横車

I just learned the coolest throw in the known universe -- yoko guruma (横車, "side wheel"). It works just like shown there -- step around, drop, roll to the left, and throw uke over your left shoulder, all in one fluid motion. Here's a video.

It's actually a lot easier than I thought it would be at first -- it seemed to come to me quite naturally, while some of the kids had a bit of trouble with it. My biggest concern was avoiding any inadvertent face plants either when throwing or being thrown, and that didn't turn out to be a problem either.

Funny thing, too...tonight I noticed on the way in to class that I'm starting to feel more like a judoka and less like a guy who happens to wear funny pajamas to the gym a few nights a week. I'm about as far away from judo godliness as you can get, but feeling like I'm able to put in an effort instead of just floundering is pretty cool.

Okay, maybe it's not the coolest throw in the universe, but currently it's the coolest throw in my universe. =)