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Old 04-02-2004, 09:14 AM   #4
bob_stra
Location: Australia
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 641
Australia
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Re: So I took a Judo class today...

Hey Aleksey

Other than the slightly disturbing kiddy name calling, this seems a 'typical' judo class. Ie: not a really top notch one nor a bottom of a barrel one. But a very 'sporty' club by the sounds of it? In those types of clubs, agression is encouraged, as tournament wins = going up in belt rankings.

General comments - the warm-ups are usually fun. Might be just me - we have lots of kids over here, so most classes tend to be ... interesting. Just last week, for breakfall practice, sensei grabbed a hanging rope (we share the floor with a gymnastic group), swung on it like a pirate, then did a breakfall. "Now you try" he sez to the kids ;-)

Re: Resistance in judo. I usually say to my partner "ok, let's go at X %" so that they know how much resistance to give. It sounds like you were working uchikomis (static throws). Typically, you start out with no resistance for the first set, then maybe work upto 30% "simple resistance" - generally just being stiff, not doing crazy counters etc. Kinda an unwritten rule there, unless stated otherwise.

Re: irimi nage. Just wait till you get to osotogari ;-) I keep doing that with irimi nage arm follow thru, much to my amusement.

Re: Angsty young guys. Yes. Protect yourself from them. They can and will hurt you. Mostly happens in 'sporty clubs', but you can run into it anywhere. Diffuse it with humor, or lay the smack down once to earn their respect.

Re: Judo needs Aikido to work. IMHO, Judo benefits from Aikido in illustrating body connections. The method of instruction in Aikido is quite different to that of Judo. Sometimes, amidst all the high flying fun, you miss out on the subtle details that Aikido excels at. (rotate this, to cause that to turn, to force this over here to happen, thus making the throw easier).

Aikido benefits from judo's rough and tumble. All the esotera in the world will do you no good once some gorilla grabs you and decides to play. You need to know how to shut it down in "real time", against a non compliant opponent. Take heart - judo defense develops a lot quicker than judo offense. (especially in newaza - groundwork)

Finally -

Blind fate seems to have steered me towards clubs where the judo is very much on par with Aikido methodology (more tech, less brute strength, non sporty clubs). Try another club - you might get lucky and find something better. I hear the Zen Judo guys are quite like that, if you can find em.

http://www.zenjudo.com/main.htm

or ask over at

http://www.judoinfo.com/discuss/

Last edited by bob_stra : 04-02-2004 at 09:27 AM.
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