The Secrets Of Judo - The Little Finger & Little Toe...

A common saying among experienced Judoka is that the secret of Judo can be found in the little fingers and little toes. A somewhat mysterious saying - but simple when explained.

Gripping, as key to Judo as virtually anything else you could think of - depends on technique as well as simple strength. If you grip a gi using your little fingers, and keep your index finger and thumb relatively loose, and pointed somewhat toward uke, you’ll discover that pulling on the gi merely tightens the grip… but if you grip using your index finger and thumb, any pull at all will break your grip.

I showed this simple concept to one of our women Judoka, as the men kept pulling out of her grip at will... as soon as she saw that it was with the little finger, and not the index finger, that the grip should be held, suddenly her grips became quite difficult for the other white belts to break.

So even such a simple thing as gripping has technique involved that can vastly improve the efficient use of your strength (hmm… that sounds familiar… ) Judo often has very small points of knowledge that can increase your power and efficiency dramatically and noticeably... the correct grip is one of these little 'tricks' of knowledge.

Another bit of knowledge is the concept of the little toe... the little toe is what will make your ashiwaza efficient and smooth… just make sure that it’s touching the mat as you sweep… and only your little toe. If you can master where your little toe goes, you can master the correct positioning on ashiwaza... (now all you have to do is spend 40-50 years to get the timing down...)

Almost the whole of Judo can be learned in just a few years, but it takes a lifetime to master the small things that so dramatically change the power and efficiency of what you do. That’s the real meaning behind the saying. Look for those small changes that dramatically improve your technique. If you like to do Morote Seoinage, for example, your grip on uke’s lapel must be just a tad lower than average - and such a simple change can dramatically improve your Morote Seoinage.

When you have a favorite technique, ask your sensei to help you improve it - and then go to other Judo clubs, and ask their sensei to help you improve it. Wearing a black belt doesn’t mean you know everything (yes, shocking, but true…) - and different sensei have different tokui waza. I have a horrible time teaching the fine points of Haraitsurikomiashi - but ask me about Kannuki Gatame sometime …

Now you can walk around, sound mysterious and knowledgeable, as you expound to fellow Judoka that the real secret of Judo is in the little fingers and little toes…