First Judo Grading

Last week I had my first Judo Grading which was an interesting experience to say the least.

Barnet Judo Club is governed by the British Judo Council (BJC).  Recently they made changes to the syllabus which essentially broke the progression from white belt to green belt into a series of 'tabs'.  This is new initiative was implemented to ensure that green belts are not too 'green'.  At green belt you are expected to fight for your next belt, blue, but it seems that a lot of students have been racing through the belts only to get at green.

I see the logic in this but was slightly concerned because as a white belt I was only eligible to grade for one tab.  The requirements consisted of a series of breakfalls and a Morote Seoi Nage throw, I felt that I could perhaps go beyond this, but being respectful of the etiquette and my instructors opinion I of course complied with the grading system.

So on the day of the grading I felt very confident that I could perform the tasks necessary for my first tab.  I partnered with another white belt and Stuart tested us on the various techniques.  After completing them I relaxed and sat down to watch the higher belts grade.  But to my surprise Stuart asked me to step back onto the mat.  At this point I thought that someone probably needed a partner, but I was wrong.  Instead Stuart asked if I would like to go through some of the other tabs in light of my Jiu Jitsu background. 

So we proceeded to work through the syllabus and I did a series of throws, combinations and some groundwork. 

One throw I was particularly pleased with was Tsuri Komi Goshi.  I only had the chance to practise this once before the grading, so I was happy that I pulled it off with relative ease.



So after completing the extra assessment the lower belts were presented with their new grades and I was awarded an orange belt.

Orange is still a junior belt in the grand scheme of things, but when I think back to my first lesson and how non-existent my Judo was, jumping two belts in five months is still pleasing.

I don't think I'm yet at green belt level as I have still have a lot of work to do, but this does give me the impetus to continue training hard with the aim of getting to the business end of the belt system.

It was also very interesting to see the rest of the grading, particularly the greens and above who had to fight for their next belt.

After watching the fights several things became apparent:

1.  Having a 'go to' throw.  I only witnessed one or two clean throws by a couple of guys which led to ippon or a dominant ground position.  Upon speaking to the Judokas who landed these throws, they seemed to have really worked at perfecting one or two techniques.  I've yet to figure out what my go to throw(s) are, but its something I intend to work on.

2. Groundwork matters.  Due to the lack of clean throws many of the contests were won on the ground.  Considering my BJJ background this is less of a concern, but I'm glad I've heeded the warning.

3.  Conditioning.  As with any physical contest conditioning gives you an advantage, whilst a lack of conditioning gives you a disadvantage.

Finally, it was also interesting to see how formal the grading was, BJJ gradings are almost a party, the atmosphere last week was much more sombre.  All in all it was an eventful day and a great learning experience.