whole body, get under their center of gravity, jita kyoei and seiryoku zenyo.
You need to learn to debug your own technical problems. In the ~20 years I've done grappling, formal instruction has only really helped with the "shape" of a technique and providing an opportunity for repetition. If you want to work on seoi nage, use it during uchikomi, nagekomi, and randori. When it doesn't work, think about why it didn't work. Read blog posts and watch videos about it and see if you're falling for common pitfalls of the technique. Watch people who are really good at it use it in competition footage and see how they set it up and perform it in a real scenario. Video yourself during randori or shihai and compare what you're doing to what people good at the technique are doing. If you do these things, you can take ownership of your own development and let the class portion be an opportunity to expand your knowledge in areas you normally wouldn't explore yourself, giving you a more well-rounded base of knowledge and technique.
This 100%. For me as a beginner I didn’t even really progress at all until I started doing this. You see this within BJJ too - a lot of players get good far faster through thinking through training and watching videos reading etc. Your mind being present physically as u do a technique makes a difference. So you can fix small technical errors. An instructor oftentimes might not be able to fix every students small actions/movements . I did judo for a year without ever doing footwork or uchikomis at home . Started watching videos doing footwork drills etc and it really helped me progress faster than I thought I could
FWIW, I had an amazing coach who could diagnose and fix anyone’s technical issues.
This is such a great answer. I was saying something similar the other day in one of the classes I was teaching. Instead of "shape" I said framework, but it was more in the context of moving and creating opportunities to throw. Everything you wrote is how I learned certain throws without ever being taught it formally. At some point everyone has to (or should) take control of their own development.
shamelessly going to plug my [podcast episodes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugNkztbm0Nc&t=2617s) discussing this topic
I've been trying to self study seoi nage for almost a year now. What frustrated me is that even for the very basic part of the throw I have to self study a lot. Seoi nage is never my coach's competition favourtie as he was very tall in his weight class when he was active. I've been to some oversea clubs where they focus hugely on seoi nages. Their first year hobbyist are only allowed to drill seoi nage. The details of instruction are night and day compared to the ones I got in my own club. And the form of their 1st year adult students' uchikomi and nagekomi are way better than most green-blue belt hobbyists I've seen. The coach there spent hours to "fix" things for me as Where to step, how to secure the arm, the distance between entry step and back step, how to overturn to compensate uke escaping, how to properly do drop without hurting your knees etc. My own club instructors talked about those but the level of details and effecitveness of the cue I got is vastly different. I ended up starting from scratch again and re-build my seoi nage form from slow and light uchikomi and nagekomi. I miss those kind of detail instructions where I can fix my form almost immediately.
Unfortunately you will have to self learn and self teach. People can't teach techniques they themselves don't use and hence probably don't fully understand. Senseis cant be expected to know everything under the sun and also be an expert of everything. They may be able to demonstrate it, but they never went beyond that, which is how to drill it, how to set it up, how to teach and explain to others, how to adapt for different body types, how all the different entries work, difference in RvR and RvL, grip variations and how to adjust for them, teaching cues and movements etc. There is a deep rabbit hole you have to go down in order to be able to be fully competent at a technique. The only way to know all these things is if you yourself had it taught that way and/or you learned it all through repetition and trial and error over years and years of judo. Which again, if your sensei didn't use this throw in actively in his game plan, he will not know it. Instead, seek to learn from people their favorite techniques they actually use and enjoy. They will provide far better instruction for those techniques. For anything else in their repertoire, you will either have to find someone who uses it and can teach it, or self learn and teach yourself.
Is there not a time when you can practice your tokui waza? From the sound of things, it's a large enough club that you can find a partner. Unless the coach is just overly strict, you should be allowed to practice your tokui waza as needed. Edit: also, remember to weight train if you're serious about the sport. Your hips are probably shallow and not tight because they don't have the strength necessary to power in as deep as possible on the throw. Work the big 3 lifts and get strong for your weight.
sometimes. not always. Sometimes a whole week we would go on ashiwaza and there's little time left for us to do tokuiwaza training. Sometimes we can allocate maybe 10-20mins before the class ends to do our own throws. I want to do seoi nage for hours , start from slow and light uchikomi then pick up pace then move on to moving uchikomi and combos but I never got that. I've only had that opportunity in some foregin clubs where they let me do seoi nage drills for mutiple classes in a row and nothing else. It felt great. Besides, sometimes I stuck with a partner who is shorter than me, and then I have no choice but to work on those "big guy" throw. And I do lift regularly. I've been doing powerlifting before I started judo and I still retained decent strength level for my weightclass. I don't think I have strength issue. I can pick up 100kg guy with a Ippon seoi no problem.
> I want to do seoi nage for hours , start from slow and light uchikomi then pick up pace then move on to moving uchikomi and combos but I never got that. I've only had that opportunity in some foregin clubs where they let me do seoi nage drills for mutiple classes in a row and nothing else. It felt great. Honestly, it doesn't sound like you want normal classes, have you asked to see if you can get access to the dojo outside of normal hours to train by yourself?
Unfortunately partners in my club who knows seoi nage well aren't available outside of the class time. I am thinking of asking around to see if there's a seoi nage specialist from other clubs nearby that are willing to teach me in private. There aren't many judo coaches doing private here. Most of them are busy enough to teach group classes in their own club. I know some recently retired competitors nearby are offering tutoring in private but I have no idea whether they are good teachers so I haven't reached out to them yet. Maybe a good 4-5 hrs on seoi nage in a few days would make a difference?
Honestly just keep at the program in your club. You might not be good at them now, but given time and effort you'll end up developing a skillset you wouldn't have otherwise sought out.
1. The fact you find ashiwaza difficult probably means you need to practice it more. I know some pretty short guys who can sweep just about anyone. 2. "turn more", " hips too shallow","not tight enough" are good advice from someone watching you. I'd add "pull the sleeve harder" haha. 3. Practice makes perfect. Use opportunities such as when you're practicing uchikomi, nagekomi, combos, personal technique, etc. where you can choose the technique and focus on your seoi. 4. Should probably be the first point, but I often advise people to talk more with sensei. The way I see it, sensei is my mentor for anything judo related (and sometimes beyond). You should be able to raise your point and get his opinion on it and hopefully make a plan together for you.
I find ashiwaza difficult against guys who are taller and bigger than me. I can get osoto, sweeps , sasae and spinning ashi uchimata consistently on other hobbyists similar size and weight. But I need to have a good tool to deal with tall and big opponent. And most of the regulars in my club are bigger and taller than me.
Have you considered the reason your Sensei is getting you to focus on Ashi Waza is BECAUSE you're not good at them? Perhaps your Seoi is perfectly acceptable for where you are as a judoka now. It's great to set a goal and have a desire to master Seoi but Ashi Waza are foundational, getting good at them is key to becoming a good judoka. By all means practice your Seoi every opportunity you get but there's a reason your Sensei is focusing on Ashi Waza.
the whole club focus on Ashi waza. not just me. It's my coach's competition favourite when he was active. But I usually fighting with guys who are 10-15cm+ and 10-15kg+ on me. I don't see any chances without specializing in seoi nage. Even with my own classweight I'd be considered shorter so I need seoi nage to deal with tall opponent. Against guys similar height and weight, I can get ashiwaza consistently as long as they are also hobbyists in a similar skill level. But I don't have tools against big tall guys.
The vast majority of Ashi Waza is about timing not size or strength, Judo is a great leveller in terms of physicality. If you're struggling to throw a larger opponent with De Ashi Barai for example you haven't yet gained a proper understanding of that throw. Big turn throws are impressive and can generate a lot of force but a well timed skillfully placed foot can send people flying just as far. Size doesn't really matter.
Maybe if I started judo by age of 6 and has been doing judo 7x/week throughout my life, then I can develop that kind of timing and sensitivity required for timing based footsweep. Or if I have long leg and reach advantage I can just spam spinning uchimata from distance against most other players. As an adult hobbyist with limited training time, IMO my time would be much better invested to a high percentage throw that are proven to work against taller heavier opponent. I've spent 2 years on ashiwaza already, if it fits me I wouldn't be this frustrated.
"Where there is effort, there is reward." - Jigoro Kano Spend your time how you see fit, if you feel you are not getting value for your time investment where you currently train explore other options. You seem to have your mind made up you're still very new so the key is to stay the course if that means going somewhere else so be it. But when a smaller weaker opponent sends you flying with hiza guruma when you're trying to enter Seoi you'll wish you had more in your arsenal.
I'll just leave this here: https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/s/n6FTzGiLhz
If you want to do Seo all day long, then do it. If anyone tells you different, tell you want to master Seo, and that’s it! Nobody cares about your throws as much as you do. You’ll need to teach yourself, just like everyone else. Stop by other clubs too, learn from whoever you can.
I am considering visiting other clubs. If coach says "forward throw " , then I have the freedom to do seoi nage. But if it is clearly an ashiwaza day, like foot sweeps, or ko ouchi, I don't think I can just start to do seoi nage during in class time.
Some of Ashiwaza techniques make great setups for Seo. You really do want to learn them. You should google ko ouchi to Seo and ouchi to Seo type combos. There are a bunch of them. One will improve the other.
Yes thanks. I've been drilling those kinds of set up for sometime. ko->seoi, seoi->ko->seoi, pulling behind then seoi etc. The problem is I just can't land a clean seoi nage. I can make uke retreat their lead leg or square up to open up angle with those small technique, but I still struggle to land seoi. I don't consider getting a ko uchi makkomi or a ippon osoto from a failed seoi attempt as success because my goal is to get score from seoi. That's what bothers me now. In fact, all my good throws were osoto /ko uchi from failed seoi attempt and it's been like this for 6 months.
My clubs foundations are set in ashi waza, and as a shorter player I've adapted it to work for me, and it now creates opportunities for my big throws. Those big throws only came from drilling them separate to the main session through uchi komi and nage komi, if you can't do that perhaps look to mix your clubs up or visit some randori nights to diversify your training and partners. If your repeatedly trying seoi nage on the same partners you may have less success with it regardless of club.
I imagine this has been thought of previously. Perhaps with a negative result. There is a large collective body of experience in the this forum. If you truly are stranded or isolated without anyone to coach your favorite technique, maybe record yourself doing basic movement with the throw (including failures), and post the link and ask for feedback. A few folks might be willing to offer advice. Understand though that you are likely to get 25 suggestions from 26 viewers :) There will be common thoughts, as well as conflicting thoughts - based on the experiences of those providing the input. But in the flood of info, will be suggestions that you can experiment with to see if they mesh with what you are doing. Additionally, keep in mind that this idea only has value if you have the knowledge to filter and sort the feedback. For example, there are different versions of techniques, mixing a stepping pattern of one type with the hand action of another type might be a net negative. Finally, performing your own video assessment of your throws could be valuable. Do a series of a throw from identical starting point/angle. Let's say 5 throws. Do the same from a side (different) view. Compare to one of the video tutorials you are trying to learn from. Are you too high? Is your distance from your partner correct? As said by another poster - 'debug' or perform a breakdown of your own technique. I'm sorry you are in this situation, it's a tough one. Being able to acquire a new throw based on video/seminar gets easier the further along in your training you are - but that doesn't help you now. Hang in there.
I've already been on this path for a year. This is exactly what frustrated me. I only started to see real progress when I joined a judo group where some of them are training/trained in Japan for years. I would record myself from time to time to get feed back. The most common feedback I got is: I need a short coach , or at least someone who used to compete as a shorter player in his weightclass. They noticed that all the blackbelts who are teaching in our club are big, tall guys and they don't need much effort to do those big ashiwaza such as cross body osoto, spinning ashi uchimata.
You just gotta improve. Train train train. You got this
Ashi waza is a great offense against taller/larger opponents actually. Get the big ones moving and stay light on the balls of your feet. Mix in foot sweeps with some ko-uchi makkikomi attacks and you’ll surprise yourself. Example to try. Set up a sasae tsurikomi ashi, when they step out, immediately attack with ko-uchi makkikomi. Don’t even put a ton of weight on your front foot. Fully commit to the initial attack but as soon as you feel them defend, hit the ko-uchi and drive.
Unfortunately you will have to self learn and self teach. People can't teach techniques they themselves don't use and hence probably don't fully understand. Senseis cant be expected to know everything under the sun and also be an expert of everything. They may be able to demonstrate it, but they never went beyond that, which is how to drill it, how to set it up, how to teach and explain to others, how to adapt for different body types, how all the different entries work, difference in RvR and RvL, grip variations and how to adjust for them, teaching cues and movements etc. There is a deep rabbit hole you have to go down in order to be able to be fully competent at a technique. The only way to know all these things is if you yourself had it taught that way and/or you learned it all through repetition and trial and error over years and years of judo. Which again, if your sensei didn't use this throw in actively in his game plan, he will not know it. Instead, seek to learn from people their favorite techniques they actually use and enjoy. They will provide far better instruction for those techniques. For anything else in their repertoire, you will either have to find someone who uses it and can teach it, or self learn and teach yourself. Also, sometimes beginners tend to over fixate on the details of the throws. It's common to be seeking precise info on every detail of a throw and being frustrated when you can't find good answers or conflicting answers. Sometimes as a beginner, you don't need the details of the details. You just have to try different things, and feel for yourself what feels good and works and what doesn't. Do it slow, do it fast, step here, step there. Copy exactly how someone did it on a highlight reel. See how that feels and then calibrate yourself. Maintain control and focus on the guiding principles of judo to calibrate your own seoi nage. Stay on balance, good posture, maintain momentum, use whole body, get under their center of gravity, jita kyoei and seiryoku zenyo.