Tai Otoshi

Tai Otoshi (Leg Drop)
This throw is great for people with long legs, and it can be taken from many different grips in both gi and nogi.  It's the throw that I default to about 90% of the time and it works very well in competition.  I've modified the grips quite a bit from the standard way it was taught to me in judo to allow me an easier time of using it in jiu-jitsu.

Making contact:
- Start with left leg forward, opponent standing in front of you with their left leg forward.
- Circle with an eye to establish one of the following grips:
    - left arm gripping opponent's lapel (pulling towards you with your elbow close to your torso)
    - left arm underhooking opponent's right arm
    - left arm overhooking opponent's right arm (in gi grab his collar to lock the overhook in tightly, in nogi just squeeze your arm around his to trap it.
    - left arm gripping the opponent's belt deeply (near the middle of the back)
- Once that grip is established, it's usually pretty easy to get the right arm gripping opponent's sleeve (in nogi just grab the arm)  just above his left elbow

Unbalancing:
- Step back a quarter circle in the clockwise direction, while maintaining your grips, pulling your opponent forward.
- Immediately push off with your right foot and step your left leg deep behind your opponent's left leg.  (Keep a tight grip on the opponent's right arm, and keep pulling it low towards the floor to keep them off balance.)

Throw:
- Keeping a tight grip on your opponent with both hands, spin your upper body to the right.  Remember to look in the direction of your throw.
- Explosively straighten your left leg as you pull the opponent across it.

Well executed you will land heavily on your opponent in side control.  It's always a great start to a match when this happens.