The Road to Nidan

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 T surikomi 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 sh...

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-Nag...

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 c...

There is an old Talmudic adage that goes something like this: He who learns in order to teach will be able to learn and teach, but he who learns in order to do will be able to learn, to teach, to preserve, and to do. (Avot 4:6, in case you're wondering) I've always applied this to my learning of anything, and especially Judo. The idea here is that the study of Judo isn't just academic, but part of our lives in more ways than one. I once commented on the JudoForum , that Judo creeps into my life in the strangest of ways - for example, I sometimes find myself using foot-sweeps to open doors when I don't have a free hand. As I get more senior, and as I help out in the kids class, I am seeing this more and more with my own eyes. The techniques that I had the hardest time with as a beginner, and the ones that I spent the most time learning and working on, are the techniques that I enjoy teaching the most. All of the advice that I never took until I learned the hard way ...

I only managed one practice of my own last week - as my wife even protested that one, and even though I went to practice last night, I am not sure I'll be able to swing it on Wednesday. Things have been pretty tough at home since our 3rd was born, and I consider every Judo practice that I get in as a gift. When I came home last night, I was told that I was definitely getting up in middle of the night. Personally I didn't mind it, despite the lack of sleep, it was worth the Judo excursion. On Sunday, I was helping out the kids class. Sensei asked me to give one of the kids his yellow belt test. I was very apprehensive, and had a ton of questions. It's funny, at work, I have no problem taking charge of things and taking ownership. As well as giving people on my staff guidance, but as a Judo instructor, I have very little confidence. I don't know what was my greater fear - failing a kid who was worthy, or passing a kid who was not. Last night, at the adults class, I went...

I was pretty tired last night, and my wife was getting on me to forgo judo for my honey-do list. But then I realized that I promised to be more committed to practicing (especially with the impending baby and all) and I decided to go. For the first time in a long time, 90% of the people there were even matches - all brown belts, all within +/- 2 inches of me in height and within +/- 1 weight class (i.e. 15-20 lbs). While I threw and was thrown, I did manage a couple of good things: My O-Uchi Gari Technique is improving, becoming more fluid and more effective, and I used it successfully several times last night My Uchimata is improving too, and I threw someone with a really nice Ken-Ken Uchimata. All of this, is due, in part to my continued use of my favorite combination - O-Uchi into Uchimata or Uchimata into O-Uchi. I use this a lot, because I tend to fight in Kenka Yotsu . Of course, by now, all of my dojo mates know this, and some can take advantage of it, but as my technique improv...

About 2 years ago, after competing (and losing all 3 of my matches) in a tournament, I asked my Sensei for some feedback. His advice was super helpful, but the one thing that stood out was that he noticed, that as dominant lefty, somewhere in middle of one of my matches I switched to playing right-handed. He told me that I should have stayed lefty and played to my strengths. I explained to him that the reason why I didn't play left-handed was because my opponent was holding down his right lapel to prevent me from getting a grip (My sensei pointed out that this is illegal according to tournament rules, and he should have received a Shido penalty, but he did it discretely so that the refs didn't notice). Nonetheless, I continued to practice the left-sided technique even harder, to the point where I almost exclusively fight left-handed at tournaments and Randori. There is a lot of benefit to being a lefty in Judo. Opposing grips make it easier for me to get in closer to my oppon...

Last night I was asked to be the uke for a friend prepping his Nage-No-Kata test. In all forms of practice short of Kata, being an uke is quite easy. You just show up and play dumb, with the ocassional jump or movement to make your Tori look good. But in Kata , being the Uke is a lot of work. Unlike the katas in most Karate styles, which are performed solo, Judo's katas are all performed with a partner. (More than that, depending on the level of Black Belt you are shooting for, you need to show kata proficiency as either tori, uke, or both!). While I might get flamed for saying so, Kata in a sense is like a dance - each partner has a role, and each partner needs to learn it. For Shodan (1st degree BB. AFAIK, in the US) you need to perform Nage-No-Kata as Tori. Interestingly enough, performing it as Uke is required for Nidan (2nd degree), and now that I am familiar with it, I understand why that was done!

In grade school, one of my teachers made us listen to a cowboy song called 'Prime the Pump'. The gist of the song was that a desert traveler, dying of thirst, comes across a water pump with a small bottle and a note. The note indicates that the small amount of water is neccesary to 'prime the pump' so that you will be able to get more water out of it. The chorus' final line -'You need to give of yourself before you're worthy to receive.' He asked us to ponder that thought and think about the concept of reward for personal sacrifice. This concept popped into my head yesterday about Randori and Judo. Our sensei was away yesterday and class was taught by one of the senior blackbelts in the night class - someone who rarely comes to the afternoon classes. I commented to him at one point that the thing I love most about Judo is that to be able to execute a technique, you must make yourself vulnerable first. Every time I enter for a hip throw I need to give my...

Our dojo is pretty small, and generally speaking we can only get 3-4 Randori sessions going at one time. When there are 6-10 people at a particular class this is great, but when we get more than 10, you have to wait your turn to play. Needless to say, it isn't that bad waiting around as you can cull ideas from your colleagues and also assess how to play them when your number is up. I was watching one particular match where one of my dojomates was executing a beautiful combination from Uchimata into Tani Otoshi. I have seen Jimmy Pedro actually demonstrate this in a video made to teach the American audience about Judo for the Olympics, and this guy was great at it, he must've hit it several times yesterday. Watching him got me thinking, not just about the combination itself, but the concept of Combinations in General as well as the concept of reflexes. Any one will tell you that the key to performing effortless Judo is all in the timing. If you do not agree with me, or don't...

When I injured my wrist a few weeks ago, I had to almost completely switch over the the left-side, because I wanted to go easy on the right hand, and using it as my Tsurite (Lifting hand) was quite painful. I think that it has healed enough for me to be able to go back and try the right again, I will let you know how it goes.

Last night I was critiqued in my Tsurikomi Goshi practice with someone saying that I wasn't using my Hikite (pulling hand) at all. I have said that this particular throw is an achilles heel for me, and that I wanted to learn it better. I think the time has come to ask my Sensei for real advice. Learning to execute this throw properly is super important for three reasons: It is one of the throws required for Nage-No-Kata -the kata done for Shodan It is the two-footed basis for a lot of one-footed throws - Harai Goshi, Hane Goshi and Uchimata It is one throw that I really don't know well and want to learn. I think if I really work hard at developing this throw, I will become a lot better in Judo in general.

I had a good session today. After about 15 minutes of Randori with 2 different partners, Sensei asked to Randori with me. I am always apprehensive in Randoriing with him for two main reasons: a) I feel that I need to show him that I am progressing and b) I know that his knowledge and skill (he has been doing Judo for at least 20 years more than I've been alive, and he is a 6th Dan Black Belt) far exceed any physical advantages I might have over him. We Randoried for about 10 minutes and he managed to throw me at least once each minute. Each time he threw me it was with Ashi-Barai foot-sweeps. At one point I decided to get him with an attacking Tani-Otoshi . I baited him for Ashi Barai, and when he tried to sweep, I dropped to the side, and slid my leg behind him to drop him down - except he was still standing. Somehow he read my attack, and managed to pull his leg out of my sacrifice. The end result was me lying on the ground and him standing on his two feet, as if I had thrown my...

I in Ne-Waza Randori, one of my partners got me into a unique Double-Trap, that was so powerful, it felt that there was no escape. With me on my back, he had his legs coiled around my head and right arm. He began to choke me with Sankaku Jime the triangular choke (you hook the ankle of one leg into the the kneepit of the other and then using the first leg's knee, apply pressure to the carotid). But as I tried to use my left hand to free it, he armbarred me with Hiza Gatame . If I would have fought the armbar, he had the choke. I need to try that as Tori sometime :)

I had a really good workout on Wednesday, and it seems that I learn more and more each day. During our 'tea break' (our Sensei prepares tea for us, usually right before Randori), someone talked about Koga and his one-handed Seoinage. I decided to try it - not ever even having seen Koga do it (or even his first name). Although I didn't land it, I discovered a new way to enter into Yama Arashi and Eri-Seoinage . I also learned some cool new ne-waza tricks as well (saving one of them for a separate post). I still am focusing only on getting to Nikkyu right now - the next level up, because G-d only knows how long I need to go to get to Shodan.

Yesterday in Randori, I was having a rough time getting a grip on my Uke, and he was playing very defensively. I finally got into position for Harai Goshi but it just wasn't working. So I pushed it a drop further and then turned it into Harai Makikomi (essentially these two are very similar, except that after the first one, the Tori - thrower - is standing after the throw, while in the latter, the Tori rolls towards the mat to get increased momentum and, if executed properly, winds up on top of the Uke with him being pinned down). A few moments later he was also playing stiff armed, and I went for a Sumi Gaeshi against him. Both throws were marginally successful. I would say that at best, I would have gotten a half point for the Makikomi and less for the Gaeshi, but the technique, I was told, was pretty good. So my partner tried a Makikomi that was half decent but he partially landed on me - thankfully it wasn't that painful. After witnessing this, our sensei urged everyo...

I got on the scale this morning and was happy that it read 193! I am just over 25 lbs lighter than I was when I returned to Judo in August. My goal is to get the needle below the 190 mark, and I hope to get there before my next competition in Feb. Although I can attribute my weight loss to my diet more so than I can to Judo, it is my regular Judo practice that has increased my stamina and overall well-being. When I first started Judo, I had very little steam in Ne-Waza and lagged significantly behind in calesthenics. Say I was able to perform maybe 30% of the Calesthenics load in our warm-up and warm-down excercises. Now I am at 90% capacity (my goal is 110%, so that I don't feel winded by the workouts). One of the places where I have seen significant improvement is in the spinning excercise. The spin excercise is a warm-down/stretching excercise, in which you start in a seated position, spin your legs around and behind your back until you are prone, and then continue around again...

Yesterday in Uchikomi our sensei asked us to move around and practice both Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi and Hiza Guruma . These two throws have similar action, and the most major difference is that the former is an ankle block, while the latter is a knee block. Although my partner was doing them just fine, I couldn't get it right. Sensei kept correcting me and trying to help, but I just couldn't get it. Some days, when I have a good workout, and I land some good solid throws in Randori, I feel like I am just one step away from a shiny new black belt. On other days, I feel that I am not worthy of wearing the brown belt around my waist. I need to practice, practice, practice, and the return on my investment in improvement, will be a change in rank and more good judo days than bad ones. Although, honestly, is there really such a thing as a bad Judo day?

The term Gaeshi means 'reversal' in Japanese. Pretty much any and all of the throws that have this name applied to them are actually counter techniques that can be used against an opponent. For example O-Uchi Gaeshi - is a counter to the major inner reap. I have been thinking a bit about counters and reversals lately, and although they may seem pretty easy in theory they are very difficult to do in practive. I also have been realizing that they embody many of the thinks that I like about Judo including the principal of Maximum Efficiency, and I would like to share some of that insight. First off, we need to take into consideration that Judo is about constant attack. In fact, competitors are often penalized for being too defensive. Even from a self-defense standpoint Judoka always want to be making the first move, if not for anything else than for surprise. Given that, it would seem surprising that it even had reversals, but the tao of Judo is embodied in the principal of Serok...

In Judo, there is a concept of Toqui Waza - one's best or favorite technique. On the surface, it might seem that a person's Toqui Waza (TW, because I am lazy) is the technique that they practice the most or use the most in Randori. Maybe it is an arbitrary favorite just like one's favorite color or ice cream flavor. But this is definitely not the case. The truth is, for most people, your TW , finds you and not the other way around. At the end of the day, your TW will be the throw(s) that you are able to best enter and execute properly under the widest variety of conditions . To look at this in depth, we need to first think of how silly of a notion it seems to reveal your Toqui Waza to others - especially those that might compete against you. If I know that Uchiamata is your TW then, in theory, I should always be looking for your Uchimata and work on my counters to it - like Uchimata Sukashi, Te Guruma, Tani Otoshi, etc. Even if you don't formally announce this throw...