I am envious of your strong kuzushi and quick commitment to the throw on that Harai. It seemed like you used a sort of Makikomi like twist to get him over. Do you find you finish that throw that way a lot?
My class is small, and aside from our top MMA fighter, who I have serious trouble throwing, everybody in my class ranges from way smaller to much smaller than me. So, I have to be extra conscious to not land on them when I finish. I am seeking a way to finish that throw when it gets to that hung up hopping phase without landing on them. Any advice for me?
Many Thanks, and wow...Nice throw!
Thank you.
Unfortunately, I am in the same boat as you, but I am lucky enough to have some really dedicated training partners who trust me and give a lot in the way of absorbing impact to help me train.
My suggestion, personally, would be to buy a crash pad and go at it anyway. I am not a fan of altering the way I throw in training. I think that we do thousands of repetitions to build muscle memory, and if we spend those thousands of reps trying to keep from landing on our uke, then when it comes to contest or self defense we will do the same. This is not the most popular way of thinking for a lot of people, but I have yet to hear a good explanation as to why. In contest and on the street, I want the reaction I got from my training partner in the above video. If I get that reaction, I win. Chances are, if I throw someone with harai goshi, I will land on them because that is how I have trained, though recently I have made an conscious effort to remain standing. The thing to remember, however, is that it is possible to throw makikomi and land on your uke without hurting them, even if they are smaller than you. One of my students is 100 pounds lighter then me, and I have landed on him several times with no injuries. In fact, I think the only significant outcome was having the breath slightly knocked out of him once. The key is to stay TIGHT to your uke. If there is any space between you and them when you hit the mat, someone is going to get hurt.
I used to practice a LOT of 3,4 and 5 man uchikomi years ago and my kuzushi was much stronger than it is now. When I was 20 or so, I could knock down a row of 4 people during 4 man uchikomi. I can't do that anymore, but I often have 1 person completely off the ground and the one behind him close to being there!
Edit: I don't think I answered your question about how often I use makikomi to finish. Generally I do not have to, but my training partner and I have been training together for almost 13 years now I guess, and he sees my harai coming a mile away. Usually that does not happen, even tho I almost always finish my harai on the ground.
Generally it goes quick, like in this video here:
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That guy was 280+ pounds, I weighed in at 230 I think. I certainly didn't have to go to the ground, and in this case it worked against me because I over rotated (Which I have since started to correct) but this is a good example of how I want to land on opponents in contest. The only difference now is that I make a conscious effort to unwind halfway through. I put the video back up on youtube so you can see. I'll update it as soon as it goes live.
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