Hanegoshi in shiai

Here we have a lovely hanegoshi springing hip throw!

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Patrick Parker
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Junokata shows us how to learn hip throws

Junokata is a curious exercise - especially to modern eyes and competitive western minds.  But one of the points of value that is probably easiest to see in Junokata are the hipthrows, shoulder throws, and pickups.
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Most judoka will readily admit the impressive skill that is apparent every time tori lifts a stiff uke and balances her right on the edge of the abyss and then slowly places her back on her feet.  This type of exercise is obviously a great way to build the strength, suppleness, and balance that it takes to execute world-class hip throws, shoulder throws, and pickups.
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So check out this video but don't pay too much attention (right now) to anything that looks totally alien and useless.  Instead focus on the slow, controlled lifts that occur just after 1:15, 1:40, 3:40, 4:10, 5:00, and 7:00. 
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Consider how we could use slow lift-and-return type exercises like this to build those qualities of control, strength, flexibility, and balance in ourselves and our partners.

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Patrick Parker
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Tsurigoshi compilation

Just like kosotogake last week, tsurigoshi is another point of curiosity for me.  One of my instructors has told me that tsurigoshi is basically an evolutionary throwback to an earlier age of judo's development - a phylogenetic curiosity that was superseded by better techniques like ogoshi and ukigoshi.
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IDK, It seems to me that a lot of people make good use of tsurigoshi but I'm not sure that they couldn't have just as easily thrown ogoshi in those particular situations.  What do you think?

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Haraigoshi compilation

Haraigoshi is such a versatile technique that you see it a LOT in judo and in MMA - and unlike some other techniques, it seems to mostly be thrown cleanly.

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(Sode) Tsurikomigoshi compilation

Tsurikomigoshi, and particularly the "sode" or sleeve-ends version, is one of the throws that mezmerizes me the most.  For me watching competitors perform this throw (especially in slow motion) is like staring into a fire.

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Koshiguruma compilation

My favorite hip technique is koshiguruma because the version that I throw most does not require as much turn-in as any of the other hip throws so I can get into position and pull the trigger pretty quickly as compared to any of the other hip throws.

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Hip throw kuzushi by Greek judoka, Mike Nomikos

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Patrick Parker
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Ukigoshi compilation

Ukigoshi is really hard to find competition videos of.  This film contains a few seconds of instruction and 2-3 examples drawn from competition.  the slo-mo of the girls throwing it really highlights the beauty of this technique.

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Ogoshi compilation

Ogoshi, though an effective, fundamental technique, is not as prolific in competitions as some techniques.  You might argue that a few of these throws were something other than ogoshi, but the examples that were clearly ogoshi were majestic!

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Uke-centric ukigoshi

So, one of our emphases this year is an examination of nagenokata with particular emphasis on the role of uke.  We have previously been working the first couple of techniques in this uke-centric fashion, but over the last week, we've gotten to kataguruma and uukigoshi.  Following are a handful of hints we've found for uke-centric ukigoshi...

• In the first stage, tori (the spotter) is learning to lift and support uke on his hip, while uke is learning to plank-out head-down and examine the conditions at the edge of the world - just like in Junokata.
• Also, early-on in the build-up to this technique, we had uke practice the step, overhead konk, and forward roll without tori.  This makes an interesting contrast to the earlier seoinage because in seoinage, there is  smooth flow from the overhead konk into the forward roll, but in this one, the overhead konk is stopped and the roll is on the opposite side.
• I like practicing this one in contrast to the seoinage, because ukigoshi provides a backup when tori turns the 'wrong way' for the seoinage - that is, when tori gets freaked out and ducks inside the strike.
• The kids hit this throw right off the bat - it was pretty remarkable how they all got the left-sided ukigoshi the first time and every time after we built it up this way!

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Patrick Parker
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Different bullets for different beasts

Some of my buddies posed a judo question onour FB group last night about koshinage.  Basically, they wanted some specific hints about applying hip throws - particularly ukigoshi and particularly against larger and heavier opponents.  I thought, having taken the time to put my thoughts together on this, I'd post them here for everyone to laugh at (ahem) I mean, benefit from...

 

First, different beasts need different bullets.  You wouldn't want to go hunting a bear with a .177 spring-air rifle, and you wouldn't want to shoot a squirell with an elephant gun.  In the same way, not every judo throw is meant for every opponent.  I know, it's tempting to want to develop such exquisite mastery that you are able to throw anyone at any time with any throw of your choice - to be able to just have your way with anyone you come across.  But not only is that not the way the real world works, it is also an unhealthy ideal.

 

Just as you will eventually have a handful of throws that you feel super-confident that you can throw nearly anyone with (tokuiwaza), you will also probably always have a handful of throws that are of no use to you at all - throws that youve never been able to throw anyone with. Most throws will likely fall inbetween these two extremes, meaning that different throws are more useful against different people at different times.

 

There may be people that you will never be able to throw with ukigoshi.

 

But you'll never know which throws are your tokuiwaza and which are useless to you until you try them out in randori, so with all that said, you asked for some specifics about variation and direction and grip, so here's what I usually try...

• I find it easiest to teach beginners to turn into shoulder and hip throws when uke is stepping backward and tori chases him down, stepping across and through, throwing about 90 degrees to the side of uke's path of travel.  Not only is this the form of hipthrow that I prefer to teach beginners, but it works nicely against larger folk, because youre throwing them off their heel, which often makes it easier to get larger opponents down.
• As for grips, for an ukigoshi I will often hook his left shoulder with my right elbow (sort of like a hip toss in rasslin), or hook his head with my elbow for a ukigoshi-flavored kubinage.  I usually want my left hand as far up his right arm as possible- definitely above the elbow, and maybe as deep as his lapel.
• Somebody in the thread mentioned understanding teaching ukigoshi as a concept, but had problems doing it in randori. I think that's okay - to sort of categorize ukigoshi in your head as a theoretical sort of thing that you have to learn before you get to the cool stuff, because a lot of the later cool throws are just variations of ukigoshi that are created when you can't quite get ukigoshi, or when uke resists certain ways - throws like haraigoshi and hanegoshi.

So, keep working on ukigoshi but don't obsess about it.  Try it every so often in randori, and sort of keep it in the back of your mind as an ideal or theoretical version of the later one-legged hip throws like haraigoshi and hanegoshi.

 

 

 

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Patrick Parker

www.mokurendojo.com

 

Save the hands for last

Try this, in both judo and in aikido.  Do not add in your hands until last - until after you've already got the guy wrecked and on the way down.

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Instead, build your throws from the ground upward.  Build the skill that you need in order to get your feet in a powerful position.  Then get your feet and hips in the right place.  Then finally, when everything else all the way down the line is in order... then throw your arms and hands into the mix.

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If you do it otherwise, you will often get your hands working when your hips and/or feet are out of position, and the exertion in your arms stops you from moving properly, ensuring that you will never get the rest of your power train in position to work properly.

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Just like in the conclusion of the classic sci-fi novel, Ender's game, they realize that "a small force kept in reserve often has a disproportionately large effect on the outcome.

[photo courtesy of dangoodwin]

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____________________
Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com

Ogoshi and tsurigoshi

Last week I posted an article about the difference between ukigoshi and ogoshi and I used a cool hipthrow picture that I found on Flickr.  The problem was, The throw shown was tsurigoshi - not ukigoshi or ogoshi.  I knew that at the time, but the picture was so cool that I wanted to use it anyway.

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I said to myself, "I bet if anyone in the world comments that the picture was tsurigoshi instead of ogoshi, it'll be Sensei Chad Morrison at Akari dojo."  Don't know how I made that prediction, but sure enough, a day or two later, Chad sent me a note about my photo of tsurigoshi. ;-)

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My initial response (inside my own mind) was that those two throws are really the same thing - that tsurigoshi and ogoshi are not really distinctly different techniques.  The grip-or-not thing is a false distinction.

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But there really is a difference betwen these two techniques even if I tend to minimize it...

• The fundamental difference is that ogoshi is a pushing action while tsurigoshi is a pulling action.
• This basic push-pull difference leads to a secondary difference in hand placement.  Because ogoshi is about pushing uke over your hips, a higher hand placement on the back gives you greater leverage.
• Because you can't easily push uke over your hip with a low hand position, if your hand ends up low on uke's back then you naturally have to take a grip and pull, or lift.  Thus the name, tsurigoshi (pulling/lifting hip).

Sure, you can do ogoshi with a low hand placement, but because of the sorry leverage, it's hard to keep this throw from covertly becoming tsurigoshi.  It's also rougher on tori's shoulder trying to do low-grip ogoshi - especially with a larger uke.

I probably ought to do a better job teaching the difference between these two throws, because it would probably fix some problems and confusion that some of my students have with the action of ogoshi and tsurigoshi...

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If you have trouble distinguishing between these two throws, then here's something to try. Get a compliant uke and go slowly and lightly through a few minutes of trading throws, alternating between tsurigoshi and ogoshi, taking time to emphasize "ogoshi-high-push" and "tsurigoshi-low-pull."  I think the differences will become clearer and these throws will become more distinctive and useful for you. 

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Patrick Parker

www.mokurendojo.com

Ashiguruma, haraigoshi, and taiotoshi

Another set of techniques that are superficially similar and which cause beginners much difficulty is taiotoshi, haraigoshi, and ashiguruma.  All three of these techniques launch uke from behind tori to land in front of tori but that is really about where the similarity ends.

• The three throws use wholly different actions.  Taiotoshi is a hand throw (tewaza).  Ashiguruma is a leg throw (ashiwaza).  Haraigoshi is a hip technique (koshiwaza).  
• Much confusion comes from people thinking that the leg is necessary to trip uke in taiotoshi (it is not).  Of these three throws, ashiguruma is the trip - taiotoshi is not a trip.
• Taiotoshi and ashiguruma are often confused because people do not understand the fundamental difference between otoshi and guruma actions.  Otoshi happens as uke's weight is coming forward and down into the ground.  Guruma happens when you turn uke on his long axis as he is coming forward and up out of the ground.
• Ashiguruma and haraigoshi are often confused by people who lose track of the fact that haraigoshi is a hipthrow and ashiguruma is not.  The placement and action of the hip as a fulcrum is vital in haraigoshi, while it is vital that you keep the hip out of the way and out of the action in ashiiguruma.
• Additionally, ashiguruma is a foot-stop action, while haraigoshi is a sweeping action.  Without the hip as a fulcrum it is hard if not impossible to sweep with the leg for haraigoshi but you can use it as a footprop for ashiguruma

Following are pretty good representative examples of these three throws. 

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Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com

The differences between ukigoshi and ogoshi

This is one of the perpetual questions for beginners and often as not, even more advanced players have a hard time sorting out the difference between ukigoshi and ogoshi.

• The name ukigoshi means floating hip, whereas, the name ogoshi means large hip or major hip.
• Ukigoshi feels like your feet get lighter until they slip sideways and you fall.  In ogoshi you are spun around a fulcrum off your feet and onto your back
• Ogoshi is a crack-of-the-butt throw - tori's buttcrack goes on uke's thigh or knee.  Ukigoshi is not a buttcrack throw
• Ukigoshi often starts with  the side of tori's hip in contact with uke's groin.  Ogoshi begins with the back of tori's waist against uke's groin.
• Typically ukigoshi is easier with a low grip around uke's waist and ogoshi is easier with a high grip near uke's shoulder.
• In ogoshi, uke slides over tori's low back or kidneys as he turns over onto his back.  In ukigoshi there is no slide - uke turns horizontal on tori's hip then drops.
• Ukigoshi tends to drop uke with his feet behind tori.  Ogoshi lands uke with his feet in front of tori.
• Often ogoshi is a larger amplitude throw, but ukigoshi is a more severe fall because there is less time to get your fall right.

Following are a couple of pretty good video explanations of these ideas.

[photo courtesy of Basegrinder]

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Patrick Parker

www.mokurendojo.com

Are hipthrows anyone's tokuiwaza?

I don't mean the cool hipthrows, like sodeTKgoshi and haraigoshi and hanegoshi - I do know people who love those throws and put them to good use.

I mean the basic hipthrows - ukigoshi, ogoshi, tsurigoshi...

I don't think I know anyone, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen film of anyone whose best/favorite throws are basic hipthrows.  They say that Kano's tokuiwaza was ukigoshi.  Has it been anyone's tokuiwaza since Kano?

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Patrick Parker

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Uchimata

Probably the most popular competition judo throw in existence - uchimata.  Some folks throw this as a leg sweep and some throw it as a hip throw.  Officially it is classed as an ashiwaza (a foot throw).  I've never been able to make much of this trying it as a foot throw (though I've seen people who can!)  I personally throw it as a variation of ukigoshi.  In any case, it is an excellent throw!

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Stiff-arms and chokes

I don't have one single take-away point from last night's class.

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We worked on breaking down the opponent's stiff-arms and slipping into a throw.  We worked on breaking the stiffarms with a windshield wiper and with an arm drop and we wound up getting into seoinage, ogoshi, hizaguruma, ashiguruma, and koshiguruma.

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On the ground we worked on hadakajime, katahajime, three classic forms of jujijime, and sodeguruma jime. Maybe it's because of all the chokes that I still can't think of a take-away point...

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Nagekomi and randori

Like most all martial arts, judo has two main forms of practice - kata (forms practice) and randori (sparring or freeplay).  Nagekomi is a form of kata practice in which certain forms of throws are repeated, or drilled.  Here is a video of some of my judo kids doing some nagekomi followed by some randori.

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮
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3 ways to rescue a failing hip throw

Photo courtesy of Simmr

It's happened to everyone who has practiced judo for any length of time - you get what you think is sufficient kuzushi, turn in for your favorite hip throw, and uke blocks it or slips it.  Sometimes you might want to start over with a new kuzushi, but sometimes you can rescue that dying hip throw.  Here are three of the best, most common ways to save a hip throw that's not quite there.

• reset the fulcrum - If you enter for a hip throw and can't get it to go, reset the fulcrum (your hip) lower.  Change ogoshi to tsurikomigoshi.  Change ukigoshi to hanegoshi or haraigoshi.  The lower you get the pivot point, the more likely uke is to fall over it.  If you can't lower the fulcrum then you might try raising your grips (eg. ogoshi to sodetsurikomigoshi).  This can have the same effect.
• guruma - Sometimes you can't set (or reset) the fulcrum because uke is holding back from you.  If you can't get your hip into position against uke, try a guruma action - particularly ashiguruma or koshiguruma.  This tactic seems to be favored by larger judoka when fixing a hip throw that is failing against a smaller opponent, perhaps because larger, slower judoka have more trouble getting turned all the way in before they are blocked or slipped.
• sacrifice - Sometimes, despite getting as good a fulcrum placement as you can, you still can't make the thing go.  Maybe the thrower is too small or the uke is too big.  In this case, switch to a sacrifice version of the hip throw (like seoiotoshi or drop-knee seoinage or makikomi).  This tactic seems to be favored by smaller judoka when throwing larger opponents because it lets the smaller player use more of his mass and it's easier for the smaller guy to drop-knee between a larger guy's feet than vice versa.

So, next time you are working your hip throws in randori and you're blocked or slipped, you might try one of these ideas to breathe some new life into a dying hip throw - reset the fulcrum, guruma, or sacrifice.

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Patrick Parker is a Christian, husband, father, martial arts teacher, Program Director for a Cardiac Rehab, and a Ph.D. Contact: mokurendojo@gmail.com or phone 601.248.7282 木蓮
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