BJJ Move #25: Major Hip Throw (several variations)

Now that I've described how to get thrown, I'll describe the most basic throw.

WARNING! These techniques could result in serious injury or death if practiced incorrectly or even if performed correctly. They should only be practiced with the supervision of an experienced instructor.

Major Hip Throw (O Goshi, hip toss), several variations:
-takedown
-basic

Preliminaries:

Standard grip: The standard grip on an opponent wearing a gi (that heavy cotton jacket and pants combo judo and jujitsu people train in) is just like the collar-and-elbow grip, but instead of grabbing behind your opponent's neck with your right hand, you grab his left collar high on his chest, and instead of grabbing his right elbow / triceps with your left hand, you grab his left sleeve just above the elbow.

The throw step:
Many judo-style throws start with this standard entry.
Start with your left foot forward and the regular grip.
Step forward with your right foot so it is directly in front of your left foot and about six inches in front of it.
Now pivot counterclockwise on your right foot while bringing your left back so your back faces him.
Your feet should be parallel to each other, about shoulder width apart.
Your knees should be deeply bent, and your legs should not be bowed out or in.
You should not be bent over very much at the waist.
Your hip / lower back must be close to his body, and you should have pulled his belly flush to your back with your arms.


Major hip throw (gi version):
From a standard grip, break your opponent’s balance to his front.
Switch your right hand to grab around his waist, step in and throw him over your right hip.
Standard foot entry, keep your feet close together so your hips can rise up underneath his hips (if they’re too far apart, you won’t come up high enough to elevate him).
You want your hip to actually go a little bit past your opponent’s hips instead of staying perfectly square.
Note that it is very difficult to get this deep into someone's defenses when he can hold you off with grips your gi jacket--it's a much easier throw to accomplish while wearing no gi.


Variation:
With your left arm, grab your opponent’s right tricep and pull his forearm into your left armpit.
Step around with your right foot to the outside of his left foot so your hips are tight to his and perpendicular to them (forming a “t”).
Put your right arm around his waist.
Keep your head tucked near his left shoulder or your right cheek against his chest. Keeping tight protects you against being thrown by your head or hit.
Now step your right foot in front of his feet so your feet are right in front of his feet, facing the same direction.
Push your hips across and in front of his hips (just a little lower than his, and just a little past them to the right to keep him from sliding around them).
Bend over at your waist, straighten your legs, pull with your right arm around your opponent’s waist and with your left hand on his right arm to toss him over your hip. Your shoulders will rotate counterclockwise. This move has a lot of mechanical efficiency and should feel very easy.
You can armlock from here— keeping hold of his right wrist in your left armpit, put your right knee into his ribs, t-stack your arms over his right elbow and apply an armlock.


Hip throw and armlock vs. Cross:
You and your opponent are both in right-handed (left-foot-forward) stance.
Your opponent throws a right cross.
Block by raising your 85% bent left arm to cover your entire left side of face/head (“covering block”) while stepping forward with your left foot. His right arm should lie across your left arm.
Now trap his punching (right) arm in your left armpit (overhook) and lean your head over his right shoulder (so he can’t hit your face with his left).
Get an underhook under his left armpit with your right hand (an overhook will let him get your back).
Now step across with your right foot, loosen your left arm and grab hard just above his elbow with your left hand and hip throw him.
When he lands, arm bar or “t-stack” armbar (as above).

Hip throw and armlock vs. Overhand Right / Haymaker:
As above, but opponent throws an overhand right or a haymaker.
Instead of the block above, step strongly forward and shoot your left hand and arm straight forward and upward, shrugging your shoulder and trying to lie your arm across his right shoulder/bicep.
Continue to hip throw as above.