This tutorial will teach the generic hip throw formula that you can use from limitless positions and situations. All that is required is consistent practice and this move can become a tool used in offense, counters, and saves. This move can be drilled against a non-scripted/scripted uke, a partner, or in quick aikido servers. It is the pinnacle of judo techniques and its effectiveness matches its beauty.
Inspiration: In the real world hip throws are used in many forms of competition including judo (obviously), wrestling, submission grappling, and MMA (UFC,Bellator, etc). There are endless variations to the types of hip throws but they all follow a specific flow that can be applied to toribash's aikido mod.
The goal of this step is to establish strong control points in the first turn.
Now the best possible grips are nearest to Uke's center line but for this tutorial I'm going to demonstrate from neutral hand-to-hand grips after a clap opener.
I also wanted to stress the joints that have been encircled in orange. These are Tori's (you) critical joints and they are the joints to be focused on first at the beginning of each turn.
The joints circled on the leg are your base leg joints meaning that this is the leg to keep on the floor when executing the throw. This leg will also create the lever that bends Uke.
The pecs and chest joint are critical because they create the rotational momentum needed to set and execute the throw.
*It's also important to note that if at anytime your opponent grabs your lower body or legs it can sabotage your throw or at least make it much more difficult.
And to prevent self injury keep wrists relaxed through the whole throw.
2. Setting The Throw
The goal of this step is to set your throw by loading up your joints while simultaneously closing the distance between you and your opponent. Every joint has potential power that can make the throw more effective. In this step all joints will be set in a position where they can contribute the most in the following turns. Imagine this part as compressing a spring so in the future you can release all its potential force.
This particular setup requires Tori to minimize floor contact with a small hop or at least pivot on the pivot leg (not the base leg).
This allows Tori to close the distance and rotate the hips accordingly without any resistance from the floor.
To do so use the arms to pull Tori off the floor and into Uke in one quick motion. Pecs and chest should collaborate so that the lower body rotates to face away from Uke. Base leg is swinging as far back as possible with knee contracted but this can be risky so it's important to use the pivot leg to prevent the knees from DQ .
Critical Joints
Torso: Contract-Right Pec, Extend-Left Pec, Left Rotate-Chest (All joints spin to the left or right side).
Base Leg: Contract-Glutes, Extend-Hip, Contract-Knee, Contract-Ankle
3. Set base and Spring Up
The goal of this step is to set your base foot and start the throw by lifting Uke off of his feet.
The base leg is the most important piece of the hip throw formula. Because all force starts from the ground, this leg is the start of all rotating, bending, and springing forces.
The foot of the base leg should place on the floor somewhere near Uke's feet. Different hip throws require specific placements but the base foot should aim to land in this base quadrant.
Now the previous pivot leg will become a supporting leg by lightly touching or floating near Uke's other foot.
*In the emergency that the knee may DQ the supporting leg will push off the floor hard and fast.
With all chest and pec joints remaining constant the abs extend to bring up Uke.
The arms will invert and begin to wheel throw Uke with the lead arm dropping and the rear arm raising, both elbows extended.
The goal of this step is to apply leverage while simultaneously rotating Uke over Tori's body.
This is the power step. All joints will collaborate to deliver a strong a force that bends and spins Uke. It is also where the Tori is vulnerable to self DQ because the torso and head can drop very low.
*Know that if the base foot is not appropriately placed you will spin out and loose footing.
Stay on your toes, the base leg will be digging into the floor to compensate for all the force delivered. This hip will bend creating the pivot point of your lever.
The supporting leg now has two options: Remain a supporting leg or sweep your opponent's legs. To support, this leg will stay on the floor and support the base leg. To sweep, this hip will extend and try to push Uke's legs or hips upwards.
*This demo shows a supporting leg with hip extended.
Now only your chest will rotate, while your abs and lumbar bend towards the floor.
Contract the lead elbow to really rip Uke downwards.
At this point test your pecs to see if they can help or hurt the throw momentum. This always varies.
Critical Joints
Base Leg: Extend-Ankle, Extend-Knee, Contract-Hip, Extend-BaseLegGlute
Torso: Contract-Abs, BendToFloor-Lumbar, RotateToFloor-Chest
Lead Arm: Lower-Shoulder, Contract-Elbow
5. Secure Finish
The goal of this step is to deliver the final forces to DQ Uke while mantaining your balance.
The final step is easy because there is not much to add but should not be overlooked.
The base leg should stay as a floor contact and continue pressure with the contracted hip. Usually relaxing the glute on this leg is enough.
Now the lead arm will try to extend the rotating momentum that was set, almost like trying to pull Uke between Tori's legs.
The rear arm will snap Uke straight to the floor to really add a strong finishing slam.
The pecs should all now turn in the same direction as the chest, towards the floor.
In this tutorial I tried to demonstrate the safest and simplest form of a hip throw. As I previously stated there are endless variations and also multiple setups. These variations mostly come down to the placement of your base foot and your supporting/sweeping leg. The remaining bend and rotate mechanics are all very similar. So here is just couple real world judo hip throw variations and what they are good for.
Replays Harai Goshi - Sweeping Hip throw. Using a sweeping leg can really add to the leverage force of a hip throw but is risky.
Tai Otoshi - Body Drop. Effective long distance throw. The base foot is set far back and there is a lot of space between the toris. This throw emphasizes rotation instead of leverage.
O Goshi - Big Hip. Big throw using a lot of leverage instead of rotation. The supporting legs hold a very narrow stance.
Big Step Setup - This demonstrates a different approach to setting up a hip throw where I use footwork to step out and slip a sweeping leg around Uke for an O Guruma throw.
Last edited by footlox; Nov 6, 2015 at 12:51 AM.
Leader of the Spyder House Toribash Martial Artists
