Koshi Nage

Koshi Nage is a general name for any hip throw. As with other techniques in Aikido the variations are countless. Many of these techniques are borrowed from Judo but throws are seen that come from many different arts. The hip throw shown here is frequently seen as a variation on common throws in Aikido but it is not given a special name. It is the same as a throw from Jerry Peterson's SCARS. Jerry Peterson was a tunnel rat in Vietnam who developed SCARS for the military. SCARS stands for Special Combat Aggressive Reactionary Systems. The intent here is to stick strictly with the basic Aikido principles outlined in this system and stay within the system. This hip throw does that better than the traditional Aikido hip throw in Koshi Nage Off Balance. If Aikido is to be a viable martial art it needs to be very simple and effective. It also needs to be easy to learn. The hip throw taught here is so simple that so far every student that does Irimi Off Balance correctly has done the hip throw correctly the first try. Aikidoka with Judo experience like to keep the feet close together as in Uki Goshi. Uki Goshi is a different throw that is much more difficult for Nage to learn. It is also easier for Uke to step around but Uki Goshi is very fast and effective, and it was Jigoro Kano's favorite throw. Jigoro Kano developed Harai Goshi to prevent the step around. I prefer to stay strictly in an Aikido format.

Koshi Nage Off Balance is a variation of Irimi Off Balance that is used to kill or do serious damage to Uke. Regular Irimi Off Balance and Tenkan Off Balance throw Uke down and might injure Uke but they are not typically deadly and are usually followed up by a technique. Koshi Nage, particularly from arm up, is quite deadly and should only be used where deadly force is justified and required.

On nice feature of this style Koshi Nage is that for practice Nage can carefully control the throw making it safe and easy for Uke. This makes injury much less likely. It also makes it possible to do the throw in a way that makes the actual use of the throw more obvious.

With this approach, Koshi Nage is a basic method of Off Balance rather than a technique. It can be used with Arm Up and Arm Down. It can be used with many Aikido techniques. These include:

1. Nikkyo
2. Sankyo
3. Yankyo
4. Gokyo
5. Shiho Nage
6. Tenchi Nage
7. Irimi Nage

Example 1, Koshi Nage Ikkyo Omote.

Movie of Koshi Nage Ikkyo Omote.

Fig. 1 1st Koshi Step		Fig. 2 2nd Koshi Step		Fig. 3 Squat And Twist		Fig. 4 Uke Down

1. Fig. 1 shows the start. Nage has moved in and taken the 1st Koshi Step. This is the same as the 1st Irimi Step and up to this point everything is the same as Irimi Off Balance.
2. Fig. 2 shows the end of the 2nd Koshi Step. Nage's right foot is the same or slightly deeper than an Irimi Step. The difference is that for Irimi Off Balance Nage connects Uke's body to Nage's body and moves Uke with Nage as Nage moves in. The 2nd Irimi Step is the throw. For Koshi Nage, Nage moves faster than Uke so that Nage moves in front of and Under Uke. This makes the Koshi Nage move different from other Aikido moves where the stepping is the throw. It also seems to make the Koshi Nage more dangerous because the throw happens later. It is important to have Uke already falling forward over Nage as Nage takes this step in so that Uke cannot counter the throw so easily.
3. In Fig. 3 Nage is squatting and Twisting to bring Uke over Nage's hip. This can be done very slowly in practice to give good control of Uke and allow Uke to fall slowly. In this picture Nage is protecting Uke by holding Uke up and allowing Uke to roll. In lethal application Nage would use Uke's arm to drive Uke's head into the mat and not allow Uke to roll. This is not a spectacular throw because Nage is not tossing Uke into the air to make a big fall on Uke's back but the throw is potentially deadly because Nage's entire weight and Tornado Twisting power can drive Uke's head into the mat.
4. Fig. 4 shows Uke on the mat. From here Nage can turn Uke over for a regular Aikido pin. This allows Nage to take weapons and also practice bringing Uke onto Uke's face as a reminder of the real application.

Example 2, Koshi Nage Ikkyo Ura.

Movie of Koshi Nage Ikkyo Ura.

Fig. 5 Start		Fig. 6 1st Koshi Step		Fig. 7 2nd Koshi Step		Fig. 8 Squat And Twist

1. Fig. 5 shows the start. Nage has stepped in front of Uke's lead foot and not as deep as for a normal Tenkan Off Balance. Nage's foot needs to end up outside Uke's feet so that it is not as easy for Uke to step around the Koshi Nage.
2. Fig. 6 shows the 1st Koshi Step after Nage's right foot has pivoted. Nage's foot should be in front of Uke's foot.
3. Fig. 7 shows the end of the 2nd Koshi Step. Nage's left foot is placed beside Uke's rear foot. In a normal Tenkan Off Balance Nage steps deeper and is careful to not let Uke's body touch Nage's body. In the Koshi Nage, Nage's hip is under Uke's hip and Uke falls over Nage's hip. It is important to have Uke already falling backward over Nage as Nage takes this step in so that Uke cannot counter the throw so easily.
4. In Fig. 8 Nage is squatting and Twisting to bring Uke over Nage's hip. This can be done very slowly in practice to give good control of Uke and allow Uke to fall slowly. In this picture Nage is protecting Uke by holding Uke up and allowing Uke to roll.

		5. Fig. 9 shows Uke on the mat. From here Nage can turn Uke over for a regular Aikido pin. This allows Nage to take weapons and also practice bringing Uke onto Uke's face as a reminder of the real application.
Fig. 9 Uke Down

Example 3, Koshi Nage Arm Down Omote.

Movie of Koshi Nage Arm Down Omote.

Fig. 10 1st Koshi Step		Fig. 11 2nd Koshi Step		Fig. 12 Squat And Twist		Fig. 13 Uke Down

1. Fig. 10 shows the start. Nage has moved in and taken the 1st Koshi Step. This is the same as the 1st Irimi Step and up to this point everything is the same as Irimi Off Balance except that Nage has lifted Uke's arm so that Nage can come in under Uke's arm.
2. Fig. 11 shows the end of the 2nd Koshi Step. Nage's right foot is the same or slightly deeper than an Irimi Step. The difference is that for Irimi Off Balance Nage connects Uke's body to Nage's body and moves Uke with Nage as Nage moves in. The 2nd Irimi Step is the throw. For Koshi Nage, Nage moves faster than Uke so that Nage moves in front of and Under Uke. It is important to have Uke already falling forward over Nage as Nage takes this step in so that Uke cannot counter the throw so easily.
3. In Fig. 12 Nage is squatting and Twisting to bring Uke over Nage's hip. This can be done very slowly in practice to give good control of Uke and allow Uke to fall slowly. In this picture Nage is protecting Uke by holding Uke up and allowing Uke to roll.
4. Fig. 13 shows Uke on the mat. From here Nage can turn Uke over for a regular Aikido pin. This allows Nage to take weapons and also practice bringing Uke onto Uke's face as a reminder of the real application.

Example 4, Koshi Nage Arm Down Ura.

Movie of Koshi Nage Arm Down Ura.

Fig. 14 Start		Fig. 15 1st Koshi Step		Fig. 16 2nd Koshi Step		Fig. 17 Squat And Twist

1. Fig. 14 shows the start. Nage has stepped in front of Uke's lead foot and not as deep as for a normal Tenkan Off Balance. Nage's foot needs to end up outside Uke's feet so that it is not as easy for Uke to step around the Koshi Nage.
2. Fig. 15 shows the 1st Koshi Step after Nage's right foot has pivoted. Nage's foot should be in front of Uke's foot.
3. Fig. 16 shows the end of the 2nd Koshi Step. Nage's left foot is placed beside Uke's rear foot. In a normal Tenkan Off Balance Nage steps deeper and is careful to not let Uke's body touch Nage's body. In the Koshi Nage, Nage's hip is under Uke's hip and Uke falls over Nage's hip. It is important to have Uke already falling backward over Nage as Nage takes this step in so that Uke cannot counter the throw so easily.
4. In Fig. 17 Nage is squatting and Twisting to bring Uke over Nage's hip. This can be done very slowly in practice to give good control of Uke and allow Uke to fall slowly. In this picture Nage is protecting Uke by holding Uke up and allowing Uke to roll.

		5. Fig. 18 shows Uke on the mat. From here Nage can turn Uke over for a regular Aikido pin. This allows Nage to take weapons and also practice bringing Uke onto Uke's face as a reminder of the real application.
Fig. 18 Uke Down