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Hip techniques are performed by lowering your center of gravity below your opponent's. Throws require less effort the lower you are; is there a point where it'd take more effort if you went lower?

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  • Which effort? In other words, the throwing mechanics might work better, but the effort involved in maintaining the lowered posture and the preparation to throw would likely increase. Mar 22, 2014 at 19:07

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If you do an ass-to-ankles air squat, you'll be unable to execute a number of hip throws (koshiguruma, ukigoshi, ogoshi...) on any but the shortest opponents. Tsurikomigoshi might still work but it's hard.

In addition to being out of position for grips, most athletes struggle to apply significant force from the absolute bottom position of a really, really deep squat. I've seen this work fine with morote seoinage, since if one sets up the throw excellently then the squat is merely there to get out of the way and not to lift on the way up, but for hip throws generally it helps to lift strongly.

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    I would like to add that while it might help to lift strongly, it should only be needed for o-goshi if the center of gravity of your opponent hasn't been moved slightly above and in front of your own by kuzushi and tsukuri. This is, from a competitioner's point of view, rare enough that one might conclude that strong lifting has to be part of the throw. From a technical point of view, the perfect technique remains the one where all you would have to 'lift' are the legs, just like with the morote-seoi-nage you describe. Other hip throws have other principles, though. Jun 18, 2016 at 19:32
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If you attempt to go too low your opponent will step back, increasing the space between you two, and then simply pull you backwards sitting you down on your butt. You will feel quite dumb when this happens.

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It isn't simply a matter of getting lower, and it a matter of creating a pivot point, and applying leverage. If your center is too distant from theirs it will become harder to execute a throw.

Imagine a seesaw with two points set out from the center instead of a single one.

========= vs ==========
   ^ ^           ^  

The distance from you to the pivot is shorter, making it harder to move. And the amount of weight you have to life would be larger. You want one center that gives you the advantage.

=========
      ^

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