The Road to Shodan

Fwd: Maybe I should post something here after all....

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:55:00 +0000

Wow, I was looking at my blog and realized that I haven't posted
anything since May! that's a real long time. Let me start by saying
this - I haven't quit Judo. I still go to class and help teach the
kids class on Sundays. Truthfully, I've only been going an average of
once a week for the past six months or so, primarily because I've
started a new job, and my schedule often finds me working too late to
get to class. I've also gained a lot of weight as well, and if that
wasn't complicated enough, we were all trying to get used to the new
baby - who is shortly turning 14 months.

Because of my lack of practice, I haven't felt up to competing either.
Some of you might think that I should just go compete, but I view it
this way - I only compete when I feel that I am prepared to win, and
in my current shape, I am not prepared to win.

All that aside, I have been enjoying Judo in different ways. I really
enjoy helping out in the kids class, especially being able to teach
Judo to my son. My second son usually comes for the ride, and will
participate in warm-ups and the occasional round of Sumo-Style circle
fighting. Unfortunately, at 4 and a half, he is not quite ready for
Judo yet.

I have also expressed interest in refereeing, so my Sensei has allowed
me to referee the kids practice matches, and I will hopefully ref a
few rounds in our upcoming club competition next week. I enjoyed the
reffing session, and people thought most of my calls were good (except
for a Koka that I missed and sensei picked up on), but it was hard
reffing my own son's match - he was expecting my coaching and
guidance, which I just couldn't give him being the referee.

That's it for now, but I hope to post a lot more frequently in the future.

The Catch-all Post for April

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:13:00 +0000

So I haven't posted anything in six weeks, and yet I still hope I have some loyal readers left. April has proven to be a busy month for me - I am about to switch jobs, and I took a two-week vacation as well. April was also a great month in Judo for me, as my Son passed his Yellow belt test.

He also executed a picture perfect ippon seoinage in a 'Mock Shiai'. My wife, who seldom comes to practice, was very impressed. Although he'll be playing some baseball over the next few weeks, he will be coming back to Judo soon, and is excited about working towards his orange belt.

The other day, we were at a family get-together, and one of his cousins was bullying him a bit, hitting him a couple of times. Mitch stepped in and was about to throw the kid with O-Uchi Gari just as my wife, the kids' mom, and I intervened. At first, I scolded him. But when I realized he was defending himself, I apologized, and told him that if that happens again, throw the kid, pin him and call for help.

Earlier this week, my middle one expressed some interest in Judo too. Maybe I will have a lot more to write about in the coming months.

Is Judo Getting Stronger and more visible?

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:26:00 +0000

I know it's been a while since my last post - as usual, my life gets busy and I don't have time for blogging or Judo.

I also haven't been busy reviewing the Judo web, so I hopped back on today and discovered a few interesting things:

Rhadi Ferguson, Ronda Rousey, and Jason Morris were interviewed by the Wall Street Journal Online - while it's not as popular as the print version, nonetheless, its great that one of the top 5 most circulated newspapers in the us picked up a story on Judo.
Of course, even though LeBron and Gisele grace its cover, if you look inside April's edition of Vouge, Ronda Rousey is one of the athletes featured in their shape issue (which I've yet to see).
And then finally, Dr. AnnMaria DeMars indicated that a lot of the pictures she was sent for Growing Judo showed Judo events attended by hundreds of people.

With all that, every time I go to my own dojo, I always see a new face or two. It leads me to believe that Judo is growing - even if I am not playing.

Judo and Stress

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We all have stress in our daily lives - whether it comes from pressures at work, or at home; From our Spouses/Significant Others, from our parents, and from our kids. Stress can take a toll on your body and on your mind. Thankfully for me, Judo has been a great source of stress relief.

I was feeling a bit stressed out over the last few days, and then I went to Judo last night and it made it so much better - my stress was pretty much gone. Yes, I might wind up taking out some of my frustrations on various ukes, but at the same time, I know that they are doing the same with me - so it all balances out.

As for updates, I had a good practice last night. I was getting killed in Ne-Waza and I think I need to improve my skills there, but I had a good couple of rounds in Randori, and re-discovered that I can Actually throw people with O-Soto Gari!

Gleaning knowledge from Kata

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:45:00 +0000

So I have been learning Nage-No-Kata for over a year now, and up until recently, I would just walk through the techniques, one-by-one, but never really execute them. Basically it was a moving uchikomi. Recently, at the cajoling of my Sensei, I started to throw as well as be thrown when practicing the NNK. As I am now taking Kata to the next level, I have started to notice several things, that were not so clear before. First and foremost, my techniques are improving. It's as if the movements in the NNK are working on building muscle memory for better form. Secondly, other techniques are starting to click and trickle into my 'combat' repetoire.

But most important of all, I am gaining an appreciation for the role of Uke in the NNK. I am learning the dynamics of the throws better, as well as getting a lot of ukemi practice along the way. Personally, I don't think that I am alone in saying that Uke is a harder role. But in being the Uke, I better understand what my actions need to be when I am tori.

I hope this doesn't sound like rambling, and that it makes some kind of sense.

Feeling bad about hurting someone else

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:58:00 +0000

So there was a pretty small crew in the Dojo last night - only 6 of us - and that is including our two senseis. I had a very long run through of Nage-No-Kata, and as uke, I am also taking throws as opposed to just going through the motions.

We then did Uchikomi followed by Ne-waza practice. I was trying to work on my turnovers and particularly turning uke from Prone into Kata-ha-jime. Somehow I was a little over zealous, and I managed to tweak my Uke's neck. Normally this isn't a big deal, but he was really stiff. I felt really bad - as his night was done, and I was concerned that he really hurt himself.

I know that Judo is a contact sport, and people do get hurt, but it hurts me that I hurt someone, especially when being careless.

I hope he's okay.

How Football and Basketball improve my Judo (and maybe yours too).

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:20:00 +0000

So I am ecstatic - my unlikely champions - the NY Giants, beat all odds and shocked the world when they became World Champions last night and made the 'perfect' patriots, just one bit less perfect. (By the way, while the Patriots have won 3 championships in the last 7 years, they have also lost 2 as well). Of course, I always hoped my Giants would win, even while acknowledging that the Patriots would be a difficult team to beat.

In every discussion and interview and news blurb regarding the Superbowl, one important factor stood out in my mind. Whenever any of the Giants were asked about the Patriots being 18 and 0, they simply brushed it off as those games don't count anywhere as nearly as much as the one we are going to play. They knew they were the underdog, they new that the Pats were favorites and had a perfect season on the line - but they didn't let it get to them!

This, in my opinion was why they won, why their defense persevered and shut down Brady and Moss, and why their offense found ways to shine when it counted the most - because they were not intimidated by who they were playing.

Last week, before the Superbowl, and while this discussion was going on, (and in the wake of a very sloppy Judo session), I reminded myself of a time where I tried out for the Camp Basketball team.

Let's preface this by saying that I have been 5'10-11" or so since then - since I was a junior in High school. In high school, we had a small team, and 5'10 and change was enough to make me a second-string forward and occasional center. But on the camp team, I was more or less a dwarf. The average guy on the team was about 6'1". But I knew they were having an open tryout and figured I had nothing to lose.

The tryout was pretty much a 5-on-5 full-court game. The Captain/Manager of the team was the head lifeguard and also my boss. He would basically take people from the tryouts list and have them play in the game alongside existing team members. I was kind of nervous at first, and then I realized that I needed to calm down and step up my play to match my opponent. And that's what I did.

I probably played my best basketball ever that night, and then, the unexpected happened - I was playing one of the best players on the team - a 6' 3" forward, he started to drive the lane against me and I knew that he was going to try to go in for a lay up. I stayed with him the whole time, realized when he was going up, and timed my jump perfectly. My hand found nothing but ball, and slammed it hard to the side of the court. Everyone stopped. no one could believe that I, who was never known for being picked first on the court, could "stuff" a guy with four inches on me and much better skills. It energized me. I played with even more intensity, and even though I ultimately didn't make the team, I was so glad that I had had the opportunity and rose to the challenge. The reason I didn't make the team was not because I didn't try hard enough, or because I didn't get a fair shot - but quite the contrary, I didn't make it because even when I gave 110% and had a fair shot, my skills weren't good enough.

But I definitely learned some valuable lessons from that experience and from listening to the Giants this past week:

Look to be challenged by playing those that are stronger and more experienced than you - you WILL rise up to the occasion and sometimes even surprise yourself.
No matter who your opponent is - don't be intimidated by them because they've won ___. If they are only human they too will lose even in a perfect season, or at least get a shot blocked by someone 4-inches shorter.

What I am saying right now isn't anything new. It's something that you might have heard in a similar vane from Rhadi Ferguson, or AnnMaria DeMars, or a whole bunch of other Judo Senseis and coaches out there. Each one of us has our own stories of where we played our most difficult opponents and still managed to eke out a win, against all odds, or even if we didn't win - where we rose up to the challenge and played better than we had imagined.

Here's the rub - the more we look to be challenged, the more of these moments that we will have, and the more of those moments we have, we might ultimately become the elite Judokas that others need to not be intimidated by.

Being a Judo Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:57:00 +0000

As I've mentioned a couple of times before, I have 3 sons, the oldest of which, my 6-year-old, is currently a Judoka. As a father, one of the toughest things that one does is take a reality check whenever you want your children to start an activity to determine if this is something that they would want for themselves or something that you want for them to live vicariously through them. The minute that someone suggested he try martial arts as a means to build up his discipline and self-confidence, was the minute that I began looking into Judo options for him.

Yes I considered both TKD and Karate as valid options for him (of course I would have never consented to some of the McDojoes that I had visited in the process), but once my own dojoes class schedule changed to make Judo available to him, I jumped in with both feet. My son is 6 and has an attention span to match. So clearly his focus is not as good as that of a 9-year-old. Yet at the same time, each week, I see him making steady progress, and although he occasionally complains on the mat when things don't go his way, I've never heard him complain about Judo - until last week. Our dojo was closed because of MLK day (our dojo is run out of a Community College and we're beholden to their schedule, with all due respect to MLK, I am sure that he would want a sport that sees no color to hold classes on his birthday). He turned to me and said - 'Daddy, I don't like Judo, I don't think I want to go anymore'. He seemed pretty serious about it, and admittedly, I was hurt. I didn't push the subject, but I mentioned to him that why doesn't he stay for the rest of the semester and then see if he likes it. He really let the issue lie fallow, and didn't say anything about it. Yesterday we just went along to class. Yes there are a million things he needs to improve at, and yes, he still sometimes gets frustrated - but then there is this smile on his face - that tells me how much he enjoys playing. How much he enjoys his friends, competing against them in Randori, Ne-Waza or sumo-wrestling, and I know that I made the right decision.

Then there is the middle one. Because of the newborn, my soon to be 4-year-old son tags along as well. I will be the first to admit that its hard to keep him off the mat, and I am sure that some of you will flame me for trying to juggle helping out on the mat, and keeping an active toddler off of it at the same time, but unfortunately, this is the reality I need to address. Whenever I ask my little Mikey about taking up Judo, he emphatically replies "Judo is not for me!" His only concession to the notion of his participation in Judo is when he asks me if he can get a Blue Gi. But on the side of the mat, one would think that he's gleaning a thing or two. Yesterday, I watched gleefully as he was trying to do the warmups from the side of the mat. Then, when I was showing some of our younger students basic Katame-Waza, Mikey wouldn't get off the mat, so I used him to help teach. (don't worry, I was only teaching had positioning, and not dropping my weight on him). Even at the very end of class, Sensei asked all of the kids to Duck Jump and Duck walk across the mats. I tried to cajole Mikey into doing it too. He was in a shy mood, and asked me to hold him - so I did. I wrapped him around my waist and did the Duck Jump with him on my lap. He loved it, it was like a horsey ride for him. I then repeated it for the duck walk.

On the way home, I asked him if he liked Judo and wanted to try it. He still responded "Judo is not for me!" - of course, this is such a canned reaction, and I couldn't wonder if he really felt that way even after all of the fun he had.

Hmm.... I wonder if Toraki has a blue gi in size 000?

Making The Most of Randori

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:16:00 +0000

Balancing Judo and my family is a hard deal - especially with the new baby. My wife groans when I go to Judo - now 2 nights a week. And I have been getting there a little later than usual as I plan on getting a handful of things done at home before going to class so that my wife doesn't feel like I am leaving her out in the cold.

I showed up about 25 minutes late last night, and quickly warmed up. Everyone was doing Uchikomi and Sensei had me work with a Yellow belt who was working on Koshi-Waza - Namely Tsurikomi Goshi and Harai Goshi. I was giving him instruction, and indicated that some of the Kuzushi and entry and form of Tsurikomi Goshi would be useful for Tsurkomi, Harai, Uchimata (to a lesser extent) and Hane Goshi. As I walked him through the motions, I noticed that my technique has actually improved. To the point where as I explain the theory to him, I am actually practicing it as well (as opposed giving him the 'do as I say, not as I do' speech before showing him anything).

I also had some good challenges in Newaza, one Black Belt, two Brown Belts and a strong yellow belt. In all three cases I was fighting from the turtle a lot. Sensei was getting on me to attack more and not play so defensively. Still, I managed to not get pinned or subbed, and I got 2 subs in the whole process. My favorite submission of late is extending uke's arm in Kesa-Gatame, and it is still new enough that I can pull it off on a couple of people in the dojo without too much trouble.

In Randori, Sensei was telling me that I was too passive as well. I started to play a little more intensely. I managed to get a few good O-Uchi's off, as well as a nice K-ouchi, and I have also improved my timing for Seoinage, but not quite to the point where I feel I can pull it off.

Sensei told me to keep working on the O-Uchi as it is a great technique to follow-up with Uchimata, Tai Otoshi, and of course, K-Ouchi. Yet I still want to get the Seoinage going. I'll let you know what happens next week.

Finally, one of my three Randori opponents was a Yellow Belt, much smaller than I. (Fear not, I haven't given up on being challenged, I played an evenly size-matched shodan and sankyu as well). He was very quick, and liked to fight for grips. I saw this opportunity to try an off the grip Sode - and it worked! It was nice throw, with clean technique, but then I realized it was against someone smaller, lighter and less-experienced. Still, I now know that I can pull it off, so I need to try it on someone bigger, heavier and more experienced.

Nemesis

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:16:00 +0000

Everyone one of us, in every dojo that we've ever been to has one - a nemesis. That one (or maybe more, or maybe one every few years) Judoka in our dojo or on the competition circuit who always seems to have our number. Our technique improves and evolves, but somehow, this person is always one step ahead.

They are our goal. Just one match one, or one good unquestionable ippon-worthy throw in Randori. Don't get me wrong, this isn't petty or vindictive, this is about improvement. It's about knowing that no matter how good your technique is and how much you've improved and yet there is still one person that it doesn't work for.

That person is the one person you want to play when it's time for Randori, and the one person you feel the greatest challenge from. You will try progressively harder with them each time, and for a while they might have their way with you.

Then one day, out of the blue. You throw them. It feels so good - and it motivates you even more.

The Value of Yudansha

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 03:00:00 +0000

The semester starts this coming week, and I am now going back to my full Judo schedule again - 2x practices a week plus helping out with the kids class. I hope that my wife doesn't protest to much, especially since the Baby's witching hour has kind of gone by the wayside, so that she can actually do things in the house while I am gone.

We had an 'intersession' practice for both adults and kids last Sunday in the regular kids spot. It was a nice practice, especially since when I get on the mat with my son I don't generally get to practice much myself, and most of our black-belts were on the mat as well. I got to do Uchikomi with three of our Yudansha, all of which had great advice for my technique (and Sensei even gave me two or three bits of advice on Seoinage) - and that experience leads me to my topic - The Value of Yudansha.

One of the more common questions that beginners have is how many beginners do you typically have. Yes they want people to go through the ranks with, but some of them are also intimidated by the prospect of going a few rounds in Randori with black belts. They're scared off by the prospect of being the one cog in the class that slows down a group of experienced athletes, and that they might be in over their heads. The reality is, that this mentality is the opposite of reality - the more Black Belts and experienced Judoka you play with, the better off you are. When you practice - be it Uchikomi, Ne-Waza or Randori - with someone more experienced, their experience will rub off.

We all learn a lot from our Sensei, but each and everyone of us has certain little nuances that we apply to techniques. Each and everyone of us has gripping strategies, and combinations and moves that we sometimes share with our dojomates - either explicitly or implicitly by practicing with them. While all that I have said so far holds true for most Kyu-grades as well, obviously with Yudansha, the level of technique and experience is generally better, and it shows. While many of my colleagues have shown me stuff, I have learned lots more from the regular, good-ol' black belts in our Dojo, and I am thankful that we have a good handful of them to help me progress along my journey.

Searching for Seoinage

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:16:00 +0000

During my holiday break, I was thinking more and more about improving my Judo, and especially expanding my Randori/Shiai repetoire. One technique, that I keep coming back to is Seoi-Nage. It was a little over three years ago that I returned to Judo, and in my first session, I started doing Uchikomi. I went through the litany of techniques and decided to stick with one of the most basic. I started with Morote Seoinage. Within a few minutes, Sensei commented that I hadn't lost it, and that my technique was still good. But somehow, I have neglected Seoi-Nage since then, focusing more on Uchimata and O-Uchi Gari among others. Yet Seoinage is still that awesome powerful throw.

I guess I am waxing nostalgic for many reasons. For starters, a friend of mine lent me his Koga Video where Koga Demonstrates his winning seoinage techniques, I also saw a phenomenal standing seoinage when I was at the Nakabayashi tournament, and finally
I recently purchased the Masterclass Series 'Seoi-Nage' book on sale and I thought that I would use it to help my technique.

Obviously, there are many elements to a good Seoinage, and first and foremost is form and position on entry - once that's in place, I can begin to work on timing, setup and execution.

I discovered that I tend to lean forward when spinning in for seoinage, as well as don't get down deep enough. So far I have been practicing by doing a lot of squats - while trying to keep my back up and straight - and also adding a spinning element to it - i.e. I start standing, then spin in as if I were going to execute and squat while spinning, so that when I finish my 180 degree turn, I am in the down position - I spring straight back up from there, and then start the spin again, the other way.

Hopefully, this is a good beginning, practice resumes on Sunday. so hopefully I will be able to report my progress.

If you want to help offer advice, please feel free to comment.

Women's Judo is more than Just a sport

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:09:00 +0000

I came across an interesting article by way of the JudoForum. A group of women in the UAE have started their own National Judo and Sambo team. Why is this so special? Because this sort of thing is frowned upon in their country! Yet they have found a sport that they love and have decided to promote it.

I am not a women, I have 3 sons, my wife won't step on a mat, and I can count on my hand the number of women that I have practiced with, but at the same time, its articles like these that show how powerful Women's Judo is. It goes beyond exercise, fitness and competition, it goes beyond self-defense - it's about empowerment.

In in this case, because it goes against societal norms, empowerment goes even further. I wish the UAE Judo team well, and I hope that they help promote Judo in their country and abroad.

Do or Do Not - There is no try

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:57:00 +0000

With the end of the year upon us, a lot of you have probably given some thought to New Year's resolutions. I have too - this year, I've decided to stop trying -at least in Judo.

Yes, I really did say that, but there is some greater context here, as foreshadowed by the quote above from the character Yoda in the Star Wars movies. Think about how we use the word try in a sentence? While try is perfectly neutral in the future or present tense (i.e. I will try to eat that food, or I am trying on clothes) it almost always connotes failure or disappointment in when used in the past tense (i.e. I tried it on, but didn't fit, or I tried it, but I didn't like it) while there are notable exceptions (i.e. I'm glad I tried it), the moral of the story is it is rare to hear someone say "I tried and succeeded."

Think of all of the times we say were going to try to do something and as the words leave our lips it's apparent to the person we're saying them to that our intent is not to get the job done. How many times have we 'tried to lose weight' or 'tried to get to practice often and early' and failed? How many times have we 'tried' to compete? I am tired of trying. Trying is great for school, but in life there are seldom any 'A's awarded for effort.

So this year, I am going to stop trying, and start doing. I will go to practice, I will improve my Judo, I will compete 2-5 times and I will win. As for the last line, you might be wondering, how does someone like me even insinuate that I will win - seeing that winning is hard for me. The answer - if I came into a competition saying that I was going to try to win, I wouldn't - simply because I've already psyched myself out. No goes out trying to win - they set out to win. In their mind there is a picture of the podium and their on top in the middle.

This is the year that I will not try, but do. Hopefully it will carry over outside of judo as well.

Combinations and Weight Loss Update

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:39:00 +0000

I went to practice on Wednesday night - it was our last practice of the year and it was followed by our holiday party. Some of the people brought their kids, but I didn't - it was a little too late for me to be able to send Mitch. Unfortunately I wound up being a bit late, but I still got a lot of Uchikomi practice in, and I also got in 3 rounds of Randori. I have been doing a lot of thinking about ways to improve and I decided that I would take extra efforts to do two things in Randori:

More consistently look to be challenged - i.e. Stand up first for Randori, play the biggest guys in the room, and don't sit any rounds out.
Try new things

The first is something that I think we all need to work on. While I don't mind playing the smaller and less-experienced people in the dojo, I am trying to more actively pursue the bigger guys - because they present the biggest challenge. I managed to play 3 different people - one a Sankyu who is slightly bigger and beat me in our club competition, the second is a Shodan who is very experienced and sneaky - albeit a little smaller. The third guy was a Green belt who is a former football lineman, and has a good 60-70 lbs on me at least. I had one of my toughest Randori challenges in a while, and Only managed to get one or two throws (as well as gave up 1 or 2 as well). I tried some new moves, and while they didn't work yet, I could tell that I was still a bit hesitant, I need to get over that quickly.

As for my weight, I was about 201 this morning. A Big drop-off from my mid-summer 218. I feel thinner and better, but I need to get down at least another 10 lbs - hopefully within the next 6-8 weeks. My goal is to get down to 190 or so. If I could hit 185 (a long shot) I could then cut weight and fight in the -81s but that would be difficult too.

Nonetheless, my wife even noticed the change - so its making me feel good already. I have a couple of rashguards that I wear for swimming, and each week I wear them just to see how bad my gut looks. Their finally starting to look half-decent to the point where it doesn't seem like I am trying to smuggle a 15-lb turkey under my shirt - but no washboard yet.

I hope to get to Oishi's once or twice to get some practice in over the next few weeks until the next semester starts.

In addition to all of this, I have been thinking about Combinations. I generally view combinations in three different vanes - one is the idea that every attack has a follow-up. So if I attack with Ko-Uchi-Gari and it fails, I can quickly shift and switch to Seoinage, and vice-versa. In Putin's Book, he has combination wheels for all of the throws he illustrates that show what attacks can be used to set-up or follow-up a specific technique. There is also the idea that I can feint or bait uke into a specific reaction so that I can execute my throw. Finally, one of the many things I've picked up from Sensei Watanabe is the notion that if I learn to perform combined entries, I can enter in a way that uke isn't sure what attack I'll be using, and I have a lot of options. This final method is very powerful, and I have only recently begun to scratch the surface with it. More on this idea as I start putting it to good use.

In any case - Happy Holidays (whichever ones you celebrate or have celebrated) to you and yours and thanks for reading!

More Masterclass Books

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:29:00 +0000

My friend Andy pointed out that there was a sale at the Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya in Rockefeller Center. Apparently they've just moved their store (to the Bryant Park) area, and instead of migrating their inventory, they've decided to basically liquidate most of their old store at 50% off. While their Judo/Martial Arts section isn't huge, I was able to get my hands on two masterclass books - Seoinage and Ashiwaza for $11 each (normally they go for $22, and the best price I've found online is about $20). If you are in New York, it's not a bad idea to stop buy. They're on 49th bet. 5th and 6th, and the sale is going on until the end of the year. Please note that the sale is only at this location - their new store is at full price.

Note: Earlier there was a post here with some Gibberish. Don't be alarmed - I had tried posting this with a speech-to-text service, but I had a bad connection and it didn't come out right - so I edited it.

The Judo Web is Finally Blossoming

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:45:00 +0000

I took a look at my archives the other day and realized that I have been writing this blog for over 3 years now. When I first started, the state of Judo web sites was pretty poor. Many clubs and organizations didn't have sites, and even the ones that did had pretty poor excuses of sites. The sites were almost completely lacking any type of design or navigation, and their information was almost always out of date, or not relevant. Obviously, there were some notable exceptions, such as the Judo Information site and the Judo forum. In addition, at the time I started there weren't that many other Judo Bloggers in the blogosphere, but that has changed too.

Somehow, over the past few years, the Judo world has decided that the time has come for Judo to increase its presence on the web. Within the past few months alone, the USJF and USJI have changed their web sites, and both have also begun sending member notices by e-mail. Companies like Hatashita Enterprises and Hatashita Sports have upgraded their e-commerce sites and even added an affiliate program and e-mail marketing, respectively. Then of course there are a whole new slew of sites for the Judo Community. Like the Judo Podcast (and its European Version) - which broadcast audio interviews with well-known Judoka, or JudoVision - a site that provides video of dozens of world-class Judo tournaments.

Finally, blogging has taken off. There are dozens of Judoka that are blogging these days. From average joes like myself, Andy, or Jason - to world-class competitors (current and former) like Ronda Rousey, Taraje Williams-Murray, Rhadi Ferguson, and AnnMaria DeMars.

It's nice to see that Judo is embracing the web. While it probably doesn't directly translate into more Judokas coming into our dojos, it definitely makes it easier for Judoka of all ages and skill levels, to know that there is a greater Judo community out there, and that people will answer their questions or give them encouragement to progress on to their next Judo goal.

Club Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:53:00 +0000

Last night we had our club competition. Our club is essentially composed of three distinct groups - the kids from the kids class, the people from the non-credit classes that Sensei runs, and the students of the for-credit class and martial arts club of the Community College where our classes our held. (This last group, while they are adults, are separate because they practice during the day). In addition, there are sub factions in each group because some people practice only on Monday/W or W/S or Sun/Mon so they don't get to really see one another during the course of the week. Between the competitors or spectators there were easily 40-50 people in gis and another 20-25 on the sidelines, not a bad crowd at all.

I was also a bit apprehensive, because my wife was coming. We've been married for 8 and a half years, and she's never once been to a judo class or competition. I was especially worried how she would react to my son's competition. My son, playing in the littlest kids group, went first. I had a couple of mock tournaments with him, where I went over the rules, and gave him advice on how to improve his technique. He went out and played. He seems to be fixated on Seoinage and O-Goshi and was continually trying to throw with them - to the point where he was getting his grip and just turning away from his uke. Yes, they're 5 and 6 year-olds, with a lot more learning to-do but he looked out of it and unfocused during the match. I kept calling for him to try O-Soto and O-Uchi - two throws which I know that he is comfortable with, and when he finally tried them, he got countered for Ippon - by both of his opponents. Nonetheless, all of the kids got applause, and he was excited to get his trophy for 3rd place (he was going to take it in for show and tell today, but school was canceled on account of the snow).

What was my wife's reaction? - she was upset that he didn't win at least one match - she wants him to succeed in whatever he does. Nonetheless, we were all very proud of him, and despite his need to practice more he enjoyed fighting. He asked Sensei when the next competition was.

I did pretty well too - I finished second. I played two regular Randori Opponents - Mark and Rob. I managed to beat Mark with my O-Uchi/Uchimata combo, throwing him for two consecutive Wa-zaris, but Rob, who I play more often, managed to learn how to counter me - taking me down with Ko-Soto Gake for Ippon.

My wfie was at least glad that I won second place.

Why Ronda Rousey is Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:10:00 +0000

The Kano Cup, one of the world's top Judo Competitions, took place in Japan this weekend. Ronda Rousey, competing against the world's best, including several local Japanese favorites, took home the Silver. On the one hand, this should come as no surprise as she just took home the World Championships Silver and the Pan-Am Gold in the past few months. But then there is always the back story.

As she points out on her blog - she partially tore her LCL in one of her first couple of matches. Yet she still managed to win all the way to the Gold medal match against Ueno from Japan. So here she is, playing the crowd favorite in Tokyo, with a partially torn LCL, in the Gold Medal match of the Kano Cup - and it goes to Golden Score. For those of you who don't get it - imagine the Colts are Playing the Patriots in the AFC championship in Foxboro and it goes to overtime - and the Pats win by a field goal.

Ronda lost by a Yuko - one of the smallest scores in Judo, and she was dissapointed. How many of us would have quit with even a small twinge in our knee, yet alone a partially-torn LCL. How many of us would have been flapped by the crowd, or intimidated to be playing in Tokyo.

By her own words, Ronda has shown that she is becoming the consummate professional, and a true warrior. Her own quest for satisfaction and unwavering commitment will take her to where no other American Judoka has ever been before: The Gold Medal Podium at the Olympics. If not in 08' then in 2012 - maybe even both.

Tidbits

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:56:00 +0000

Just some quick updates on what's been going on. The last few weeks have been hectic, thankfully the baby has been calming down a bit at night, so I've been able to get to class 2x a week for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, this was the last class of the semester, and the next semester is 5 weeks away. We will probably have a couple of workouts in the next few weeks, and our club competition is next Weds. I think I will go to Oishi's during the break!

My weight loss is progressing. As of this morning I was down to 205. So I've dropped about 6 lbs in the past 3 weeks. The Starett Cup is on 1/20, and assuming I convince the Mrs. to let me go, maybe I can play in the -90KG weight group.

As the semester has closed, my Nikyu promotion has been officialized, just need to get the paperwork done. One rung closer to the end of the road.

Tough Love is Good Medicine

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:45:00 +0000

So I walked into practice last night (about 20 minutes late, as I needed to calm the baby down before leaving), and my Sensei's first question is 'so? how did you do? Where's my trophy?'. I will admit I was actually thinking of bringing the trophy with me, I decided against bringing it. I started to talk about everyone else's wins. 'No', said Sensei, 'I want to know about you.' When I told him I finished third he was pleased, but then I told him there were only three people in my division. He jokingly said that I was dragging his name down. But I explained that I knew that I played well but still have some work to do.

I jumped into practice, acting as uke for someone's Sankyu test. This kid is actually one of the people who is from Sensei's credit class (all of the 'club' classes are non-credit, but then matriculating students at the college can take his for credit class as well), and when he passed sensei mentioned how Judo took him from being skinny and weak and made him much stronger. I also discovered that he's picked up on Sankaku Jime pretty well.

I am supposed to take a test of my own soon, and I have only a few more days, and I am not sure I know everything that I need to. I am Okay with 99% of the standing techniques and combinations, but I am iffy on the Ne-Waza. Yes I know a lot of the standard fare, but Sensei has a lot of Entries and positions that each has to be demonstrated from, and I don't know them all. I've got a lot of practicing to do!

In Randori, I must have done 7-10 minutes each with 3 different opponents. Sensei was critiquing me very closely, and stopping me to point out flaws in my technique. I was dead tired midway through the second match, and wanted to give up, but he wouldn't let me, and even if I tried playing lighter he was pushing me. I finally bowed out 7 or 8 minutes into the 3rd round. But I felt great, and in retrospect it was one of the best Randori sessions I've had in a long time. One of the many things I like about Sensei Watanabe is that he knows just how and when to give me tough love. He knows just how much to push me to get me to improve without breaking me! This is why I love practicing with him.

Sometimes, even your best isn't good enough...

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:44:00 +0000

So as you can surmise from the title, I didn't get very far in today's tournament. I had two matches, both against brown belts who I felt were my equals in size and skill. I played really well in my first match. I opened the match by trying O-Uchi My first attempt didn't succeed, but it succeeded in planting a seed in my opponent's head to watch out for the O-Uchi. The next time I came in, he reacted to the O-Uchi, and I caught him with Uchimata. He pulled me a little off balance when I threw him, but I didn't hear a call from the ref, and was perplexed that I didn't get at least a Yuko. I found out after the match that I had a Wa-zari! In fact one of my teammates thought I was robbed of an Ippon, but truth be told, I am glad to hear the technique worked. But then I made my mistake. I came in for a third time and I got countered with Ko soto Gake.

Second Match, I tried my technique again. My opponent must have been paying close attention to my first match, because he was ready, He tried O-Soto, and I turned in to pick him up - I was thinking of trying Ushiro Goshi, but I turned into his trap, he launched a second effort into O-Soto Makikomi and took me to the mat. I thought I had lost it there, but he only got a wa-zari. Still, because he used a makikomi, he immediately had me in a pin, and 20 seconds later I was done.

Nonetheless I thought I played well. Mark, who I'd met several times at Oishi's Dojo, told me that sometimes you play your best and still go 0-2, and that feels better that winning without working for it. I definitely feel good about this tournament, and that I am improving. The good things I take away are that my favorite combination works well out of the Dojo, and that I can overcome my fears. The bad things of course, are that one combination doesn't make a champion, so I need to work on being less predictable and expanding my repertoire.

In addition to playing well, I learned and enjoyed a lot of other things about the tournament:

- I met up with Steve (who was reffing) and Mark from Oishi's dojo, both of whom are great guys, and who are fun to play against, and offered good pointers and advice. Mark also thought my combo was strong. Mark and his two sons competed and he and one of them took first. The other took third, but he was playing up in a division of kids 2 years older than him.

- I met several interesting Judoka, each with their own story. There was the guy who fought in 3 divisions - taking second in two and first in one (he played his own weight class, then 1 up and 2 up!), and he probably would've done better had he not busted his elbow. It's great to be 18 and full of energy. There was the blind guy who came out and played regular rules - I think he went one and one - just seeing him was inspiring enough, but then I was talking to his sister, who told a few of us that his sensei - another brother of theirs - had died a few months prior, the blind judoka had promised him he would keep practicing and competing. When he won his match, and when he got his medal, he got a huge ovation from the crowd. There were several father-son teams in the tournament - which is always encouragement that I might play alongside my kids one day. Finally, there was another person at the competition with a similar sounding name. I kept getting confused whenever they called him instead of me. Nice guy, roughly my age, and a dad with 5 kids. He one his first match handily, but then dislocated his shoulder in the second match and had to concede. Still 1 and 1 was good enough for second place. I asked him in the locker room if his shoulder hurt. His reply - 'Not as much as it will hurt when my wife finds out!'

- I warmed up with Mark, and he was using a Gill Sports Gi, Another wish list item! Ironically, I thought of buying one a couple of years ago when it was still $1.20 Canadian to every US dollar.

- I got to watch a lot of Judo - both adults and kids, and got to see some really good waza. Including a textbook Tomoe-Nage and an amazing standing Seoinage where the uke was practically doing a handstand on top of tori. There were no doubts that both of those throws were ippon, and I think everyone in the room had a sense of jealousy and awe when they pulled off those throws.

Grandpa's Approval; Tidbits

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:44:00 +0000

Because I competed yesterday, I had my dad take my son to the kids' class yesterday. He was impressed with the skill and patience Sensei exercised with my son. He also told me that my son has very little Zitsfleisch (A Yiddish term for patience or attention span). I explained to him that as bad as my son might have seemed yesterday, his attention span has grown exponentially over the past two months since he started Judo.

My son also mentioned that he had a new 'partner' in class, as one more younger sibling of one of our current students started Judo. In addition to that, at the tournament I ran into two more dojomates - one who's family just returned from a few months overseas, and one who's son is turning six - that they are going to enroll their kids for the next semester. This is awesome, I love that the kids class is growing, and that the number of kids the same age as my son is growing too. Sensei is looking to add a second kids class during the week, which will hopefully bolster attendance.

Father and Son - Growing as Judoka

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:17:00 +0000

I am always trying to learn and grow in Judo and trying to help others do so, including my son. My son is only 5, he has the attention span to match. A lot of his teachers and such suggested he try martial arts, and I am glad (in more ways than one) that he and I can practice at the same dojo, and even more so that I get to be on the mat with him. He has a phenomenal memory, and hardly forgets a thing you teach him, although Judo can be confusing for him. Nonetheless, his memory for techniques and their names is pretty impressive for a five-year-old. This past Sunday, our Sensei announced that we would be having a Club Shiai in a few weeks, and since some of the kids don't compete that often, he turned Randori into a mock Shiai to educate them on the rules.

While he'd never competed before, and was only at one of my matches, he was somewhat familiar with the rules. When my son was about three, I used to play the Osaekomi game with him. I would pin him gently on his back and say 'Osaekomi' and he would have to roll over onto his belly and say Toketa. Of course, since he started Judo, I've gone into more detail with him. A few weeks ago at night, he asked me how someone gets points from pinning their opponent. I explained to him the rules, and how they relate to the number of seconds from Osaekomi to Toketa (or until Ippon). So on Sunday, he is doing Ne-Waza Randori, and he pins his opponent (a little girl, about 7-8 months older than him). All of a sudden, he starts counting really fast - everyone starts lauging. First I explain to him that he can't count so fast, so he slows down, then the sensei explains to him that he doesn't count, save it for the referees.

Later on, in the Mock Shiai, both him and his opponent (the same girl), go to the mat and she is on top of him, but he quickly rolls onto his belly and says "Sensei, you can't count, because I am on my stomach."

He served as good fodder for laughs all afternoon, and his match ended in Hiki-wake, since he and his opponent are still working on their techniques.

The next night, I had a conversation with our Sensei about it. All kidding aside, we both have seen him grow in Judo. Yes, it is still hard for him to pay attention for two hours straight, but at the same time, every week he shows tremendous progress, and it shows outside of Judo as well (just a little bit).

I on the other hand, have been continuing to learn and prepare for my next promotional test - not sure when it will be, but hopefully soon, and I will keep you all posted. My sensei has his own set of requirements for each rank - some of which are things I've been doing for years, others are things that are new to me, but nonetheless, it has been an interesting learning experience. And by doing all of these throws, and because of all of the Kata work that I have been doing, I feel that my Judo has been improving, and slowly ascending to the next level.

While I can see it in my sights, I know that I still have a very long way to go.

Attack Life

noreply@blogger.com (Yonah) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:30:00 +0000

Well I started this month off with a bang by posting a couple of times a week, but it has quickly gotten hectic. I have been doing my best to both post and practice but with a new (and colicky) baby at home, it can be kind of rough. The last few weeks I've intended to go to practice on Monday and Wednesday nights, but on each Monday I get greeted with a 3-minute voicemail of a screaming baby - which precludes me from going to Wednesdays practice. I told my wife that I need the extra practice for the next few weeks for several reasons, the least of which is my upcoming Shiai this weekend (I will post results right after). I hope I do well, especially because I've been thin on practicing. The last few weeks have been really hectic. While my nights have not quite been sleepless thanks to my loving, and awesome wife (who lets me sleep because I need to go to work, and because I don't have the 'equipment' to feed our son anyways), I have definitely been running on much less sleep that usual. But nonetheless, I am still working out almost every morning and managing to go to Judo class. I have gained a lot of mental toughness over the past few months. I am not sure why or how, but I am starting to find ways to work through the weak spots. Which leads me to the picture above.

That picture is from October of 2004 - 3 years ago. I had long forgotten about this picture (even though its my avatar at the Judo Forum), but the website I had posted it to was going out of business, so I downloaded all of those pictures to my computer, and there it was. At the point that this picture was taken, I was just about at my goal weight of 195 lbs after coming down from 230! I looked good (if I don't say so myself). I was on the south beach diet at the time, and I was also going to Judo twice a week consistently.

This past summer, I promised myself, and my readers, that I would lose weight. But unfortunately, Instead of making a big splash, I've only made a small ripple. When I wrote that post back in the summer, I was 218, this morning I was 210 on the same scale. Nonetheless, I haven't been sticking to what I promised myself - to lose weight.

Between the picture, discussions with my wife, and just looking at the scale and in the mirror every morning, I've made the determination to get back down to the 190-195 range. Although a time limit would be nice, I am not going to do that.

I will just keep working at it until I get there. Working out every day, going to Judo as often as my wife and screaming son dictate. And I've been working at this for a couple of weeks now. Although I've only dropped a pound or two, I surprise and please myself when I able to pass over the snack cabinet, or forgo a sports drink for water or seltzer instead. I feel that even though my mental toughness regarding my weight had lapsed, my overall mental toughness has grown. I don't give up as easily, I have found my inner voice that guides me. Whether its telling me to keep on going in a 20 minute Randori session, or if its helping me keep my cool while calming down an inconsolable, screaming child at 1am, it is there. Yes, we all have lapses in judgment and get frustrated (I did in Judo a week or two ago, and was swearing like a sailor), I still think that I am a lot tougher now than I was three years ago, and a lot of it has to do with Judo.

Life needs to be attacked! Constantly! Being passive might help for a few minutes in an argument, but it is not a long-term strategy. In life, no one is going to give you a Shido for stalling or for being too passive - you need to be your own referee. You need to attack life. Finally, after all these years, I am starting to understand it.