Basic Throws

For February my side bar videos will highlight some of the basic throws that I have found useful. I have not formally trained in a ground art like judo, jujitsu, etc.; however, PPCT did have a selection of standing throws that were designed to keep you standing or kneeling and get your opponent on the ground so you could get the cuffs on them. I also picked up a few in wing chun and my current taekwondo curriculum has a selection of basic standing throws too.

The first throw I’ll highlight is from Human Weapon:

The shoulder throw (minus the lock they show) is one of my favorites. The DOC taught us a hip throw that is very similar to this and it’s one that I used at least a dozen times. It’s very simple and works well under stress. You can also kick this one up a notch and use it to defend from a clinch.

• The hip throw

To be honest I prefer hip throws over shoulder throws. You can step into a punch while blocking from the inside or outside with this one. Then, as my sifu would say, it’s very easy to take away their center. They also seem to work well on someone who is much bigger than you. With the shoulder throw and really big person I always get nervous that if I don’t pull it off they may squash me. With the hip throw you are rolling them to the side which lessens that fear. Here’s another example from wing chun. One of the keys to making it work is to practice fluidly achieving a hip-to-hip position. The wing chun guy does it fast but he does get hip-to-hip for a split second. He does it from open stance and adds a strike. However, all he would have to do is push and the opponent would fall.

• Standing throws

I’ll close this post with the video from Mr. Ajay Shah. These capture the types of throws and sweeps we practice in taekwondo. They are stand-up throws that are designed to get your opponent prone and keep you in a dominant position. All of ours end with a chambered punch to the face or groin. (The rest of Mr. Shah’s videos can be found HERE.)

From a ground fighter perspective these are pretty basic. However, they are good supplements to any stand up art and would probably work on the street.

~BCP