Saturday, December 29, 2007

Tai-otoshi

(body drop)

This is a very popular throw and forms part of the repertoire of most judomen. One reason for it's popularity is that it is almost impossible to counter. It is also possible to do it when the opponent is standing still, moving forward, sideways or backwards. It is most used as a forward throw which I will describe here. Stand in the right natural posture with your right foot about midway between your partner's two feet. Swing your left foot round and out about half in front of your partner's left foot. As you swing your left leg pull very strongly with your arms to the opponent's right front corner. This should make him stagger forward with his left leg flying up into the air. Having put your left foot on the ground take one more short step with the right foot so as to make a trip for your partner's right leg. The position of your right leg is important. Your ankle should fit snugly into your partner's ankle. Your weight should be now spread evenly between your two legs. If you find that your right leg is dangling in the air - something like Harai-goshi - you are doing it wrong.

Monday, December 17, 2007

e-Waza

T (Arm Throws)

Two throws are described in this section. They appear at first sight to be almost similar to some of the hip throws. However, the point to bear in mind is that the arms and shoulders do most of the work. If for example you find that it is necessary to use your hips to get the man over it is a good indication that you are not doing the throw correctly.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

This gives an indication of the amount of effort to put into this or any other throw. In this throw the thrower should make sure that he does the throw so fast that he doesn't give his partner time to get out of the way or close his legs. There is a tendency when practising this technique to take undue regard for the opponent's comfort. Providing you sweep into the opponent's crotch with the broad expanse of upper back part of your right thigh it should cause him nothing more than a slight uneasiness.
As can be seen, the preceding three throws are for use against somebody leaning forward. To get the best effect in practice try to combine them with one of the rear throws of the leg throw section. If you attack strongly with a leg throw to the rear the opponent should react by bending forward. As soon as you get this reaction come strongly in for one of these forward throws and if you fail in this because your partner suddenly braces back instantly try a rear throw again. An example of this is inner leg sweep (o-uchi-gari) followed by the inner thigh (uchi-mata) followed by inner leg sweep again.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The important point with this throw is to turn completely round so that you are facing the same way as your partner. If you only manage to turn three-quarters round the chances are that you will not be able to sweep your man up into the air. As your leg sweeps up into the opponent's crotch your arms should be pulling him strongly forward with your head dipping down towards the mat. For a smaller man it is necessary to put his left leg through or between the opponent's leg when he first starts to pivot so as to get right underneath.

If necessary in the sweep be prepared to stretch your leg up almost vertically with your forehead brushing the mat. It is this extreme range of the throw that makes it very difficult to stop when once the thrower has got into position. The whole movement of the throw should be as fast as possible especially the initial leg movements. One of the counters for this throw is to get out of the way of the sweeping leg by jumping slightly to the right side and closing your own legs together. If the thrower is attempting the throw properly by putting his heart and soul into it he should go sailing past and turn a complete somersault by his own efforts.

Labels:

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Uchi-mata

(inner thigh)

This throw is the number one contest throw. Possibly the reason for this is that in contest people defend and fight in a crouched position with their legs spread wide. This is not an ideal position from which to attack. But it is a natural tendency to retreat into it when competing against a good man. A man who adopts such a position is a sitting duck for uchi-mata.

Stand in the right natural posture with the man who is taking the throw bending forward with his leg spread wide. Pivoting on your right foot swing your left foot round and close in behind your right. As soon as your body and left leg have pivoted into position, with your right leg sweep back and upwards into the top of the opponent's thigh. This should lift him into the air. Now pulling strongly with your left hand across your body turn your man in the air and drop him on his back.

Labels:

Saturday, December 08, 2007

This is quite an effective throw especially for tall long-legged men. The position of the right arm can sometimes be uncomfortable. If you are shorter than your opponent try to push your right elbow somewhere under the opponent's armpit, and if you are taller let your elbow point up to the ceiling. Having pulled the man forward on to your sweeping leg take care to keep your man pinned tight to your body. Imagine your opponent is like a door hinged not at the sidebut at the top. If you want to sweep his legs up, ie, the bottom of the door, you must have the top of the door hinged to something firm. Try for chest contact. Although it may not always be possible to keep actual chest contact try to get as near as possible. If you have pinned and hinged your man firmly on his upper body it will be easy to sweep his legs away.

Once again remember the direction of this throw. You should be pitching forward with your partner to his right front corner.

Labels:

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Harai-goshi

(sweeping hip)

Stand in the right natural posture. Step across with your right foot as in the previous throw, then round with the left foot so as to pivot as before. This time the right leg sweeps into the opponent's right leg, so it is not necessary to push your hips completely in front of the opponent's.

As your left leg swings round pull the partner forward and with your right leg sweep the opponent up so that he almost somersaults and lands on his back. Study the plates. The arms in this throw pull the man forward strongly and onto the sweeping leg. It is not necessary, as in the previous throw, to hoist the man up with your hips. Care should be taken to see that your right leg actually sweeps the opponents legs and doesn't just dangle in the air. In the sweep, keep the leg fairly firm and use the weight and impetus of the leg to hit the opponent and sweep him off his feet rather than putting the leg in position and slowly hoisting.

Labels:

Sunday, December 02, 2007

You should by now have your main pinned tightly on your hip with your legs slightly bent. To throw the man straighten your legs so that your partner comes off the floor and by swinging slightly round to your left side unload him off your hips.

Your left hand helps to pin the man on your hips by pulling strongly forward in conjunction with the pivoting movement of the feet and body. This technique is rather difficult to do as a straight throw. The reason is that when you let go with your right hand the opponent usually knows what you have in mind and defends strongly against it.

However, in a mix-up when one man has attacked and failed with, say a hip throw, it is possible to do. In this case when he is still close to you slide your arm round his waist and when he moves out from his own attack follow up immediately with this hip throw. Another occasion when it is possible to attack with o-goshi is when for some reason or other you are only holding with your left hand. This happens very often. Instead of resuming the normal grip on the lapel with your right hand jump in quickly, pulling strongly with your left arm, and whip your right arm round your partner's waist in one movement.

Two variations on this throw can be employed. The first is to throw your right arm round your opponent's neck and head instead of his waist. This can be used with great effect by a tall man on his shorter opponent. The other is to hold your partner's belt at the side and heave him up and onto your hips. This can be a very powerful throw. It does not depend on too much speed and can be used by a slower short stocky man. These two variations have slightly different names in Japanese but I consider them as more or less similar to o-goshi.

Labels: