Extreme Same-Stance Battles: Why They Happen & How to Win?
Understanding the Extreme Right vs. Right Position
How often do you get caught in an extreme right vs. right position? This is a scenario where both judokas are engaged in a dominant right-sided stance, but one athlete takes a deeper angle to control or neutralize their opponent’s attacks. Understanding why this happens and how to work around it is crucial for maintaining an advantage.
Generally, this position arises when one person has equal or better positioning, making it difficult for their opponent to execute right-side attacks. By moving in the opposite direction, the defending judoka can prevent their opponent from initiating offensive movements.
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Breaking Down the Positional Battle
If you establish a dominant grip by securing the back and controlling the head, you create opportunities for big osoto-gari, snapdowns, and turn throws. However, a common counter to this control is when your opponent places their chin over your hand, limiting your ability to execute these attacks.
Key Defensive Adjustments:
Chin Over the Hand Defense: When your opponent places their chin over your gripping hand, it adds weight and resistance, making osoto and turn throws difficult. The solution is to release your grip, bringing your hand higher to regain control and create attacking opportunities.
Far Side Ko-uchi Attack: When the chin remains over your hand, another effective move is stepping in for a far-side ko-uchi-gari. By shifting your weight forward and attacking the far leg, you can off-balance your opponent and force movement.
Looping into Osoto-Gari: After a failed ko-uchi attempt, looping the hand back into a strong osoto-gari can be highly effective. The transition from one attack to another keeps your opponent reacting and unable to set their own offense.
Shintaro breaks down the technique portion
Key Throwing Combinations
Osoto-Gari: After freeing the hand, you can execute a clean osoto-gari by pulling the head down and controlling posture.
Seoi-Nage: If the opponent remains upright, transitioning into a quick seoi-nage becomes a strong option.
Knee Lever Counter: Instead of directly attacking the far-side leg, a knee check can break their balance, setting up a big turn throw.
Shintaro perfoms the technique
Final Thoughts
Successfully navigating the extreme right vs. right position in Judo requires precise grip fighting, head positioning, and fluid transitions between techniques. By understanding how to manipulate the chin-over-hand dynamic and seamlessly linking attacks, you can turn defensive positions into strong offensive opportunities.
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