Last night at judo, I had a simple experiment: Just maintain good posture. Head up, no bending forward unless I was finishing a throw. While I was still getting chucked, it was mostly after I had attempted a throw. Good posture, as they keep telling you, is automatic defense that's almost free.
It also made entering for throws a little easier because you can reach further when your hips aren't pushed back. And then just now, an
interview with Maruyama was posted in which he talks about just that.
Another thing I validated: I have more leverage with the sleeve grip when I can pull it across the body. I was able to land a sode osotogari that way, in which I really got the upper body moving. Of course, it is hard to get in a situation in which you can pull the sleeve across, but you're in a highly advantageous situation when that condition is met.