Theoretical Throwing

Suppose you want to throw your partner.  Whatever throw you’re doing, you will have to make contact.  In fact, you’ll probably have to make very close contact with them.  If you vastly outweigh your partner, you might be able to swing them around with just your arm.  If that’s the case, your partner is probably a child under the age of 10.  In most other cases, you’re probably going to have to make body to body contact.

Why?  Because in order to throw a person, it’s easiest if you’re close to them.  In fact, it’s best to be able to leverage your entire body weight against them.

In addition, it is extremely helpful if you can unbalance your partner and disrupt their balance and structure away.  This may mean pushing their head back, pulling down on their arm, sweeping out a foot or any number of other things.  By taking their balance, you’ve made them much easier to throw.

Thus, armed with the knowledge that you need to be close and disrupt your partner’s balance you are now equipped to examine specific techniques… which is what we did in class today with throw #4 (O Soto Gari in Judo)

Click here to see the whiteboard feedback.