This was truly one of my most hated throws. In 2009, on one of my semi-annual sojourns to San Diego to train with my Mantis Boxing coach at the time, I was introduced to this personal menace known as a ‘thigh lift throw’, or in Judo - ‘uchi mata’.
The primary purpose of this trip, was for my teacher to share with me the 20 throws of Mantis Boxing that his 8-Step Mantis Boxing teacher had shared with him. We were to meet up with another of his Black Belt's - Mike Dasargo, and work on these techniques at Mike's school.
As the coach would show each throw, Mike and I would work on them together, and I would scribble notes down as we went. Doing my best to catalog each throw and its variations. As the day went on, we finally arrived on the ‘thigh lift throw’, what I have affectionately named the Tiger Tail Throw (as it looks like the tail of a tiger sticking up). A ferocious takedown.
I don't know what it was, but this throw was the single most difficult one for me to get. Maybe I was getting hungry, or having a 'short day' (sarcastic reference to my height), but this one was just not clicking. It seemed like a throw for taller people; at least that was my whiny excuse at the time. I took it down my notes, maybe even left a nasty comment in there, practiced a bit more, and moved on.
When I returned from San Diego, my ritual was to work on everything I did on the trip as soon as possible, so I would not lose it. I practiced this throw along with all the all 19 other throws even though I didn't care for it.
I'm not sure what happened next, but eventually, this throw became one of my favorite takedowns in Mantis Boxing, and probably the one I use with the highest frequency. Most likely...since I worked on it more than all of the others because of the difficulty I had with it, it began to morph and I adapted to it, and it to me.
In this video, I'm not only sharing the Tiger Tail Throw with you, but additionally the alternative throws (Descending Dragon, Demon Wheel, Retreat Astride Tiger, Mantis Hangs from Branch), Knee Strikes, Guillotine Chokes, that I use when someone counters this throw, or I miss on the execution.
Timestamps:
Tiger Tail Throw - (2:05)
Descending Dragon Takedown - (5:39)
Demon Wheel & Guillotine Choke - (7:00)
Knee Strike & Shoulder Lock - (8:02)
Retreat Astride Tiger - (8:50)
Mantis Hangs from Branch - (10:40)
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