Osaekomi

Author: Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki
Pub: 1997 by Ippon Books
Pages: 112
Ranking:

This is one of the 'Judo Masterclass Techniques' series of books. If you don't already own these books, start saving up right now... Ippon Books charges a pretty penny for these, I got lucky on a Christmas sale and picked up all 14 of them for $225. They are all at least as good as anything you'll be able to find anywhere else, and mostly superior. They are all written by acknowledged experts of the techniques being discussed. You simply cannot go wrong on any of the "Masterclass Techniques" books. I have my favorites among the 14 listed books, but they simply reflect my tokuiwaza, and no other reason.

                 Contents

 Foreword ................................ 7
 A Personal View ......................... 8
 A History of Osaekomi .................. 13
 A Technical Introduction ............... 17
 Yoko-shiho-gatame ...................... 19
 Kami-shiho-gatame ...................... 27
 Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame ............... 31
 Tate-shiho-gatame ...................... 35
 Kesa-gatame ............................ 41
 Ushiro-kesa-gatame ..................... 45
 Kata-gatame ............................ 47
 Ura-gatame ............................. 51
 Uki-gatame ............................. 53
 Applications 
     When your opponent is on all fours . 55
     When you are below your opponent ... 69
     When your opponent is below ........ 79
     When you are below ................. 85
 Various escapes and traps .............. 87
 Training Exercises ..................... 92
 Competition Osaekomi ................... 95
 Index ................................. 110

FORWARD

0saekomi is the root of all newaza. However much an individual may want to work on armlocks or strangles, it is vital to start with a sound knowledge of osaekomi-waza. Learning how to turn an opponent into a hold, and then keep him there is one of the key skills of judo.

And no one who has been on the tatami with Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki will ever forget what it is like to be summarily controlled, flattened and crushed. Large opponents, small opponents, the strong and the supple -- all are gradually hauled in by those arms, steered by the legs, turned more often than not, with obi-tori-gaeshi and shackled in tate-shiho-gatame or yoko-shiho-gatame. As inevitably as light follows day.

But it was experience gained in the hard school. When a relatively junior member of Japan's international team, Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki was, one day, preparing for a major tournament. One of the national coaches decided he needed extra pressure during one of the last national training sessions before the event.

'If you are beaten once in newaza in this practice, you will not go to the competition and represent Japan,' he said. And he meant it.

The task was a hard one. Though acknowledged as a superb newaza fighter, and a specialist in osaekomi, Kashiwazaki was just 65 kilos -- and on the mat was the pride of Japan including the leading heavyweights in the world. To go unscathed during a gruelling uninterrupted hour of newaza was a tall order.

In the first practice, Kashiwazaki faced a larger opponent, and was forced to go all out to gain control, but after a minute or so, he slapped on tate-shiho-gatame. The man struggled, but after about 45 seconds realised it was hopeless. He tapped. Kashiwazaki ignored it. He tapped again. It was ignored again. For the next hour, Kashiwazaki maintained that hold, occasionally changing when mood or circumstance dictated it. And, at the end of the session the coach had no recourse but to acknowledge that the young fighter had completed the task set up -- however unconventionally.

This was just one indication of the reputation in Japan for Kashiwazaki's ground work skills, and especially for holds. It showed his skills were allied to intelligence -- and humour.

Another more academic indication is the fact that in the 1980s, Kindai Judo, the leading Japanese judo magazine, chose Kashiwazaki to write a series on newaza. And in the late 1990s, it returned again to Kashiwazaki for another series on newaza.

Here, then, is his exposition on the whole subject of osaekomi. It is a masterly account, though he makes no claim to being comprehensive. The variations of the holds and the turns into the holds are far to numerous for a volume of this kind.

But the fundamental principles are here explained and illustrated -- the principles which brought Kashiwazaki his world title in 1981, no fewer than five consecutive national titles, and mastery on the tatami of the world.

Nicolas Soames
Masterclass Series Editor