Throwing tip: Outside Leg Sweep

If you have a hard time doing an outside leg sweep - known to us judo types as o soto gari, here are two quick tips.

1. Your right arm (assuming you are doing it right-handed) should be as if you are going to sock your opponent in the jaw. Your elbow should be bent and you should be lifting your opponent with that right hand and pushing toward the corner, putting all of his weight on his right leg. One of the most common mistakes you see with this technique is when the attacker "leaves the arm behind". Notice how my right shoulder is just about to smack into my opponent's right shoulder.

2. STEP IN with your left leg. A second really common mistake is to "reach" with that right leg. That's a bad idea. You are going to be off-balance and likely to be countered. Notice how my left foot above is almost even with my opponent's feet.

In over four years, I think this is the first post I wrote just about throwing.  While my focus has always been on matwork, I have occasionally thrown people. Just so you know.