Ushiro-goshi (back hip) is a counter throw from the fifth group of the gokyo. When uke turns in for o-goshi or harai-goshi without breaking your balance, you block the entry and wrap him from behind. One snap of the hips lifts him off the mat, and he drops onto his back in front of you.
How a hip throw becomes your counter
Every successful hip throw needs tori lower than uke, under his center of gravity. Turn that around. If you are the lower one at the moment he spins in, he ends up sitting on your hip instead of you on his. Only now he is facing away from you.
Ushiro-goshi is built on that reversal. It belongs to the koshi-waza (hip techniques) of nage-waza, in the fifth group of the Kodokan gokyo, alongside other counters such as ura-nage.
Ushiro-goshi in four steps (right-handed)
Uke attacks with a right-sided o-goshi and turns his back to you.
First, block. Bend your knees and drive your hips forward into his buttocks. His entry stops dead.
Second, wrap. Your left arm circles his waist. Your right hand keeps the lapel or slides to the front of his jacket. Your stomach is glued to his back.
Third, lift. Straighten your legs explosively and thrust your hips forward and up. Uke leaves the ground by a few inches, sometimes more.
Finally, drop. While he is in the air, pull your hips back slightly. His legs swing forward and his hips fall, so he lands on his back in front of you. Keep control of his upper body to guide the landing.
Mistakes that cost you the throw (or your back)
The big one is lifting with the arms while arching backward. Strong young adults do this a lot. It works once and the lower back pays for it later.
Other classic errors:
- a gap between your stomach and his back, which lets uke slide down to the mat;
- a slow lift, which uke feels coming and kills by widening his stance;
- letting go of uke in the air, so he lands on his neck or shoulders.
Ushiro-goshi vs utsuri-goshi
The lift is the same. In utsuri-goshi, tori shifts his hip in front of uke while he is airborne and throws him again like an o-goshi. In ushiro-goshi, tori simply lets him fall in front.
Learn ushiro-goshi first. The movement is simpler and it grooves the correct lift. Once that lift is reliable, utsuri-goshi usually comes within a few sessions.
When to use it in randori and shiai
Use it against flat hip entries made without any kuzushi. It also works against harai-goshi when uke turns in while staying tall on his legs. Rushed opponents give you this opening most often: late in a match, or when they are behind on the scoreboard.
Against a much heavier opponent it gets hard, sometimes impossible. Pick a counter that needs no lift instead, like yoko-guruma or a well-timed ura-nage.
Drills to learn ushiro-goshi
Start with the lift alone. Uke stands with his back to you. Lift him and set him back on his feet ten times. Then lift him and set him down gently in a sitting position. That is already most of the technique.
Next, uke enters with a slow o-goshi. Block, lift, set down. The last stage is the counter against unannounced attacks in light randori.
The block from step one is worth drilling for its own sake. Even if you never finish with ushiro-goshi, learning to drop your hips at the right moment will save you from a lot of hip throws.