My first Judo Journal Entry

So I have been doing Judo for about 2 months now and am loving it. I am learning all of the stand up and throws that seem to be missing from my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training and my BJJ training really helps a lot when it goes to the ground in Judo. At this time I am a white belt and have already competed in my first tournament but that is a different post.

My Sensei Keith mentioned that it would be a good idea to start jotting down little notes on my Judo to help in my learning and I am going to give it a shot. This will probably pour over into BJJ as well as I have been thinking about blogging about something similar to this for some time.

So, notes from class on 4/25/11 (yesterday).

We worked on reviewing all of the throws that we (Nate and I, we started together) have learned in our short time on the mat. I will comment on a few of the throws:

Seoinagi or "shoulder Throw."

This is the first technique we were taught after learning a lot of Ukemi (breakfalls.) The animation to the left shows the movement in this move. There are many variations depending on left handed or right handed grips, one or 2 arms, dropping to the knees and so on. I only know two versions, the normal right handed grip version and the drop seoinagi which involves dropping to the knees. I tried this move in my first tournament.

Kouchi Gari or "Small inside reap."

This is a great technique and while so far I have not had a lot of success with it I can see a lot of value in it. At this point my teacher has shown how to use kouchi gari as a setup for other throws including the next throw I am going to talk about and that is Ouchi gari (Large inner reap).

Ouchi Gari or "big inside reap."

This is the first real throw I ever landed in randori. As stated above, my sensei has shown some great combos that involve moving from a Kosoto Gari into Osoto Gari that I really try and work in every class. I will go over some of the nuances of each throw and little details at a later point but for know I am really working on learning what each throw is and what they are called.

Osoto gari or "big inside reap."

This is a great throw and one that I have known for a very long time. Long story short, I have known my sensei, Keith, since my childhood. He lived next door and I was friends with his kids. I have memories of him teaching his kids Judo in the backyard and him even teaching me a little bit as well. This is the throw he showed with me and it stuck with me my entire life. Now that I am doing Judo this really is a throw that I go for and one of the few I have landed successfully on my training partners in randori.

So those are a few of the throws that I have been taught up to this point. I am still working a lot on the terminology and even more importantly, the technique. I by no means have mastered any of these throws but I have a beginners understanding of how each is supposed to work and my journey will be to perfect these and all of the other throws.

There are so many small nuances and details in each throw. From the setup to the actual technique, there is so much to be learned. I just wanted to get this journal started. It will probably be filled with pages of cryptic seemingly useless tidbits of information but as I gather this information and piece it together I hope to improve my Judo game more and more.