Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

Hiza-guruma (knee wheel) is one of my least favorite throws, and has been for as long as I can remember. I just can't seem to get it right. I've been thrown by guys who know what they're doing, and mine doesn't feel anything like that.

The other night I had a dream. Moose was giving me a lesson on hiza-guruma while we watched a class. The last time Moose visited me for an instructional dream, the dreaded "straight jacket" was born.

We were standing on the sideline watching people work, and he was giving me a coaching type lesson while we watched folks. We watched people throwing hiza-guruma. He said, "You see how everybody leans back when they try to throw?"

I saw it and told him as much. I know we've talked about weight being on your heels, which is bad. I know people lean back to the point if they had no grip on uke they'd fall down. I know -- I've done it.

Then Moose asked me, "So, where ya tryin' to throw the guy?"

Ah. Ukemi. This ties in to a discussion I had several months ago regarding the difference between de-ashi-harai and kosoto-gari. They look a lot a like, and feel a lot alike; the main difference is the ukemi -- how does uke fall? Sort of like o-goshi versus uki-goshi.

I thought about it, and told Moose that we should be trying to throw the guy perpendicular to his feet. We're standing three feet on the line, and the guy is weak to the perpendicular line.

Moose tells me, "Close enough. So, why not make his center go where you want it to? You ain't gonna do it by leanin' backward. That's the wrong place. You gotta move yourself into that line where you want him to go."

And, just as the lesson was getting juicy the damn alarm clock goes off.

I experimented a little Tuesday night with the concept, and actually managed to get one, very nice, nearly perfect hiza-guruma on Cameron! I know it was nearly perfect because it felt like nothing, and it took Cameron by surprise. The timing is a bit different than I'm used to, and the movement is a bit different as well. It feels a bit like the footsweep material in Aikido, how it's foot, then knee, then the hip pushes across and you get off balance as you do it. The potential problem I see is misapplication of hands spoiling it. It's like an inside-out tai-otoshi with a dash of seoi-nage almost.

I'll be experimenting a bit for the next few weeks to see if I can develop this, and maybe be able to put together some stuff on video as well.

just did a little hiza practice with Greg today-- seek him out - you are in the ballpark i think

i have a problem with other throws but spechialy when i try to make hizaguruma i feel that my oppenent is hanging on my judo jacket , 💡 i know he would fall if i turn around but still hard to do 🙁

Hiza-guruma is one of my least favorite throws in Judo. When it occurs dynamically in randori it comes out correct. During nage-komi it feels very unattractive.

One thing I have been experimenting with is direction. I typically work hiza-guruma as I step back, but lately have been experimenting with hiza-guruma performed on a forward stepping motion. My success rate of "good" feeling throws has increased during nage-komi. You might experiment & see what happens.

I usually setup hiza-guruma such that my left foot is the support foot, while the right foot provides the propping action. Bob Rea, a very accomplished Judoka, once told me pulling the right hand to the right hip was his preferred method.

I've been working with the set-up drill I got from Greg Ables during a playday not long ago, and it's been a big leap for me. I don't know that I could do it justice in words here (a video of Greg would be best, obviously!), but basically you step forward with your right foot, then rock back onto the left foot as it pre-turns and moves over onto the line, then prop with the right. You put the right foot down, take a step forward with the left, then rock back on the right foot as it pre-turns and moves over onto the line and prop with the left. You can keep going indefinitely, right, left, right left, back and forth.

There's something about loading a little weight into his back foot first and then catching hiza as uke responds back forward that makes this easier to catch in regular play then if uke were just barreling forward and I tried to step off the line (in fact, even though that's kind of how we learn it, it's rarely very effective). It's also really helped me catch hiza moving forward (as uke moves backward) without any set up, although I don't know why. I started catching it after doing Greg's drill, but it wasn't a conscious effort!

Of course, I also find hiza as a wonderful follow-up to another throw that didn't quite work. I also really like doing two hizas in a row, one to each side (also from Greg; I think he has a short video of doing three in a row with Kyle somewhere?). The second one usually kills 'em.

I've also been experimenting with Bob Rea's idea of pulling the hand to my hip (as opposed to the old "look at your watch" elbow up method). At first it didn't work very well, but then I realized I was still too close to uke (I hadn't disturbed his posture). Once I got better at stepping a little further away (Kyle's "x plus 1" rule), this got his shoulders out in front of his hips, and the hand to hip idea worked much nicer and easier (still propping uke's elbow with my left, obviously).

Sean Ashby wrote:
Of course, I also find hiza as a wonderful follow-up to another throw that didn't quite work. I also really like doing two hizas in a row, one to each side (also from Greg; I think he has a short video of doing three in a row with Kyle somewhere?). The second one usually kills 'em.

Yeah, it's over in the Lesson Archive area under Judo. It's a group of videos we shot a few years ago, mostly non-instructional, not high-def, but still cool nonetheless. We are planning to reshoot some of these in coming months.