Different ways of training

'It's Black and white'

Static-X 2001

I've not done a Judo (or any type of blog) for quite some time due to work being a bit nuts.  Thought my 1st blog back would be Judo based following a trip out to another club that I visit when our club isn't on.  Last night we visited them as our venue was closed due to a freak weather storm that flooded the north west region and so power was lost for 3 days.

Although me and my training partner enjoyed the night we noticed a big difference between he learning styles our club and the club we visited have (I think I've touched on this before).  In the car on the way back we got talking about this.  The main difference was that where we normally dedicate 1/2 the night to Uchi-komi and technical Judo, this club focused more on randori.  The only time they have done technically work/Uchi-komi it has normally been following something that has been seen in youtube, normally 'Ippon of the day' (this has become an ongoing joke between me and my training partner as the opening to this part of the session normally goes 'I was watching youtube last night, and, I saw this technique... son, show em how it's done.').  The problem with this is that not every 'Ippon of the day' is a practical technique to practice, Uke-waza for example.  Here is where our club differs, while their session consists of 90/10% randori:Uchi-komi/technical Judo, we do a 50/50% split of randori:Uchi-komi/technical Judo.  The other main difference is that our Uchi-komi focuses on perfecting the basic (Kumi-kata, Kuzushi, Ashi-waza...), our theory being 'if you can't do the basics right... you can't do the advanced techniques right'.  The club we went to is made up of 90% 1st Kyu and Dan grades, they are big guys for the best part, and strong.  Now strength and power are all well and good, but without technique they will only get you so far.  One thing g I did notice was that there was a common the am in the club... everyone used the same 2-3 techniques - De-ashi-barai, Ippon-seoi-nage (who doesn't like this in their repertoire?!?) and Uchi-mata.  Now I have seen these 3 techniques used by the club's 3 main competitive players (all high ranking players)... and they are awesome! But they are now being used by everyone, but the lack of Uchi-komi means that the techniques are not being working on or practiced. This has resulted in poor entry, lack of Kuzushi and a technique that is all power. This doesn't mean that the throws don't work, one of the guys who used to train with us and uses 'all strength no technique' was able to throw me with De-ashi-barai after spending most of the fight kicking my leg. But I will be the 1st to admit that when he got the throw... it was a cracker. Now this is hard for me to say, but when he got it... he got it good.

To sum it up, my view on Judo is that if you want to do good Judo then you need to get the basics right. You can get just as good a sweat on during an Uchi-komi session as you can in a randori session. It's a technical sport and with good technique... you can throw anyone.

Right, it's 06.30 and I need to finish my triple esspresso and head to work. See you all on the tatami peeps :)

A need for more technique

'It is a necessity for Judoka to analyse not only their own movements to become better,

but also the movements and strategies of their opponents.'

Doug Berninger (2015)

It's been a few weeks since I did a blog, between work being busy and social events ive not had much time to myself.  Today's blog is due to frustration and disappointment.   This is not based at any one individual, but at a geographical area within Judo... Judoka within the North West.

This weekend I was dour area Dan grading.  We had a good turnout of 1st Kyu Jodoka (14 people) and a good mix of sizes (69-94kg).  A large group of these Judoka knew each other as they trained together at 2 clubs (Me and my training partner also trained with them over the summer, a friendly and dedicated group if guys).   Observing me doing the sheets was one of the area squad coaches and a very well respected 7th Dan (I think. LoL).  There was around 34 fights in total with 7 Judoka getting their line up, but only 1 of these being successful.  From the start 1 thing was apparent, the technical ability of the Judoka was... well... DIABOLICAL!  Throughout the whole of the 1st Kyu sheet I had both coaches muttering about the lack of kuzushi, ashi-waza, rotation and overall technique.  Both coaches said that 1 thing was obvious... We need to go back to the basics.  There are lots of clubs that run randori nights, and that's not a bad thing as we all like to have a good fight.  But there is a NEEDS for more technical nights within the area. 

At our club we focus on this quite a lot and try to get our Judoka to understand the reason why we do thing the way we do.  Our view is - 'If you can't do the basics right... how do you expect to do the more advanced techniques?'  Getting back to basic drills and repetitive uchikomi will help with muscle memory, as Neil Adams once said - 'Practice doesn't make perfect... it makes permanent!'  When you get on the tatami and take hold of Uki you want to be able to act and react as if it was second nature.

Following the 1st Kyu sheet was done (only 1 player got his 1st Dan in their line-up) it was time for the Dan grades to get on the tatami.  It was at that point that the action started.  My training partner was meant to be on a coaching course but it had been cancelled, so he decided to come to the grading and try get a few points towards his 2nd Dan.  This was only his 2nd competitive time on the tatami in about 2 years... but he hadn't lost a beat!  Within the 1st fight if the Dan grades the 2 coaches with me were smiled and both commented - 'At last, some technique.', 'More ashi-waza in this first fight than the entire morning!'.  As the Dan grades continued it was easy to spot the difference in the ability of the 2 groups both on a technical level, and a competitive level.  My training partner went on to produce some amazing techniques and win his 5 fights (Ippon number 5 in the picture) on the day to get his 2nd Dan... As his training partner for about 15 years I'm taking 1/2 the credit for this :D

Well that's my rant over.  I'm a huge believer in underpinning knowledge - What, why and how are you doing something.  Until next time people, keep throwing!

Evolution - A technical transition to victory

"If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup.
You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle.
You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Now, water can flow or it can crash.
Be water, my friend."

Bruce Lee (1973)

I've been back on the tatami now for 4 weeks and I'm loving it.  But one thing has become apparent... My injuries are proving to be a problem.  Between my damaged left AC joint, left hand/wrist and tendonitis in my right elbow I'm finding that some techniques and kumi kata are harder for me to execute.  My 'go to' techniques (right sided Morote-seoi-nage & left sided Tai-otoshi) have now become less effective due to pain or restricted movement upon execution, meaning I am now having to change my entire style of fighting.  As much as this is an inconvenience for me, it is also interesting and challenging... and what Judoka doesn't relish a challenge!

The quote I have used by Bruce Lee sums this up quite aptly.

'Water in a cup' - I was comfortable with the Kumi-kata and Nage-waza I used on a regular basis.  Morote-seoi-nage and Tai-otoshi were becoming the Nage-waza I could trust and rely on... I was complacent.

'Water poured into a bottle' - I had been trying to improve my Kumi-kata for a while and would go on about it's importance when coaching.  I now have to put this into practice and change my Kumi-kata and Nage-waza to work around my injuries.  I have started using more Kumi-kata before trying to execute any Nage-waza in an attempt to baffle Uki and open up opportunities.  My Nage-waza also changed, I have started to using Ryo-hiza-seoi-otoshi (that's a mouthful!) and Tani-otoshi both from a left handed Kumi-kata. The Tani-otoshi Kumi-kata I have developed is very adaptable as it can be used to execute a deep hip throw of any kind depending on how Uki reacts - If they stay close you have Tani-otoshi, while if they step back/push away you have the deep hip.

'Water poured into a teapot' - This is the end stage, to become comfortable with the new Kumi-kata and Nage-waza I am using.  

'Be like water' - Evolution and adaptation, the technical transition to victory...

Until next time, keep on throwing peeps :)

Back on the Tatami!!!

'Practise makes permanent...

not perfect.' 

Neil Adams (MBE)

Well, after 8 weeks of physio my shoulder for a long standing Judo injury ive finally been given the all clear to go back on the tatami! :D  I've had problems with my shoulder for over 10 years after dislocating it on the tatami twice, an unforgiving injury within the sport causing all sorts of recurring problems.  I Ave tried to get back into full training over the years following the second dislocation but all it took was a hard knock, a bad breakfall or someone landing on my shoulder following a throw.  It was the last of these that put me on the shelf just over a year go following a squad randori session.  I no longer complete sadly as my shoulder has become unstable and due to my Mum being the NW competition controler and my Dad being the NW director of examiner's it's hard to fight within the area.  LoL.
 

Over the past 3-4 years my coaching has started to focus more and more on technique and fighting styles.  I've become a little bit obsessed with the importance of Kumi-kata according to my friends (I thought that reading academic papers on Kumi-kata was normal?!?).  One of my favourite things to go on about is to use an average of 3 Kumi-kata before executing a winning Nage-waza.  The other thing that we enforce in our club is that you need to be able to understand the basics before you can master more technical Waza - why do we use that Kumi-kata, why Kuzushi, action reaction... I'm a firm believer that if a Judoka has technical skill they can overcome any opponent no matter how big or strong.
 

Two weeks ago I had my 1st session back on the tatami since starting physio (8 weeks before), and more importantly it was my 1st real randori session in over 1 year!  I was like a kid on Christmas day!  Most of the guys there were bigger than me and we're 1 Kyu's or Dan grades so I knew I was going to get a good scrap (something I have missed so much), but I knew I would need to go easy as I didn't want to damage my shoulder... again.  With this in mind I decided to put my theory into practice.  I actually surprised myself.  By consciously using a mix of Kumi-kata between attacks and a use of 'unorthodox' entry's I found I was able to score a number of Ippon scores with minimum scores against me.  Last week I went back to the same club and again, a mix of 3 Kumi-kata between main the attack meant that I scored more Ippon's and put the other person on the back foot.  One thing that I did notice was that there was a Judoka there that up until a year ago had train with us from novice to 2nd Kyu over 10 years.  We had spent alot of time training them to use technique over strength (he is as strong as an Ox!).  He left us and was training 4 times a week at various clubs within our area... What I wouldn't give to be able to do that again.  2 thing were apparent - 1. He was still as eager, dedicated, enthusiastic and determined as ever. 2. His technique... was none-existent.  He was now training with bigger Judoka at randori sessions and when watching him fight you could see this.  He had become predictable and relied on strength over technique.  When he came to fight me in Randori I knew exactly what he would do - Huge right hook to get a high grip, big pull down, grab low on the sleeve, 3x big pull down... turn in for a failed Uchi-mata.  It was a bit disheartening to see all the work we had done over 10 years fall apart within 1 year :(  I had a chat with him later on and explained to him that pulling Uki down closed them up and grounded them, he needed to pull up and out to open Uki up and initiate kuzushi.  2 minutes later and he went back to what he knew best... strength over technique.
 

All in all it was great to be back on the tatami and I'm itching for the next session.
 

Till next time peep, keep on throwing!