This is a good throw to execute from the under-over position. This is a neutral position since I don’t have control over Conor. Just because you have one hand underneath your opponents armpit doesn’t mean you have an underhook. Also, you’ll note there’s space between our hips. Normally, you want to kill space for Clinch control, but this technique requires space to move.

Hip Throw 1

As you can see in the above photo, I have a tight grip with my left hand on Conor’s underhooking elbow. Pull your opponents elbow in and down.

If you have only your wrist through, turn your thumb down to get your elbow through. The deeper your underhooking arm is, the less twist there is on your body during this throw, and the more force you can generate.

Hip Throw 1

You need to step past your opponents far foot (the side you have a grip on his elbow). A common mistake here is not to step far enough. Doing so means you have given your opponent more space to escape, plus you need to rely more on upper body strength. In this photo you can see I’ve overstepped. It’s best to over step than under step.

Hip Throw 3

If you’ve stepped correctly, you’ll have one foot either side of your opponents foot; your hips directly in front of his thigh (one butt cheek on either side); your knees should be bent; and you should be against your partners legs. Any space here is going mean wasted technique and maybe a failed throw.

Hip Throw 5

To get the throw, violently extend you legs and push your hips back. This should be enough to lift your opponent, but you should also be pulling in tight with your overhooked arm and shooting through with your underhook. Remember, as noted in a previous post on why takedowns succeed or fail, you need to bind your two bodies together.

Hip Throw 6

If you’ve executed the technique correctly, you can hold your opponent up in the air indefinitely after you’ve lifted them. To finish the throw, push your underhooked arm in the direction you’d like them to fall. Depending on how deep your underhook is and how well you managed to extend you hips will determine how high they’ll fly!

Underhook Hip Throw Video (6 seconds, 1.5MB)