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Dramatic tai otoshi demo. Thanks JK

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The difference between kuzushi, and no kuzushi. Awesome.

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by Kris Wilson

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Fall 2015 Semester White Belt Review

We have worked on a few techniques so far. Primarily we have gone over these throws:

De Ashi Bari

O Soto Gari

Seoinage (note: the morote or two arm version is pictured), and

Uki Goshi.

We have worked on three pinning techniques: kata gatame, kami shiho gatame, and kesa gatame

Remember you'll need 4 throws and 3 pins for your first rank. We'll be going over a few more techniques before semester's end but you now have the tools and knowledge to practice what you know. Come to class and use your time on the mat wisely. I'll see you there.

summer time

judo this summer. tuesdays at 7pm.... its a thing...... be there.

Spring Break Reading 3: where we're going

Every time I look at these category labels, I'm reminded of how crappy they are. I like the categories generally, I like the "throwing concept" model, but I'm not sure the terms I'm using are the best. That may be a reflection on my relative lack of understanding of them.

The next two concepts we'll cover will display that. I feel comfortable in the delineation of the throws Ive made in each, but I struggle to explain the two. There may be some movement of the throws between concepts as I evolve in my preference, but I'm fairly confident in the basic concepts. Translating that into words is still a challenge for me... Anyway here it goes:

extending: The point here is to separate the top half of the body from the bottom. Its similar to kuruma but its more of a straight line separation, as oppose to a wheeling or wrapping. Since sasae tsurikomi ashi is the base throw, I thought about calling this section tsurikomi, but that's not entirely accurate of all the techniques in this group. Usually you are accelerating the top past the bottom, but there are some throws where you also push the bottom half backwards (harai goshi), or accelerate it end-over-end (as in sumi gaeshi). In all of these throws your ability to feel and control your uke's momentum is key.

otoshi: It means drop. Its an ongoing debate over at Akari whether or not "drop" is referring to uke, tori, or both. I'll try not to get all philosophical on you, but neither it entirely correct in my opinion. Once uke and tori take a grip they share certain properties. You can't refer to the drop of uke or tori, or even both, because it implies that there are two different things dropping. To understand otoshi, I think you have to accept that you are both part of one shared center of gravity. As one end drops the other end is flung around. You may have experienced this, to some degree, when we worked on tsurikomi goshi. The effect will be more dramatic in these throws. Imagine a water ballon is set on a table. It flattens out and begins to roll. At some point it reaches the table's edge. It does not just pour off the end of the table like a liquid. Once about half is over the edge that end speeds up, stretching the ballon. The elastic nature of the ballon then causes the half still on the table to feel a great pull. The pull is not straight down (it can't go through the table), its out and down (over the edge). this causes the ballon to flip end-over-end to the floor. Otoshi's work just like that.

Spring Break Reading 2: newaza

We have not done that much newaza (mat techniques) this semester, and I know it is something that typically lacks attention in my classes. I read somewhere that, Kano was of the mind that when you only have limited time to practice judo, you should concentrate on tachiwaza (standing techniques). I feel like our time is limited, that is why I focus on the throws. However newaza is important and, I'm sure he didn't mean for it to be neglected as much as I tend to. I'll try and include more in classes from here on out.

We have been working some stuff, folks who came to class 2/1 for the five pin drill got a good bit osaekomiwaze, 2/18 for kansetsuwaza, and last friday for shimewaza. We have also been working on the no-hands drill and some other warmups to improve newaza. Let me explain a bit about my reasoning behind newaza, and what I want you to be getting from the drills.

There are three basic positions from which to engage your opponent, prior to entering into a technique.

turtle: One judoka is on top, while the other is down, facing the mat.

guard (or approaching guard): One judoka is on their back engaging the other with all four appendages.

disconnected or neutral: A "catch-all" category but it is typically expressed as a situation where you are both on your knees or the split second when you both move from standing to the ground.

Captain Obvious says: The goal is to control your opponent. You can do that by taking advantage of your opponents weaknesses, mitigating their strengths, seizing upon your strengths, and mitigating your weaknesses.

To help lets identify the tools that are naturally strengths or weaknesses depending upon the the position you find yourself in. These are the things you have to mitigate or seize upon.

balance

orientation/position

distance

turtle: It's clear that the judoka on top can dictate the orientation and - assuming some level of skill - the distance. It may not seem that the one on the bottom has any advantage, but balance comes much easier here. The good ol' barrel roll is effective here because the judoka on bottom has exploited a relative weakness.

guard: Again, on the bottom - with hips connected to the ground - balance is your strength. The judoka on the approach, or in guard, has more mobility and therefore more control over the orientation/position. Typically the battle here is over distance, until such time that one or the other can seize upon a mistake.

neutral: There is naturally a wide variation in a "catch-all" category. However, it can be said that usually orientation/position is dictated by the preceding events, and it is incumbent upon both judoka to be the first to employ a strength, and/or exploit a weakness.

Spring Break Reading 1: where we've been

Sorry for being a bit negligent on the postings. Here is some reading to keep you through spring break.

So far in class we've worked on three of the five throwing concepts I described in this post (tsumazukaze, guruma, tsuri). The next two (extending, and otoshi) are more difficult but there are less throws in each set. Let me reiterate that for any given throw there may be several concepts at play. The concepts you learned in the first part of class will be important building blocks for the throws in the next two.

Ive got plenty written on tsumazukaze, for now.

kuruma: this is a process where you effectively separate the top half of your opponent from the bottom.... not literally, I'm talking about balance. Wrapping the top part of uke around your body or, as in hiza guruma, around a shared center you can "wheel" them to the earth. I spent some time here emphasizing the importance of that pulling hand (thats usually the left hand, for the right-handed folks throwing a right-side throw). Its called the hikite in judo.

tsuri: Most of you spent time on three throws in this set: uki goshi, tsuri goshi, and tsurikomi goshi. The hikite is also important here, and the throws fail without its proper usage, but I spent a lot of time talking about that other hand: its called the tsurite (the right one for the right-handed folks throwing a right-side throw). For the three throws, it was placed in three different locations on uke to cause a lift. Tsuri means lift.... that seems rather well thought out, doesn't it?

The throws and concepts are building on each other and after spring break we'll continue that. See you then.

By request:

The two photos here are the two flyers in the room this semester. One is one the outside of the door - it has some info on the basic class structure. The other is hanging inside - it has the whole schedule for the semester. That last one is a little complicated.... I'll explain in class.

Here is the deashi drill I've been talking about and starting class with lately.

#GifMill #GifMillApp #Gif

more on tsumazukaze

First, let me just say that I only hope I am using that term correctly. Tsumazukaze, I think in means tripping techniques... and lets not even start on pronunciation. I've called it "attacking the supports" in another post.

In class last week and for the next three classes we will be look at this spectrum techniques. Deashi barai and Osoto Gari are foundational throws in this set because they are on opposite ends of the spectrum. We have warm up drills with them for that reason. So what's this spectrum i'm talking about?

As a person walks they will shift weight from one leg to the other. One leg will have all the weight (the support leg) one will have none (its floating). There will be a transfer; a shift of weight and then the other leg will be the support. Its walking... I'm sure you can figure this out. Anyway...

You can attack the supporting leg with a Osoto Gari rather effectively, but you cannot sweep it. Likewise you cannot easily reap a floating leg. Its more complicated than this, and there are a lot of exceptions, but in a general sense this is the general gist: Deashi barai and Osoto Gari operate on opposite ends of the weight distribution spectrum, and the other tsumazukaze exist somewhere in the middle.

There are lots of things you can do with your hands or body position to amend that dynamic. Movement also adds a variable as well e.g. you can't really sweep a foot that is floating and wants to continue to float, you want to sweep a foot that wants to be part of the stride and eventually be planted.

Ultimately to understand these throws you need to understand the dynamics of weight distribution. That's what we are studying in class now. I'll see you there.

Throwing Concepts

In judo there are many throwing techniques. Forty of which are included in the gokyo no waza, and there are about sixty-seven officially named. Many of these techniques have similarities, and some - in my opinion – are so similar that they do not warrant distinction. Although it is somewhat fun to debate these nuances over a beer, it’s not all that important. It is important to understand the similarities and differences between techniques, though.

I have an evolving theory on this, that is helping me understand these distinctions. In looking at the gokyo no waza I see five general concepts at play in each technique. There is an attack that disrupts the supporting legs of uke, wheeling or wraping actions that cause uke’s top half to topple over, linier movements that draw uke’s top half away from center, attacks that lift uke off the ground, and dropping actions that are sort of like magic. From here on I’ll refer to them as: supports, guruma, lifting, extending, and otoshi. I’ll eventually come up with better names, but this will work for now. If you are wondering why I would bother doing this, check out this post.

Any given technique can apply several concepts. It seems to me that individuals who have variations on the techniques differ on which concept is prominent. For instance I feel that seoi nage – the way I do it – is more in the guruma family. Shorter, younger folks with a set of healthy knees can get real low and emphasize the otoshi or lift more prominently.

Based on the way I would teach the techniques, I grouped the gokyo no waza into the five concepts. If someone else grouped these throws, it’d look different because they might do a technique differently. I’m also still figuring on a few throws. For example, at the moment I have yoko wakare in the otoshi family, and osoto otoshi in the supports family. Those need to be thought through a little more, but whatever. I recognize that there are several concepts at play in those techniques; hopefully my students will also realize that. I just want to organize my curriculum in a meaningful way that builds on skills and concepts in a logical and efficient way. Just remember what Bill said: “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Attacking the Supports

For the first few weeks of class we are going to look at throws that disturb the supporting legs of your uke. These techniques rely on forcibly moving one or both legs as the distinguishing factor or central action causing the throw. It is important to remember however that there are other throwing concepts that apply to each of the techniques in this category. You can apply several concepts to any given concept. More on those concepts can be found here.

We will focus, albeit not exclusively, on three types of actions: sweeps (harai), reaps (gari), and hooks (gake). Things get more complex as you get to more advance techniques, but we’ll stick to those three for some explanation.

Sweeps are about moving a foot that is lightly attached to the floor. We are going to drill the heck out of this for the first few weeks. It would be helpful if you knew what the drill was suppose to be on day one. So watch this video and absorb. Be ready to do this on the fist day of class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhdDq05q-U8

For reaps take a look at this video; skip to the 7:15 mark. The punch line is reap in the direction of the middle toe. You’ll notice that he says “sweep” when he should be saying “reap”, but it’s generally good policy to avoid correcting folks with any amount of red on their belt. Reaps are designed to attack a foot that is attached to the floor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOaHSAdHlPg&list=UUI355PYWgsZG2X6MsjgUBZg

So there you go. Generally speaking, sweeps attack the non-loadbearing support and reaps attack the support that is bearing the weight of uke. Hooks also attack the loadbearing support but do it in a slightly different way. We’ll talk about that in class.

The universe of techniques that you’ll be working on in first few weeks will be:

White, Yellow, and Orange Belts

Deashi barai

Osoto Gari

Kosoto Gari

Kouchi Gari

Ouchi Gari

Kosoto Gake

Orange, & Green Belts

Harai Tsurikomi Ashi

Sukui Nage

Yoko Gake

Brown Belts and up

Okuriashi Harai

Osoto Otoshi

Morote Gari

Have fun, see you soon.

1/5/14 note: I think I can get away with calling this section tsumazukaze

A new year, a new semester, a new curriculum for the judo club

One thing I struggle with is developing lessons that are interesting for all skill levels. Each semester a new crop of judoka crop-up, and they need a lot of time working on basic skills like ukemi, and how to do simple warmup drills. That can get a bit boring for the folks who have been around for a semester or two (although they could use the practice as well).

Over the past couple years I have figured how to teach this to the Skittle-belts (rokkyu - yonkyu). In December, however I promoted my first students to sankyu (for the newbies, that's a brown belt). We also have more advanced students coming in all the time, and thus the skill diversity is at new high. Its a fantastic problem to have.

The way I've been running classes up to this point simply won't work, though. The positive part is that the higher ranks will be able to help, but there is a good bit of material that they need to get through for themselves. This material is just way too advanced for the inevitable white belt surge. A lot of times I see these folks fall behind, because every class they go to is a clinic on falling and osoto gari. All of which is important, but there is a lot more for them to focus on.

My solution: I've regrouped all the 40 base throws into 5 categories (more on that here). For several weeks in a row, we'll focus on one category, and I will limit the universe of potential practice material to that category. Each category is based on a central concept that I'll highlight and we'll have drills that focus on the concept. After drills and warmup each student (not wearing a white belt) will have the latitude to practice a throw(s) from that category.

For people that have been around for a semester or two it will be like watching the sequel to a great movie. All the best characters (i.e. throws) will return in a whole new plot (we'll also add a few new characters to spice things up). The newcomers will get a good look at all the basics. The higher ranks will also have the opportunity to dabble in the 4th and 5th set of the gokyo-no-waza.

I'm also adding in kata practice, more randori, and we'll learn a little ne waza every day. Don't miss class, and feel free to invite your classmates/friends.

The promotion requirements that - most of you - need to be focusing on:

Check this link out for more info: http://www.akarijudo.com/currstud.php

....and for whatever technique you are doing, you should know its name.

Rokkyu: 6th Grade – Yellow Belt

All basic Ukemi

Nage Waza: Throwing Techniques

4 throws from the first set of the Gokyo (your choice, but one has to be ashi bari: foot sweep)

Ne Waza: Mat Techniques

3 Osaekomi Waza: holds

Gokyu: 5th Grade – Orange Belt

Nage Waza: Throwing Techniques

10 throws from the first two sets, at least one each from Te, Koshi, and Ashi Waza

Ne Waza: Mat Techniques

5 Osaekomi Waza (holds)

2 Shime Waza (chokes)

1 Kansetsu Waza (joint locks)

Yonkyu: 4th Grade – Green Belt

Nage Waza: Throwing Techniques

All throws from the first 2 sets

Ne Waza: Mat Techniques

8 Osaekomi Waza (holds)

4 Shime Waza (chokes)

3 Kansetsu Waza (joint locks)

Monday the 4th we'll be focusing on the first set (0:25 - 1:35).

Friday, the second set will be the focus (1:40 - 2:48).

I'll be teaching some of the details differently, but this is the general gist.

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