The Best Judo Tip for Throwing

A Judo throw requires not much strength at all. Whether it’s a hip throw, a throw to the rear, a pick up, sacrifice or whatever, they all have the same basic principle. YOUR OPPONENTS BALANCE MUST BE BROKE FIRST.

When your opponents balance is broken then a slight push, pull or trip and the opponent will be thrown. Breaking the balance can be done in many ways. The basic way is to push or pull your opponent in any direction. Front, back, sideways and to the corners. When your opponent has been taken in one off these directions, and his/her balance has been broken, then he/she can be thrown. A lot of time nowadays, strength is used to throw, which also works, but when a throw is done in this manner, the thrower can lose balance and also fall to the ground. Balance can also be broken by your opponent’s natural movement. When a foot is taken off the floor (as in to step) his/her balance is naturally broken. An example is if your opponent steps forward towards you, his/her balance has been broken to the front allowing for an easy throw to the front which could include, Uchi Mata, Koshi Guruma, O Goshi or maybe a sacrifice throw like Tomo Nage etc. Again, if your opponent attempts a throw and fails, then moves back to position, as he/she is moving backwards, his balance is being broken to the rear, allowing for maybe O Soto Gari, or Morote Gari. To be able to throw someone with this type of timing requires a lot of practice, but is just an example of how two people sparring or fighting are constantly losing balance.

Kyuzo Mifine is regarded as some, to be the best Judo Fighter ever. His balance was crisp and smooth and could throw many people much taller than him by the exact method detailed above. The best part of his throws, was that he rarely fell whilst throwing, remaining standing. This is the true essence of Judo, and is what all JudoKa should be aiming to achieve.

Marks

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A Great Takedown for all Martial Artists

When people see throws and takedowns, the majority of them tend to be double leg pickups, hip throws of some sort, wrestler type suplexes or reaping techniques (O soto gari etc) One of the most underused takedowns which is very quick and requires little energy is the back of the knee press.

It works like this. From the clinch, move to the back of your opponent quickly or pull him round so his back his facing you. Then using the sole of your foot, press through the back of your opponents knee joint whilst pulling him/her backwards (grabbing any part of his/her upper body, including shoulders, arms, upper torso, head, hair etc). As your opponent falls backwards, be sure to move your body out of the way, so he/she does not fall on top of you.

The beauty of this takedown is that it requires very little strength to pull off. The back of the knee is very weak on everyone, no matter how strong they think they are, and a small amount of force is needed to bend the leg. The pull of the upper body then brings the opponent down to the floor. Also unlike most other throws where nearly all of the times there is a strong chance that the person will also fall to the floor, this is not the case with the back of the knee press. It is quite simple to remain standing, without your opponent gaining the ability to pull you down.

The key step to learn with this throw is how to get to a position behind your opponent. This can be achieved through practice and sparring.

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