Judo

I must admit to being quite confused in my younger days when the topic of Nami Juji Jime, Gyaku Juji Jime, and Kata Juji Jime came up... I always got confused by the hand position, and which one was which.  Anyone here have that problem?

I finally solved it with a little association... but first, hold both your hands out at shoulder level...

One of the biggest problems that Judoka have with combinations - is the placement of the driver leg, ie; the leg that is still on the ground, and providing the most force for the throw.  Even if you have both feet on the ground, such as in a right sided Seoinage, both legs do not equally provide power, in this case, it would be the left leg which is the driver leg.

You haven’t been seeing very many posts recently - but yes, I do have an excuse.  I’m working on a new Judo website that when finished - will probably take the place of ‘BestJudo’.

Unfortunately, it will be at least another month or two before it’s ready to show the world - but when it’s ready - those who visit Best Judo will get the news before anyone else does.

Those who’ve ever paid attention while I’m teaching a class know the emphasis I keep placing on being able to attack to the left side.  It’s a skill that is desperately needed the higher you go in competition.

Most Judoka practice at least some Uchikomi during standup practice at every practice, but how many Judoka realize that Uchikomi is just as valuable on the mat?

When drilling a new pin variation, turnover, or guard entry - you should be doing it multiple times… and do it as AnnMarie De Mars - former World Champion, recommends: try to speed it up each time.  Make your goal to be as fast as you can with the given technique.

Just got back from an Encino Judo Club tournament and Clinic on Saturday. We were fortunate to have AnnMaria De Mars, 6th Dan and former World Champion to teach the clinic. I thought I’d pass along a few tidbits from the class.  One interesting concept that she passed along was on the topic of the turtle. She comments that there are just three possibilities when your opponent turtles at a shiai:

Approaching more quickly than is comfortable will be my 40th year in Judo… I’m already beyond the 35 year mark…

So it comes as a surprise to run across a Judo throw that I’ve never seen before.  This technique isn’t even close enough to another technique for me to be able to put a name to it!  Last week, I put a couple of our black belts on the mat, and had the entire class ‘run the line’, doing randori with both black belts.  Ludovic, a shodan from France, and Helmudt, a shodan from Germany.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsuka - when they remark on Judo’s Newaza, will often comment on the explosive and fast nature of it, in comparison to the slow, deliberate, and patient nature of BJJ’s technique.

In my last post, I explored briefly the advantages of randori & kata, and why they have their places… but a recent post in ‘rec.martial-arts’ newsgroup brought a new facet to light.  A martial beginner tried three different classes in the same week, one was Judo, and two were jujutsu styles that evidently don’t train the way Judo does.  Here’s a snippet of the post:

There was a time when I believed that randori - being what set Judo apart from Jujutsu, was the key to learning Judo.  I felt, as did many sensei, that you should do your warmups, then spend 70-80% of the class time in randori.  (With the other 20-30% spread among ukemi, uchikomi, kata, and instruction).