O goshi means major hip throw in Japanese. It’s one of the original 40 throws in judo and I see it often taught to white belts in their first few classes only for it to be a constant point of frustration later on down the road.
Its in a lot of other martial arts as well but they don’t really get into great detail about the finer points. But don’t worry I had the same trouble with this throw when I was a white belt.
First big thing is lets talk about this throw. O goshi is a koshi-waza or hip technique. So right away we know a major component of the throw. Heck its called MAJOR HIP THROW.
Before I go on any further hers a quick breakdown of the components of a throw
“Kuzushi"- off-balancing the opponent
“Tsukuri”- “fitting in”, or positioning yourself for the throw
“Kake”- completing the throw.
So for our Kuzushi or off balancing the key point I want to remind people is don’t just shoot in for O goshi. No matter the throw if you don’t off balance your opponent you risk a counter such as Ura Nage.
Trust me being on the receiving end of an Ura Nage fucking sucks.
So what we need to do is make sure entry is crisp and that you can affect their posture. A trick that often gets neglected by white belts is the rotation of the arm when you throw.
See how his elbow points up as he goes in? That helps add force and breaks down the posture of the UKE (Person receiving the throw). This elbow trick is so underrated and is very important.
A more simple issues that most beginners have is poor hip placement. When they are having trouble with the throw the first place they/you should look at is the footwork. If they can’t get their hip over enough that means that the issue is almost always the footwork.
The final major tip for O goshi is don’t just shoot from it when you’re square with eachother Do it when you are at an angle or set it up. Attack or enter form the side and you’ll find you’ll be getting it more and more. Also If its not straing up judo get that sexy belt grip.
See how blue is not directly in front of white? This is a much better angle of entry for a judo throw.
So that’s enough rambling for now. O goshi has a lot more depth than we give it credit for. Studying tips and tricks can make it a pretty formidable move.
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