The Road to Nidan

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about one-handed Seoinage . Ever since then I have playing with both one-handed throws and entries. I have had mixed success. Last week I threw someone with a one-handed Eri-Seoinage, and yesterday, I almost threw someone with a one-handed Morote Seoinage. Essentially, this love for the one-handed teachniques is borne out of the inability to get a second-hand grip against Ukes who love to grip-fight. The scenario basically plays out as follows - at Hajime, I walk to Uke and look to get a right hand grip. Uke does his best at preventing me to get that grip, so I go lefty - grabbing his right lapel. At this point, he's confused - partially, I am sure because he doesn't play lefty enough to understand what I might be trying to do. So they stiff-arm, trying to keep me at bay, and making it very difficult for me to grab at their left sleeve. I used to have a hard time figuring out what to do, but then I tried the one-handed grip. Essentially, when I g...

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 need to start doing workouts on non-judo days for two reasons: a) I need to keep myself in good Cardio-vascular shape and b)I still have 5-10 lbs to lose to reach my goal, and I need an extra push to get there. It's interesting, but as I thought about what workout I could do, I started to ponder the differences between strength training and conditioning. In a nutshell, the goal of strength training is building muscle mass -both for good looks and to build strength/power. The goal of conditioning is building endurance. That being said, the approaches taken to each is different as well. For example, when strength training the goal is ading reps and resistance. So after a few weeks of 20 pushups, start doing 30. Or after benchpressing 3x8 reps of 100lbs, go to 110. While with conditioning, it is more of a time game - as in run for 20 minutes or do as many crunches as possible in 3 minutes. With conditioning training, the goal obviously is to watch that number steadily climb as time ...

We don't have much in the way of gear for Judo. Basically the only gear you need is your Gi, and even that only comes in one style and two colors (Royal Blue and White). Sounds limiting, except that there are 25-40 manufacturers of Judo Gi and they range in price from $40 up to $300. Of coursethere are lots of variations in Quality, thickness, and durability that go into these models. My current Gi wardrobe consists of 2 gis, one is what would be called a middle-of-the-line Gi. It retails for around $100 (although I got mine for less from the manufacturer). The other is my first Judo gi, a 'Student Special' that I have for ten years, with about 4 years of use on it, and it is just starting to fray. Ultimately, I want to get a higher-end gi, but right now there is no cost-justification for it, as I only practice 2x a week, and I don't really compete. The gi that I want ( Toraki Gold, first blue and then white) cost about $150. (closer to $200 when you factor in taxes an...

When I first returned to Judo in August, I was amazed how much I had remembered after an almost 8-year absence. My dojomates commented that my Seoinage technique was really good. Although I can do Seoinage well in Uchikomi and Nagekomi (all three of the grip variations - Eri, Ippon and Morote, but I haven't yet dabbled with the drop variations). But somehow, I can't set it up right in Randori. I think I want to focus on setup throws more in Uchikomi and Nagekomi so that I will find myself in better position to execute it in Randori. I will work on Ko-Uchi Gari today and see if I can get that to work to my advantage.

So I introduced myself to a Dojomate who has been started coming to our dojo recently. Turns out that not only is he a 4th dan, but he is also a high-ranking city official and on a state judo board. His technique was awesome. That's the great thing about wearing the Gi, you really have to guess what your uke does for a living, etc, because the Gi is a great equalizer.

I am debating if I am going to go to the Shiai or not on the 27th. On the one hand, it is a small tournament with only under black belt ranks which will ensure that I won't get in over my head. On the other hand, it is 3 hours of driving (1.5 each way), the tournament lasts for 5 hours, and I will fight for a maximum (say) of 30 minutes total. On the one hand, if I lose out early, I would just leave, but on the other If I do well, I will need to stay for the medal round - so this could easily turn out to be a whole-day affair. Stay tuned. --Yonah