Problems hip throwing a larger opponent

Question

I am practicing Japanese Jujitsu, I am currently purple white stripe belt. Physically I am about 75kgs, and about 5ft 7-8.

My problem is when I hip throw (Ogoshi) my regular uke, probably a few kgs heaver and a couple of inches, its great, I get in quick low and fast, and my Uke gets proper air on the throws. (again with other uke's same height / weight or less no problem). But when I tried the same hip throw/ Ogoshi on a 102kg uke (all muscle – was in a weight lifting team) who is about 6ft 2 in height, its just rubbish I think I am going in low and fast, but the throw ends up more like a slide of my hip, and when I did manage to get it all done properly he didn’t get much air (and later admitted, he helped by jumping a little).

So any advice on how to hip throw a much larger/stronger opponent? Or could it be a hip throw is not for every opponent? - I know there are other throws I could use. Dropping body drop / stamp etc, but I want my hip throw(Ogoshi) to be spot on.

Answer 1

If you are 75 kg, then you should not have a problem throwing an opponent who is 102 kg with a basic hip throw.

The major hip throw (ogoshi) is the first hip throw in the judo curriculum. It's simplest to start with throwing ogoshi slowly because ogoshi has the nice property that you can stop mid-throw. It's easiest to understand the mechanics while practicing slowly, and then you add speed and power afterward.

In judo, throws are analyzed in three basic parts:

1. off-balancing (kuzushi)
2. entry (tsukuri)
3. finish (kake)

If you can throw people of comparable size, but not people who are bigger than you, this is probably a problem with missing the off-balancing portion.

Here are some tips:

1. You do not want to be squatting the weight of your partner. You want their weight to fall onto your hips, and once this happens you rotate your partner's weight off your hips for them to fall. Your hips need to be lower than your partner's for this to happen.
2. To get your partner's weight over your hips, you need to pull them forward. Without your action to off-balance your partner, their weight will be over their own feet.
3. Try to grab your partners far hip with your hand when inserting your arm. Inserting your arm deep will give you more control of your partner's movements. This arm should also be assisting with the off-balancing.
4. For ogoshi, push your hip all the way across your partner's body.
5. The major hip throw is actually a good throw to learn without relying on your partner wearing a gi. The first grip taught is with one hand at uke's elbow and the other arm around uke's waist/hips. The hand on the arm around uke's waist does not grab the gi or belt (if you do, that is normally classified as a lifting hip throw [tsuri goshi]; not an important element if you want to just throw someone, but a judo technicality). The hand gripping the elbow is usually taught first as grabbing the gi sleeve, but you can off-balance someone just as effectively if you grab the elbow directly.

Answer 2

It can be very hard to impossible to willingly off-balance an (maybe sub-conciously) uncooperative, stronger opponent, i.e. to have enough kuzushi. That is where Judo (in the very sense of the expression) begins. And as Judo is Jujitsu specialized on throwing (among other things), I will answer purely in this context.

I personally had the experience with a partner having about 20 percent more height and weight. I pulled with all I had and it felt like nothing happened for an eternity before this person began to even move one inch. It was a devastating experience for me. I could throw him by force, but it never felt right.

Here, you have three possibilities:

• Ask him to help you more. If it improves, ask him to do a bit less, step by step, until you do not need his help anymore. This may take a long time, but it's crucial for learning techniques. Jumping is not the right thing to do, though, but going into the movement/leaning towards you is better.
• Concentrate on kuzushi before going into the throw (tsukuri). Overcoming the resistance from the beginning is tough, but it will be another possibility of training for you. You should never enter a throw before being sure of your kuzushi.
• Ask your partner to move forward (dynamic execution), so that he will make part of the kuzushi for you. In Judo, the idea is to use the momentum of your opponent instead of creating it. This does not hold for most of the very cautious modern competitive Judo, though.

If executed correctly, a throw should always feel easy and without much strength needed. The pain is in the off-balancing needed for getting there.

Answer 3

The best option would be to ask your instructor to watch what you do with both the opponents you mention in your post. He will be able to check that you're doing the technique correctly and if you're doing it differently for the two opponents.

Alternatively (and if you're allowed to) have someone video you performing the technique on both opponents and see if you can spot what is different.