We started with some Newaza (groundwork) and it was performed in a fairly relaxed manner, basically we took turns in going for a sub. I did manage to pull off what in BJJ is called an Americana but I can’t quite find the Judo equivalent. Looking on wiki it appears that Ude-garami is used to describe an Americana, Keylock and a Kimura.
Anyway I pulled an Americana which pins an opponent’s arm to the ground so that it is bent at the elbow, with the opponent's palm upwards. The wrist is grabbed with the opposite hand, and the arm on the same side is put under the opponents arm, gripping the attacker's wrist. This results in the necessary figure-four hold. While keeping the opponent's hand pinned to the ground, the attacker begins sliding his or her pinned arm down and parallel to his or her thigh while cranking the elbow upwards. The opponent will feel pressure on their elbow and/or shoulder. I did this both from the mount and side mount. This was one of the techniques I remember from a couple of BJJ lessons I had a number of years back.
After the Newaza we went on to Kata. I must admit I wasn’t looking forward to this as if it is anything like the Kata in Karate or Forms in Wing Chun then IMO it’s a waste of good training time.
However surprisingly it was ok. I think Kata is only needed for the higher grades and even then it’s not essential but it does teach you good form and for a beginner like me it was useful to go over Kesure Kesa Gatame
and also to learn Yoko Shiko Gazame
Basically I put the hold on my opponent and he tries 3 different set ways to get out of it and I defend each one in a set manner., we then swap over. Not as exciting as Newaza but certainly better than Karate Kata.
Next up we worked on a couple of throws and first up was Ogoshi,
which is a hip throw. Being tall like me makes this throw very difficult to pull off as I really have to bend my knees to get my hips under my opponents. The instructor showed us what to do if your opponent resists this throw or in my case if I cock it up and that was to go straight in to Uke Goshi
which basically allows me to swing them round kinda of in a discus throwing way, over your right leg. This was easier to pull off for me especially against the heavier guys.
We finished off with some light Randori again where we both alternated between throwing and being thrown. I worked on my Osoto otoshi
and De Ashi Barai and tried but failed at Ogoshi.
I did manage to drag the top of my foot across the mat at one point which gave me a nice friction burn from my big toe half way down my left foot, hence the title of this thread.
The pictures I have used on this thread I got from this website http://www.judoinfo.com/ which has been quickly saved to my favourites.
Definitely worth a look as it has every technique listed and plenty of videos of great Judo players past and present on there.
