First Competition

So I've been practising Judo for nigh on ten months, hardly a a veteran I know, but having felt that I've progressed relatively quickly during a short period of time I thought it worth testing my wares in a competition.  Grappling tournaments aren't new to me, I've done plenty of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions over the past four years, its always great to perform well but the main benefit has always been the increased learning curve.  There is huge difference between attending a regular training session and preparing for a competition.  Knowing you have to actually fight someone not only makes you work that little bit harder, it also forces you to focus on your strongest techniques, you can't help but improve.

The three weeks leading up to competition were tough. I was in my second month of new job and had the added responsibility of running my Jiu Jitsu classes.  The main problem I had was just tiredness, however I had no real expectation of winning, I simply wanted to experience a Judo competition and hopefully improve along the way, I therefore vowed to compete and just enjoy the ride.

My game plan was fairly simple, my right handed throw would be Uchi-Mata, my left handed throw would be..well I didn't have a left handed throw, but there wasn't much I could do about it so close to the tournament.  The big advantage I did have, however, was my ground game, unless my opponents were also Jiu Jitsu purple belts, I felt confident I could control things and win on the ground.

As I said before, one of the main reasons I compete is because it forces you to focus and improve your technique.  The two black belts at Alexandra Palace, Stuart and Racky, really put me and Richard, my training partner who was also competing for the first time, through our paces.  We focused exclusively on our strongest throws, and I have to say I saw a huge improvement my uchi-mata, it still needs a lot of work, but its certainly better than it was.

However, I still had the problem of having no left-hand throw.  Picking something I was familiar with, I thought I would try uchi-mata, perhaps I'll get it at some point, but in preparing for the competition, it just wasn't there.  So I decided to experiment with a few throws and seemed to find Tai-Otoshi a little bit easier.  Over the course of the next two weeks I really practised it in earnest, like my Uchi-Mata, I have a long way to go, but it feels like I've definitely made some progress.

The other huge benefit of competing is the fact that it makes you train that little bit harder than normal.  The classes therefore consisted of throwing practice which consisted of throwing different uke continuously and of course round after round of randori.

So, in terms of preparation, I felt I'd done all I could in the time given.  The competition was scheduled for Sunday so I decided to stop training on Tuesday.  I had to teach my Jiu Jitsu class on Thursday but didn't do any sparring, and apart from being tired I felt OK - until I woke the next morning with a stinking cold. Competitions are tough enough without germs making it worse, for a while I thought I might not be able to compete but hoped that I'd be feeling better with a rest on Saturday.

On Saturday I was still feeling a bit ropey, but not worse, so I popped down to the club to sort out my Judo licence. If there is one thing during your preparation for a competition its that you can guarantee something will go wrong, be it an injury, work getting the way, family strife or in my case a cold and then crashing your car on the way home.  I was fine, but I was really beginning to think that I was destined not to compete.  Fortunately, Stuart was good enough to pick me up along with Richard and drop us at the venue which was in Oxford

After registering and changing we waited to fight.  It was freezing, I wondered what the hell I was doing when I could be at home in bed.  At Jiu Jitsu tournaments I've always been one of the last to fight, this time my bracket was up first, but this didn't stop the pre-fight nerves.  I know its my body's way of preparing me to fight, but for me its the worst thing about competing, much worse than losing.

Our bracket was called, Men's Senior >90kg and I sized up the competition.  There were only three guys in my category, Richard who I knew well, and a green belt.  Whenever, I compete I can't help but make assumptions about my opponents, this guy looked big, strong and he was belt higher than me.  We warmed up and stretched which helped alleviate the nerves but then had to watch the >76 and <90KG guys fight before we even got on the mat.  Richard and the big green belt were up first and in my opinion Richard was the more active player, he continuously attempted Judo throws.  The green belt was strong but seemed to be resorting to 'strong arming Richard', rather than applying technique. 

Richard has been training Jiu Jitsu with me since the beginning of the year, when he and the green belt stumbled to the floor, Richard pulled guard, but after only a short period time the referee stood them both up again.  I concluded that if it hit the floor I'd have to be active and precise immediately, Richard was capable of submitting, but hey, that's competition experience.  After they stood up, Richard went in for a Seoi Nage, but the green belt literally just grabbed Richard's belt and dumped him on the floor for the Ippon.

Another fight took place and then it was my turn.  By this time, all the benefits of my warm up had disappeared and I feet were frozen, not ideal, next time I'll remember to keep moving.  Nevertheless, I went into fight mode and was ready.  We bowed, and went in for grip fighting. 

Wow, this guy was strong, he was almost picking me up without throwing me.  I tried to turn in but his arms felt they belonged to a robot, I thought my best chance was to counter, but he really wasn't attacking, instead he was trying to break my balance but only trying non-committal ko uchi gari's. 

Then to my surprise, the referee stopped us and gave me a warning for stalling!  There really wasn't much I could do, but I really felt that the green belt was being a lot less active than I.  Anyway, we started fighting again and I went in for an uchi-mata, he moved out slightly and I switched to o uchi gari, I had him on his toes but just couldn't finish.  He then came in for a throw and we both stumbled to the ground, he tried to apply a arm lock of sorts, but with all my Jiu Jitsu training there was no way I was going to get caught with something like that.  I manoeuvred out of it, and pulled guard.  Having seen the referee stop Richard's match I grabbed his collar, broke his posture and scissor swept him straight to mount.  Now, I could have ended the match with about three different submissions, but was slightly wary about the referees previous dodgy warning, so I simply held in mount, it seemed to go on forever, much longer than thirty seconds, but there was no way I was letting him up, Ippon. 

I would have loved to win with a throw, but its a competition, win first and perfect later.

After watching another >76KG fight it was time for my second match.  Fighting team mates is never fun, you can never really celebrate a win and of course you hate to lose, but Richard was my opponent, so I got with the job in hand. 

We fought for grips and Richard tried to turn in for a Seoi-Nage, I felt him turn and move to the side to stop him.  I then took an overhand grip and Richard knew I setting up for an uchi-mata, so he ducked his head under my arm.  Now during randoori a lot of guys at the club know I like this throw and often duck their heads under my arm, having digested this I thought that it might give me the opportunity to pull off a sumi-gaeshi by simply reaching over, grabbing the belt and flipping my opponent over my head.  However, I never expected to try it a competition, but the opportunity presented itself and acting on instinct I grabbed Richard's belt, fell backwards, placed my foot inside his thigh and over he went, Ippon.

So, two matches, two Ippon's.  My first Judo competition accelerated my learning and the pressure of applying all my leaning in 'live' scenario will hopefully pay huge dividends, the journey continues....!

Ouchi-Gari Combinations

Over the past few weeks I've been trying to put together a game plan, a series of throws and combinations that I can really perfect and pull off during randoori.

I've had some luck with minor foot sweeps, but upon reflection, the success rate is fairly low, i.e. I tend to get a reaction from my opponent rather than the actual sweep.

We have practised various combinations during the classes, and call me dumb but I've just realised that to be effective you really need to 'set your opponent up'.  This is where the foot sweeps are great.

I have therefore tasked myself with working on a couple of combinations:

Ouchi Gari to Tai Otoshi



Ouchi Gari to Harai Goshi



One of the successful throws during the recent grading was the Makkikomi, it only makes sense to to think about this as well, Ouchi Gari to Makkikomi:

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.

Injuries, Uchikomi Combinations, Hane Goshi, Harai Goshi

In my last post I mentioned that I had a sore Achilles from a recent road run.  Well, so much for it being a minor injury, one month later and the it's still very sore.  I say that but having just returned from the Osteopath I have a range of stretches to try, plus a new support, so I'm hoping to see some improvement soon.

Less encoraging is an injury I suffered to my big toe joint.  I picked this up about three weeks ago during a Randoori session with Sean, the 15 year old Green belt.  I'm not quite sure what happened, if I recall it was a clash of feet, but I do know that it hurt like hell.  After icing it for weeks on end and stupidly still training on it, the damn thing is still swollen and painful.  Well this morning, I went to the hospital to have an X-Ray, I was convinced that I must have fractured a bone somewhere. But no, nothing, the doctor said its probably just a strain and to keep icing it, that's good news I guess, but it's three weeks and counting and it still hasn't healed...

Anyway, I realise I train a lot, four to five times a week and I'm relatively fortunate that most of the injuries I've picked up during my travels, bar a badly sprained ankle about three years ago that kept me out for four months, have never kept me out of action of any significant length of time.

Injuries are part of the game, so last night I strapped my ailing feet up and trained anyway.  There were six of us in the class which meant getting a lot of attention from Stuart the Dan grade.

We first went through a series of Newaza holds and pins which included Kesa Gatame and an escape, Kuzure Kesa Gatame and an escape, so on and so forth.

We then practised some Uchikomi, but this time practising a combination of throws.  One of the combo's I tried was Ouchi Gari to Uchi Mata.  Apparently this is Stuart's favourite combination and he has a very similar build to me.  I took to this really well and of course I need to brush up on my technique, but it's certainly something to work on.

Stuart then introduced two new throws to us Harai Gosho and Hane Goshi, the latter I have actually been working on during the last few weeks:






These throws seemed to work great for me, particularly Harai Goshi. The entry is very similar to Uchi Mata and it's certainly one to work on.

My injuries prevented me from any Randoori and it will probably be that way for the new few weeks, nevertheless I learned a lot and proved that if you are injured you can still gain a lot from a class.

Ko Soto Gari to Seoi Nage

I was in two minds about whether to attend tonight's class.  I had a very sore Achilles from a long run I did on Sunday, I know its best to rest injuries but as I'm due to be away for work next week I really wanted to make the class.  So I went and bought myself a ankle support and vowed to take it easy.

I'm glad to say that as soon as I had warmed up the discomfort more or less disappeared and I was able to train without too much hindrance.  We began the lesson with some light Newaza and then moved onto some positional submissions and escapes.  The first was a rather complex reverse triangle submission, I'm not convinced I could pull this off during a sparring session, but it did give me some ideas that maybe I can use eventually.  We also practised an escape from side control, this would probably work again a Judo fighter but I'd probably run into problems against a BJJ guy.  We then did some Uchikomi in the usual sets of ten, but also walking in tandem up and down the mat.  I continued to work on my Uchi Mata but also tried the entry for Hane Goshi:



Again I haven't had any instruction on this yet, but practising the entry now will hopefully give me a head start later.

Racky then showed us a set up for Seoi Nage from Ko Soto Gari. When Uke avoids the sweep by pulling his/her leg back Tori then transitions to the hip throw.  I still have problems getting my hips below the level of my opponent due to my height but as always it's still worth practising.

We then moved into some Randoori.  I had the opportunity to train with Sean a 15 year Green Belt.  I'm bigger and stronger than Sean but I really wanted to avoid using my size during the sparring and rely on technique.  There is certainly a difference between a Yellow or Orange Belt and a Green Belt.  On the other belts I can usually pull of the techniques but Sean was tough, I managed a Ko Soto Gari a couple of times, but that was it.  When I went for a Tai Otoshi and Uchi Mata but he was able to counter my attempts with relative ease.  A reason for this was revealed a bit later on when I partnered with Stuart.  He said that I need to be more subtle in breaking the balance as it's actually a quick wrist action as opposed to a large full body movement.  So up until now I've probably been telegraphing a lot of my movements, something to work on.

We finished the class with some groundfighting, my anke held up well so I'm pleased I made the effort.

Ko Soto Gari and Sumi Gaeshi Review, Uchi Mata/Uchi Gari/Tai Otoshi Combination

Today we reviewed some of the techniques we've been drilling over the last few weeks.

The first of these was Ko Soto Gari - small outside reap.  Racky demonstrated the throw and pointed out the finer details. I've also found it vital to recap on previous lessons as it really helps to practise and cement the technique.  As if to prove my point I noticed that the hand which has the collar grip is incredibly important to the throw, it effectively helps to further break the balance of your opponent and was a detail I had not paid enough attention to.  Racky also demonstrated the throw from the other side of his opponent, i.e. sweeping the leg on the collar grip side.  This time the sleeve hand becomes vital in assisting in the breaking of your opponents balance.  I feel I've taken to these techniques quite well, so these extra details will hopefully see further improvement.

We also reviewed Suni Gaeshi and I'm pleased to say that the throw felt a lot smoother this time around.

I'm always looking for new ways to improve my Judo, just as I've always looked for new ways to improve my Jiu Jitsu.  One of the throws I have seen is Uchi Mata so I thought I would give it a go.  I haven't had any instruction on the throw but hoped that I would be able to pick the brains with one of the Dan grades. 

Well today I didn't get any instruction on the actual throw but I was able to practise the entry during several rounds of Uchikomi.  I was also able to attempt the throw during Randoori.  When sparring with Oswaldo, a Black Belt, he made a few observations.  He explained that if the Uchi Mata doesn't work I can switch to Tai Otoshi.  He also said the same transition works from Uchi Gari to Tai Otoshi.  This was a revelation to me as the transition felt so natural.  When I did Randoori with another student, it worked like a dream.

I also realised that you can transition from Uchi Gari to Uchi Mata, the possibilities are endless!



We finished the session with some Ne Waza which is always fun, another great class.

Ni Dan Ko Soto Gari and Seoi Otoshi

In earlier posts I explained that I had had some success with Ko Soto Gari.  I've found that timing is incredibly important in pulling of the sweep but it can be countered by your opponent stepping back and establishing or re-establishing his/her base.  To counter this defence Racky illustrated Ni Dan Ko Soto Gari which is essentially executing the outside trip to the rear leg.  I drilled this with Simon and found it fairly effective, it's certainly one to add to my dictionary of throws.

I also explained that I had some problems getting low enough to execute Seoi Nage.  Racky illustrated an adjustment called Seoi Otoshi which is a similar technique but the feet are staggered. This really worked well for me so again its one to drill.

I've often said that I've been very grateful for the way the club has accepted Simon and I, not just as new Judokas but also Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grapplers.  Racky introduced a flip over throw called Sumi Gaeshi, but before this he asked Simon and I to demonstrate a similar throw from Jiu Jitsu.  I demonstrated a standing butterfly sweep and Racky then drew parallels between this and Sumi Gaeshi.

We ended the class with continuous rounds of Randoori and Ne Waza, a good class.