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Judo - The Mechanics of the Judo Throw

Author: Tony Hackerott
Date Posted: December 31, 2008

There are a number of different actions involved when a judo throw is performed. Some throws involve lifting an opponent clear of the ground from a two-footed base and throwing him backwards (uranage), others lift and throw him forwards (kata-guruma). In some throws tori has to turn his back on uke and, contacting with his side chest against uke's chest and balancing on one leg, sweep away uke's legs (uchimata, harai-goshi) and throw him forwards. In others he has to hook his leg behind uke's and lift, push and pull simultaneously to throw him to his rear (osoto-gari, ko-soto-gan). In some forward throws tori places or drops his body in front of uke and uses it as a blocking fulcrum over which to whirl his opponent (seoi-nage, tomoe-nage). In still others tori does not lift uke, but rather rolls him over (drop seoi-nage, soto-makikomi, tai-otoshf), or trips or sweeps him (de-ashi-barai). There are many quite different skills to acquire and the key is regular practice.

A common factor in most throws is that tori breaks uke's balance through the use of body movement (tai-sabaki) and gets under his centre of gravity in order to throw him. In every case he has to break uke's balance in order to get his feet off the ground.

Components of the judo throw:

* The use of the hands, gripping, pushing and pulling.
* The height, curvature and turn of the hips.
* The footwork involved, knee bend, leg extension, flexion and pointing the toes.
* The use of positioning of the head.
* Timing, commitment and abandonment.

TIMING

One of the most difficult things to teach in judo is timing. Anyone can learn technique eventually, but good timing has an almost unconscious quality about it; it has to be felt, and even those who can feel it do not always understand it. Timing comes from sensitivity to an opponent's actions, from feeling what will work and when it will work. If technique is how to do a throw, timing is when to do it.

One problem is that, in general, coaches start their beginners off by teaching skills with static uchikomi and occasional completions, but fail to make the progression to more realistic movement-based situations. At club level even when nage-komi is practiced it tends to be in fairly static situations. Static situations do, of course, occur even in top level contests, but generally speaking good judo comes out of good movements. A moving body is easier to throw than a stationary one, so movement skills need to be learned as an integral part of the throwing process. Players have to learn to grip then move in such away that an opponent, however strong or determined, cannot remain still, but must move to stay balanced. Once they have their opponent moving they must know what techniques are feasible and when to attack. The right moment varies from situation to situation and depends on which techniques have been practiced, but all players should be able to make attacks when the opponent is coming forwards, moving backwards or moving to left or right. It may be that they use the same technique in each case if they are specialists in one particular throw, or it may be that they have a different throw for each direction. Ideally they will have a major technique and an alternative for each situation.

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Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of Judo articles.

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