Shoulder Throws Continue (diary entry)

  23.11.16   We continued our shoulder throw theme tonight, looking at two variations and bringing it into the ground game plus a submission. The colder temperature inspired a more vigorous warm-up with careful attention taken towards promoting progressive mobility and the inputting specific actions in view of the techniques about to be taught.   We began with tight forward rolls, backward rolls, break falls and (combat) base squats. Then we did some turtle drilling in preparation for the groundwork scheduled for the end of the lesson. This involved a round of drilling defence from attacks in the turtle and then a round moving around the turtle, drilling attacks.   Getting into real technique training we revised the under-hook shoulder throw (Ippon Seio Nage in Judo) as an entry and a throw. Then we moved onto the two-handed version, which relies on a double grip to the opponent’s wrist. This is the classic version that most martial artists think of when referring to the technique. However, for reasons outlined in my previous diary entry, I think most no-gi grapplers would opt for the under-hook version. Nevertheless, some people can pull this one off without a jacket and who am I impress my individual opinion on any student? I also had another reason to teach this version of the throw. It can be used quite effectively when defending from the turtle position if your opponent places too much weight forward.   Therefore, we worked the two-handed shoulder throw; the drop shoulder throw and the shoulder throw from the turtle. To finish we looked at the over the shoulder elbow lock/arm bar. I decided to cover this move as an interesting branch off from the shoulder throw as it merely involves turning the arm of the opponent over to execute. This move is found in a lot of traditional martial arts and doesn’t get a lot of time in combat sports, but it still works under pressure. It can be quite crafty and also catch out those who are sloppy with their back position. I have seen a few people get caught with it when they weren’t swift enough with a rear naked choke.