tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15287623742146632272024-03-13T14:09:13.572+00:00Judo is only gentle for the guy on topStuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.comBlogger248125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-57930935122468981242017-08-01T22:55:00.001+01:002017-08-01T22:55:28.221+01:00You're a Wizard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My first post in a long time but I felt recent events deserved a quick update. So why the title?<br />
Let me explain.<br />
<br />
The first time I ever attended a Jiu-Jitsu class (that’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) I had been training Judo for just a few months. However due to my rather large size and general athleticism I was already giving many of the higher belts at Judo a hard time in Newaza.<br />
<br />
I had been studying groundwork since I first watched Royce Gracie win those early UFC’s and Judo was the closest thing, both in terms of distance and similarity, to BJJ in my vicinity.<br />
However Nova Forca in Epsom wasn’t a million miles away so when my Judo club was closed for one of the school holidays I rang the instructor and asked if I could come down for a class. I explained to him that Judo was my thing and that I was hoping to make the occasional foray in to BJJ only when my Judo club was closed and he was fine with it.<br />
<br />
In my first proper BJJ class I got to roll (spar) with many BJJ students of all levels. Against some of the new guys who had but a few weeks of training, I did ok, managing to submit some of them. Against the white belts who had been training a few months things were pretty even. I remember thinking at this point that I was quite good. I was half expecting the instructor to single me out as a great example to others. Then I rolled with a blue belt.<br />
<br />
This blue belt moved effortlessly on his back as he submitted me with a succession of armbars, triangles and all other manner of weird chokes that I had never seen before. He was also able to take my back with ease, sweep me and basically do whatever he wanted.<br />
<br />
I quickly came to the conclusion that Blue belts were basically wizards and I aspired to be one.<br />
<br />
Roll forward many years later and on Saturday I was awarded my blue belt by my instructor Martin at Reigate Martial Arts. It felt great to be acknowledged for all the hard work and training I had put in and whilst I felt I was ready, due to how I performed when rolling with the other students, I certainly didn’t feel like a “Wizard”.<br />
<br />
I have therefore come to the conclusion that Purple belts are “Wizards” and I now aspire to be one……</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-60654797922137090272016-03-23T22:50:00.001+00:002016-03-23T22:50:54.606+00:00Knee Op<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
1 month until I get the first of two knee operations which I hope will allow me to return to training as good as new. My knees have definitely gotten worse recently so there is no doubt that I need the operations.<br />
I haven't actually done any Judo for months now which i'm quite sad about considering how big a part of my life it has become over the last 6 years. The only thing keeping me sane is BJJ which I am now as enthusiastic about as I once was about Judo. The advantage BJJ has over Judo, with regards to my dodgy knees, is that the vast majority of the training and focus is on groundwork. Being thrown repeatedly, even if tori is an experienced Dan grade and knows how to do the technique properly, puts a massive strain on the body, just from getting up off the mat time and time again.<br />
<br />
So will I ever return to Judo?<br />
Assuming the operations are a success, I would like to but probably only for the odd class. I feel my future lies with BJJ now and the club I go to offers me everything I need. </div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-7385126154551739612015-10-23T16:34:00.002+01:002015-10-23T16:34:24.898+01:00Meniscal tear <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been having some knee pain recently which I only noticed when
kneeling down, or I should say that I am unable to kneel down. Anyway after a
visit to my GP, a hospital referral and an MRI scan I got the results from the
surgeon who told me that I have a medial meniscal tear and a meniscal cyst on
my left knee and the posterior horn of the medial meniscus in my right knee is
torn a long with a rather large bursa which is on the lateral aspect of the
tibiofibular joint. In addition a localised area of signal change is seen in
the cartilage of the patella which raises the possibility of a cartilage
defect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have been offered keyhole surgery to repair the meniscal tears but
the surgeon recommended that I only do that if I was in pain with my knees all
the time or they were stopping me from doing certain activities (like Judo). At
present the only thing my knees are stopping me from doing is kneeling down,
like when I bow at the beginning of a Judo class, but I’ve bought a couple of
knee supports which I’ve been wearing in the gym and more recently when I did
BJJ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have been advised by the specialist not to do any impact sports,
like running and although he didn’t specifically say not to do Judo, I would
imagine tachiwaza could be an issue.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So where does this leave me? At the moment I’m giving Judo a rest and
concentrating on BJJ where there is less chance of injury, however I still love
Judo and miss throwing people so maybe I’ll do one class every two weeks, just
to stop myself from going too rusty, and then if I decide I want to try and get
my 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> dan sometime I can up the training accordingly.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So for the time being I’ll be training BJJ exclusively and trying to
improve my knowledge of the ground game. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-85020248231047238722015-10-02T11:49:00.001+01:002015-10-02T11:49:06.369+01:00BRIAN JACKS MASTERCLASS 2015 @Yoshin Ryu<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2MZimgOGu6A" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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Who can spot me?Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-68430260137693133102015-09-22T10:47:00.004+01:002015-09-22T10:47:55.106+01:00Reigate Martial Arts – Checkmat BJJ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since deciding to train BJJ properly at Nova Forca a couple
of things have changed in my life. One being my job and the other my Daughter
starting school. This has meant that getting to Nova Forca in Epsom was
becoming difficult. A quick Google search brought up a fairly new BJJ club in
Reigate, which is literally a 2 minute walk from where I now work. Reigate is
also a lot nearer to my house as it takes 15 minutes by car. So I’ve made the
difficult decision to stop training at Nova Forca and start training in
Reigate. I can think of nothing negative to say about Nova Forca though, it is
a great place to train and the standard of the students there is very high.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.martialartsreigate.com/brazilian-jiu-jitsu" target="_blank">Reigate Martial Arts</a> is run by Martin Hollis who is a brown
belt under Keith Mckenzie. The gym is a permanent matted dojo big enough for
20+ guys to comfortably train. So far I’ve attended three classes and have been
made to feel very welcome. The Monday class that I’ve attended is two hours long,
the first hour focusing on teaching beginners and the second hour for slightly
more advanced students, although there are still plenty of white belts present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The format for both classes I’ve attended has been the same
thus far which consists of a warm up with the usual shrimping and breakfalls
etc and then on to techniques. This is usually one technique and then either a
variation of that technique or a continuation. Then towards the end of the
first hour there is some situational sparring, both classes I’ve attended so
far have focussed on guard passing so one guys starts on the bottom and the
other starts in his full guard. The guy on top has to try and pass the guard
and the guy on the bottom has to try and sweep or submit the guy on top. The
winner stays on. I’ve found it really beneficial to practice guard passing and
also guard retention and I think this is a good way to introduce rolling to
complete beginners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second hour of the class will then follow on from the
earlier technique and finish with around 30 minutes of rolling. Martin chooses
who rolls with who, which isn’t a bad thing as far as the instructor assessing
the students skill level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m really enjoying the training at <a href="http://www.martialartsreigate.com/brazilian-jiu-jitsu" target="_blank">Reigate Martial Arts</a> and
who knows, this may even inspire me to start updating my blog more regularly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-48377261743057071512015-08-25T11:53:00.001+01:002015-08-25T11:53:28.535+01:00Uchimata: Practical vs Classical <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HZJcx2ppyB4" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
<br /><br />
As Uchi Mata is one of my favorite throws I had to post this video. Not a lot I can add other than watch and learn.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-16126215016686894062015-08-12T16:49:00.003+01:002015-08-12T16:49:43.536+01:00Survival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s said that the role of a BJJ white belt is to survive
and the last couple of classes I’ve been doing just that, surviving. When I
started doing BJJ a few months ago I was really surprised just how ineffective
my Judo newaza skills were against all but the very new guys. I was getting
tapped a lot, seemingly with ease and this was more than a little demoralising.
However I’ve been tapping less lately, in fact last night I didn’t tap at all,
but I don’t think that means I’ve suddenly become a grappling god, I think it
means I’m slowly eradicating some bad habits that BJJ guys seem to capitalise
on even at white belt level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I do Judo newaza with lower belts I probably exhibit a
number of these bad habits, however these are only <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>capitalised on by the higher belts, usually
other black belts and let’s face it you expect to get tapped by black belts so
it’s still not obvious whether they are subbing me due to a mistake I made or
because of something they did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what does this all mean? Well in the short term I need to
ensure I don’t get sloppy when I roll with lower grades in Judo. I should use
those roles to work on a specific area of weakness but still keep everything
tight. In BJJ I need to continue what I am doing, keep turning up and training hard,
absorb as much as possible and ask questions when I get tapped by the higher
belts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some things I need to add to my game are guard passes and
opening a closed guard. Also my armbar from mount is poor, I really need to
practise that as much as possible even if it means I end up losing a good
position, after all its only practice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-67173414516421663972015-07-15T11:10:00.002+01:002015-07-15T11:10:32.446+01:00And so it begins – Nova Forca BJJ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the last 6 weeks I have been training BJJ at Nova Forca’s
new headquarters in Epsom. They now have a fulltime dedicated dojo which
includes a reception area where they sell training equipment and sports drinks,
a well-equipped gym, toilets and of course a fully matted area with kick bags
and a half cage for those also training MMA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been training at Nova Forca for almost 5 years now but
usually my training consists of a few classes in the summer when my Judo club
is closed. However this time it’s different, I am here to stay. Unfortunately I
am not able to commit any more time than once a week which does put me at a
disadvantage especially when you consider that some of the guys train 5-6 times
a week. So what I need to consider is that I need to measure my progress
against myself and not the other guys who are currently at or near my level as
its likely they will improve faster than me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what are my aspirations and goals in BJJ? I think I need
to be realistic here and understand that getting a black belt in BJJ will take
me forever if I’m only able to commit to one class a week but that’s ok. What I’d
like to do is to get to a decent level of groundwork ability and I think a blue
belt represents just that level. This doesn’t mean that I would quit once I got
to that level it just means that blue belt is an achievable goal if I
consistently train for the next couple of years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This doesn’t mean that I will be giving up on the Judo
though, I will still continue to train and try and make myself a solid 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup>
dan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-45140892777781361432015-06-11T22:39:00.001+01:002015-06-11T22:39:48.937+01:00Brian Jacks visit to Yoshin Ryu<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I had the pleasure of sharing the mat with a true Judo legend on Monday, none other than Brian Jacks 8th Dan. Mr Jacks is the club president of Yoshin Ryu and close friend of the owner of Yoshin Ryu, Sensei Errol Field 7th Dan.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anyone growing up in the 1980's would perhaps remember Brian more for his exploits on the BBC's Superstars program which he dominated for many years. He made Parallel bar dips fashionable until people actually tried to do them themselves and realised just how bloody hard they are to do. I think he managed 100 in 60 seconds which was a world record. Funnily enough when I was heavily in to lifting weights I would always end my session doing dips but I never managed to do anymore than 60 before collapsing in absolute agony.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anyway Brian Jacks was one of my childhood heroes and sharing the mat with him and posing for a photo with him afterwards was a fantastic experience.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0SB5sL8oJ6ypAi3PKxEnBJq13avVYIU_DNYvfzKvVYSCTq8lk2oLcGvWMXEMqoTeyEcTfMjCpDHUdzV4g7q3pN1rmLQoClsymDfh-nJf24BfmOg2xNlBS8nfGoZLiw2yeJUmtpO2D-I/s1600/1545832_10153386013981617_4984434172165991124_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0SB5sL8oJ6ypAi3PKxEnBJq13avVYIU_DNYvfzKvVYSCTq8lk2oLcGvWMXEMqoTeyEcTfMjCpDHUdzV4g7q3pN1rmLQoClsymDfh-nJf24BfmOg2xNlBS8nfGoZLiw2yeJUmtpO2D-I/s640/1545832_10153386013981617_4984434172165991124_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Front row from left, Me 1st dan, Danny Hardy 6th dan, Errol Field 7th dan</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Back row, Brian Jacks 8th dan, Oliver Bradley 1st kyu.</div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-88378657064497907732015-04-30T11:26:00.001+01:002015-04-30T11:26:40.406+01:00Newaza @ Yoshin Ryu<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since my last post I haven’t trained that much due to my
elbow being popped, however I have being doing stretching and rehabilitation exercises
which seem to be having a positive effect so hopefully It’ll soon be 100%
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before the injury I started doing the 5x5 stronglifts
routine in the gym. For those who are not aware what it is you can find more
information <a href="http://stronglifts.com/5x5/" target="_blank">here </a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.
I liked the look of this routine mainly because it focuses on leg strength which
is something I am lacking, especially when I have to get down low to do seoi
nage’s. With my injury I had to stop all upper body training but I have
recently started doing deadlifts and bench press again, albeit with fairly
light weights but I’m already up to 80kg deadlifts, 80kg squats and am pressing
30kg dumbells (Using a bar for bench hurts my shoulders, old injury, long
story)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll update my blog with any gains I make and as I’m still
in the early phases of the routine I expect my gains to be quick especially as
I have, in the past, squatted 130kg and benched 120kg. They do say your muscle
has memory so I’m hoping I can get back to that sort of weight sometime, assuming
my old body holds together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last night I trained at Yoshin Ryu (Newaza night) which is a
class I really enjoy. Although I originally injured my elbow in a Juji-gatame I
feel that I’m less likely to re injure it doing groundwork than I would if I
was thrown and had to break fall using my left arm, which less face most people
get thrown by right handed throws so always use their left arm to break fall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was a really good mix of experience in the class last
night with plenty of kyu grades from white up to brown and then 6 dan grades from
1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> to 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> dan. Last week I had trouble sweeping a heavy
yellow belt from inside my guard so this week I pulled guard again so that I
could try and solve this problem. Again I was not able to sweep him. He seemed
wise to the flower sweep and being strong it was difficult for me to control his
arms. I attacked his neck and got close with a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>couple of collar strangles but it ended in a stalemate
with no submissions of hold downs to either of us. I complemented him
afterwards for having a good strong base and will try again next week to solve
this problem. Obviously I could refuse to pull guard and push him down but I like
the challenge and besides this a clearly a weak spot in my game that needs working
on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next up was another stocky guy, an orange belt, but unlike
the yellow belt before him I was able to sweep and submit on multiple
occasions, changing between playing guard to working on my top game and
passing. So I was feeling good and then Sensei Tim called me over for a roll
and I was made to feel like a beginner as he constantly passed my guard, strangled
and arm locked me at will. I managed to take his back at one point and had both
hooks in but he very calmly and slowly reversed the position and squashed me in
to the mat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next up was a young brown belt (anyone under 30 is young in
my book). I’ve rolled with him before and I mentioned in a previous post just
how good his newaza is. I think the biggest compliment I can pay him is that he
moves like a BJJ’er, very light and quick with a good guard. I’m sure he’d beat
the majority of brown belts on the ground. I decided I wanted to play top game
and he seemed happy to play guard and so the chess game begun. Most of this
roll was me trying to pass his guard, all the while being aware of his sweep
attempts and his attempts to choke me. It was a good tactical battle and right
near the end I managed to pass to side control but he quickly escaped. However
in the scramble I found an arm and got the tap with a belly down juji-gatame. I
think I got lucky but will always seek this guy out as he is really technical
and presents me with different problems to some of the others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Against Sensei Neil and Sensei Paul I faced a familiar
problem. They both like to use the same technique to pass my guard, ie one arm
under my right leg which leaves them open to the san-gaku-jime. However each
time I try this I get stacked, folded in half and eventually passed and subbed
or just held down. To be fair against Paul I’ve been close to getting the
san-gaku-jime but against Neil he never seems in trouble. I need to look in to
ways of either perfecting my san-gaku-jime or <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>defences against that particular guard pass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another excellent Wednesday evening at Yoshin Ryu which is
now my favourite class of the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-67503914331411490752015-03-31T16:13:00.001+01:002015-03-31T16:13:27.038+01:00Maven BJJ - Woking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I felt compelled to write my first post in quite a while as
I met up with my old sparring partner Jadon, who was back from Worcester for a
few days visiting family and friends. I had intended to take Jadon to Yoshin
Ryu on Wednesday night for their newaza class but unfortunately he was only
staying for a few days and wouldn’t be able to attend. However he did tell me
that he was going to a BJJ club in Woking which is run by an Andy Roberts brown
belt, Dan Geoghegan, who Jadon had started training BJJ with many years
previously. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We arrived early and were made to feel very welcome by some
of the members who were waiting to go in. The club is located in a room in a
very large gymnasium in Woking, so not a permanently matted area. However the
jigsaw mats were very quick and easy to lay down unlike those heavy large mats
most Judo clubs seem to favour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The warm up was made up of the typical shrimping, breakfalling,
commando crawling and sprawling type of exercises that seem to be quite normal
at most BJJ clubs. I think this type of warmup was the right amount of balance
between a warmup and a light workout that one needs, especially as the class
was only one and a half hours long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dan showed us first the flower sweep and then a flower sweep
set up to triangle. I’ve been having some success recently with the flower
sweep at Yoshin Ryu but the version Dan showed me was slightly different but
just as efficient. I think we drilled it enough so that I would remember it
again in the heat of battle, which is something that BJJ gets right in their
teaching. When you drill only 1 or 2 techniques in a class you normally
remember them forever. The flower sweep that Ricardo showed me almost 5 years
ago at Nova Forca is still something that I use today and a technique I will
never forget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We finished off with about 30 minutes of rolling or sparring
and I was lucky in that I got to roll with Dan. He has a very relaxed and calm
way about him and most of his transitions and movements were very smooth and
deliberate. He didn’t embarrass me, although I’m sure he could have if he
wanted to, but he did just enough to make me work hard to survive. He spent a
while going for an ude gurami and as he was being nice he allowed me time and
space to defend against it several times until eventually he got the tap. It
was a nice roll and one that I could definitely learn from given more
opportunity. The standard of the students I rolled with was, in my opinion,
high. The only gripe I had was that I got arm barred by one of the guys who
slapped it on a bit too fast and hard for my liking. So hard in fact that I
felt my elbow pop. There was no malice intended though it was just one those
things that happens from time to time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall I really enjoyed my time at <a href="http://www.mavenbjj.co.uk/" target="_blank">Maven BJJ</a> and will try
and get back there sometime, maybe when Jadon is next in town or when my elbow
has healed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-59828892599832047452015-02-05T10:19:00.004+00:002015-02-05T10:19:51.168+00:00A Rich reward as Dorking Senior earns black belt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It appears I have gained a certain amount of notoriety as the local paper printed an article about my black belt presentation <a href="http://www.dorkingandleatherheadadvertiser.co.uk/Rich-reward-Dorking-senior-earns-belt/story-25903083-detail/story.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Actually I can't act too surprised as I was asked to write the article myself. It's a good advertisement for the club especially the seniors.<div>
<br /></div>
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Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-10408196805028134782015-01-13T16:45:00.000+00:002015-01-14T16:24:18.676+00:00Black Belt Presentation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Although I have been wearing a black belt since the 16th of November, I've only been wearing a plain black belt that I bought online. I knew that the club had ordered me a nice embroidered belt because Graeme asked me what I wanted written on it. however a belt like this takes a little time to make so I've had to wait until now to receive and be presented with it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-lj4zHlUx6Lh3QKc4k9K6yVPm5jqu46c1CFExPhtFxEbeeK2m6PXsUvzT-jLdgCM5XvnLEMzlLKEumYOpYglQ-lMnJSeotihz23tW-MuyEfaH68ZTRC4XJSk4oQ30i4YmZqz2SNEe7Q/s1600/Getting+the+belt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-lj4zHlUx6Lh3QKc4k9K6yVPm5jqu46c1CFExPhtFxEbeeK2m6PXsUvzT-jLdgCM5XvnLEMzlLKEumYOpYglQ-lMnJSeotihz23tW-MuyEfaH68ZTRC4XJSk4oQ30i4YmZqz2SNEe7Q/s1600/Getting+the+belt.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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I blame Mr Miyogi for not bowing properly when receiving the belt from Graeme. "Always look eye"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyyt2KliX_jckO9gK59sE2O9IRNa8qVYndvYAgKCMGyM0QLfuXOYB8Z3KDHw0R7sSPdWxb_37FFj9V62SGqPNgpExtY0OxBlbzWLah_bTY_s84hn5YquHydc92zDPI2gLmPz3lMlzpgI/s1600/Shaking+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyyt2KliX_jckO9gK59sE2O9IRNa8qVYndvYAgKCMGyM0QLfuXOYB8Z3KDHw0R7sSPdWxb_37FFj9V62SGqPNgpExtY0OxBlbzWLah_bTY_s84hn5YquHydc92zDPI2gLmPz3lMlzpgI/s1600/Shaking+hands.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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A firm handshake is certainly more preferable to the belt whippings some of my BJJ friends receive when being awarded with their new belts.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u0iQeBL81RXxTEFsLZj2ZAZtLq9-xOQkHgsSCe_YKAYS_VYPmTwuMBYiMo_2hVDhr-ZZ3OMrk0ORllpolngv4G0zXr08WCBqzw0dUamyArRUzcILktoXmkmueKGmuuq57L9cGYGoP2E/s1600/Wearing+belt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u0iQeBL81RXxTEFsLZj2ZAZtLq9-xOQkHgsSCe_YKAYS_VYPmTwuMBYiMo_2hVDhr-ZZ3OMrk0ORllpolngv4G0zXr08WCBqzw0dUamyArRUzcILktoXmkmueKGmuuq57L9cGYGoP2E/s1600/Wearing+belt.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Tying my belt in front of the whole club, including the parents of the kids, meant I did a rush job and therefore my name and the kanji for Judo is round the wrong way.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XBmRaMSP279h9vwGGQABhEhjMQY_t_m6ZoSs_2SFEQe8urXR_zBdGTBfw1BGcRkEQMyvCG6QEcD7kjZFL7tDhcyE0PNTkzIzXKtIoZBl7vdzDbiQHTeXj0IWsw3mpk0JFDvTjyWByoE/s1600/Club+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XBmRaMSP279h9vwGGQABhEhjMQY_t_m6ZoSs_2SFEQe8urXR_zBdGTBfw1BGcRkEQMyvCG6QEcD7kjZFL7tDhcyE0PNTkzIzXKtIoZBl7vdzDbiQHTeXj0IWsw3mpk0JFDvTjyWByoE/s1600/Club+Photo.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A nice club photo, something we don't very often do.<br />
<br />
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I just wanted to add a few thank you's for those who have helped me on my Judo Journey so far.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Peter Leach and Stuart Mcdougall were responsible for coaching me through my early grades and without them I wouldn't have stayed with the club.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Oliver Bradley was the best Uke I ever had and gave me encouragement and also taught me lots. He also followed me on my numerous club visits to Yoshin Ryu and my many BJJ excursions.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Ynes Anderson taught me that everything ends with a Juji :)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Stewart Park helped keep the club running with Stuart McDougall and taught some old school hard Judo. It was a real shame that he had to give up coaching.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Jadon, for pushing me hard when we trained together,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
All the coaches at Yoshin Ryu, you know who you are (Neil, Tim et all). Even though I was not a member of Yoshin Ryu they always treated me as one of their own and gave me some excellent advice and coaching, not to mention a few bruises.<br />
Pete at Witley for giving me some great advice just before my dan grading contest at High Wycombe "just do your Judo Stuart"</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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Lastly Graeme for believing in me and making me believe in myself. I wouldn't be a black belt today if it wasn't for him.</div>
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And there we have it. My Oscar speech. I wonder who i'll be thanking when I get my 2nd dan!</div>
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Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-14115816532586407542015-01-08T11:35:00.001+00:002015-01-08T11:35:01.416+00:00Two Gis for sale.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've decided I need to make some room in my wardrobe so i'm selling two of my gis. The first is an Adidas J500, size 200 which has shrunk so that its more like a 190.<div>
The second is a Mizuno Shiai size 5.5 jacket only.</div>
<div>
The links to both of them on ebay are below</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181633055413?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2648" target="_blank">Adidas J500</a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181633058755?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2648" target="_blank">Mizuno Shiai</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you need any more details then let me know</div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy Bidding.</div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-30257380983379629732014-12-05T11:28:00.000+00:002014-12-05T11:28:04.822+00:00Got it!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Tj3xp4H1TCNZP3SSPksCfRNB6RDsHsImA1j_xni6KsrId9WF5MUuDRhIdaC-3pHWCN0sOKzq6igpSsDc6ik1x6aftfG-lhgOdI7PLzqLL64oizQ3ikDQOJsAN889SCinYi-mcpg1c28/s1600/39-198-BlackBelt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Tj3xp4H1TCNZP3SSPksCfRNB6RDsHsImA1j_xni6KsrId9WF5MUuDRhIdaC-3pHWCN0sOKzq6igpSsDc6ik1x6aftfG-lhgOdI7PLzqLL64oizQ3ikDQOJsAN889SCinYi-mcpg1c28/s1600/39-198-BlackBelt.jpg" height="196" width="400" /></a></div>
I haven’t posted anything for over a month now and there is
a reason for this which will soon become apparent so please read on.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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On the 16<sup>th</sup> November I made my way to the Judo
club where I would be attempting to pass my Dan grade theory test. For those of
you who are not aware, in the BJA there are two parts to the 1<sup>st</sup> dan
black belt test, the Dan grade theory is usually done first followed by the
competitive part which is to obtain 100 points in competition against other
brown belts. This basically equates to winning 10 fights via Ippon. As I had
already passed the competitive part of my dan grading I had just to pass the theory
test and then I would be officially a black belt.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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I arrived on a Sunday morning at 9.30am and was told to
expect the day to last until approx. 4.30pm, which is quite a long time to be
doing Judo. I was thankful that, in this room full of twenty strangers a
familiar face appeared that of big Russ from Witley.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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The course was quite informal despite both the examiners
being 5<sup>th</sup> dans. They went over a variety of techniques from the syllabus
and allowed us all plenty of time to practise them. Having Russ as my uke made
things like the first set of nage-no-kata particularly easy for me as he is
roughly the same height as myself. This meant I didn’t need to bend down quite
so low when executing the Ippon seoi nage and the kata-guruma and likewise when
I was his uke.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just before we were both tested all the techniques went out
of my head. I was watching the other judoka doing their tests and when the
examiner called out the technique they wanted to see I had no idea what it was.
It was like I had never done Judo in my life. All the Japanese names suddenly
made no sense to me. Then when we were called every technique suddenly did make
sense and I nailed every throw, counter and combination first time with ease.
The pass mark is 190 out of 270 points and I scored 242 so I felt like a really
deserved to pass. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I got more out of this days course than just my black belt,
I got a lot of confidence. I am able to perform every technique in the Gokyo to
a reasonable standard, which when you consider how many throws and strangles
and arm locks and hold there are is no mean feat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I didn’t get from passing this course was the elation
that I got when I won my line-up, or batsugun as they call it in Japan. This
was more of a relief.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Now back to why I haven’t posted about this until now, well
I was to be officially awarded my black belt by my club and I wanted to take
photos and add them to this post but there has been a delay in getting the belt
embroidered so I won’t get it until the New Year now. In the interim I am
wearing a plain Adidas black belt which feels a bit strange and I do find
myself keep looking down at it. I still have tons to learn but I feel like I am
now ready to start learning Judo, if that makes sense? I know the basics and am
able to apply them to anything new I learn. I’m also ready to start refining my
Tokui-waza and will try to become something of an Uchi-mata god over the coming
years. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So what now? Well I’m not sure what else I can add to this
blog. It was always about my Judo journey from white belt to black and beyond.
Now that I am a black belt I don’t feel I am ready to turn this in to an educational
blog like <a href="http://thedifficultway.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">this one</a> which is an excellent resource if you are nearing dan grade level, however I
also don’t think I want to continue the blog in its current guise where I write
about each class I had and each technique I learnt in that class. So for now I
will add the odd post when something interesting happens but you can expect
posts like this to be a lot less frequent from now on.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-88785693815279780072014-11-04T10:48:00.000+00:002014-11-04T10:48:52.807+00:00British Judo announces new sponsorship deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">This will upset a few people.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">The below is taken from the BJA website, the link can be found <a href="http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/news/british-judo-announces-new-sponsorship-deal-with-ultimate-fighting-championship" target="_blank">here </a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">British Judo today announced mixed martial arts promoters Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as title sponsors of the 2015 British Open Judo Championships, as part of a new partnership.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">The Championships, which will take place at Wembley Arena on 12th of July, will be supported by the world’s largest mixed martial arts organisation which champions all forms of combat sports.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">The sponsorship deal will also see UFC take advertising on the British Judo website and social media as well as other advertising opportunities as they look to support and promote sport and the national governing body.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">UFC is one of the fastest growing event organisations in the World, creating a huge following of the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) of which judo is a core discipline. The partnership will support the promotion of combat sports and is expected to have a positive impact on grass roots participation in judo.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">Speaking on the sponsorship deal, British Judo Chief Executive, Andrew Scoular said: "We are absolutely thrilled at our new partnership with UFC, which will bring about many mutual benefits for both the organisations and the sports of MMA and Judo in the UK. We look forward to developing other sponsorship and advertising opportunities with UFC in the future.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">“By partnering with such a leading martial arts brand as UFC, we will receive significant added exposure for British Judo as a core martial art and the partnership will be instrumental in raising the profile of the sport of judo, ultimately leading to increased participation for young people.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">“British Judo's values include discipline and responsibility. These along with respect and ethics are shared by UFC.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">Garry Cook, UFC Chief Global Brand Officer said: “The 2015 British Open Judo Championships will be a fantastic event and an important stage on which athletes can perform and promote their sport. Judo is a key component of mixed martial arts, and we are excited at the prospect of bringing together UFC fans, Judo supporters and practitioners of both sports.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.9200000762939px; padding: 0.7em 0px;">
<span style="color: white;">Judo is one of the combat sport disciplines widely used by MMA fighters within The UFC, a link which is demonstrated particularly well by UFC Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey (USA) who won Judo Bronze medal at the Beijing games in 2008 and made her MMA debut in 2010, before becoming the first female fighter to sign a lucrative contract with the UFC in 2012.</span></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-10659340933399068042014-10-10T13:21:00.001+01:002014-10-10T13:21:48.407+01:00Neil Adams randoriI stumbled across this the other day and had to share it especially as it resembles my Judo very closely (My tongue is firmly in my cheek btw).<br /><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JGYp4sDHxm0" width="459"></iframe><br /><br />
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<br />Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-62302691328289447792014-10-01T22:22:00.001+01:002014-10-01T22:24:11.444+01:00BJA Dan Grade Theory<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/pdf/DanGradeExamSheetCompetitiveMay2011.pdf" target="_blank">This is the Dan Grade Theory Examination Form</a> which I am currently studying whenever I have a free moment. Graeme is also currently running through any of the techniques which I am not comfortable with in the class, which essentially means that everyone is doing dan grade theory work, but i'm sure no one is complaining. Looking at the <a href="http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/pdf/DanGradeExamSheetCompetitiveMay2011.pdf" target="_blank">Examination Form</a> I will be asked by the examiner to perform a single throw from each set under Nage-waza. There are 8 throws in each set and there are 5 sets so I have to know 40 throws.<br />
<br />
Then I will be asked to perform 1 Ne-waza technique in each of the 5 sets, which is 27 ne-waza techniques.<br />
<br />
Lastly I will be asked to choose 1 set under the following sections:<br />
<br />
Renzoku-waza - 3 combinations in the same direction<br />
Renraku-waza - 3 combinations in the opposite direction<br />
Kaeshi-waza - 3 counters<br />
Renraku/Kaeshi/Nige-waza - 2 combinations<br />
<br />
Oh and then there is the little matter of doing kata, of which I have already decided to do the first set of Nage-no-kata, as I already had to do this for my brown belt.<br />
<br />
I found the below on Youtube which appears to be all the Renzoku, Renraku and Kaeshi- waza as well as the Renraku ne-waza. All I need to do now is to decide which sets i'm going to choose but I've got a fairly good idea already. Simples<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K7POHRotbOk" width="459"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-45589069615691738922014-09-26T16:47:00.001+01:002014-09-26T16:47:08.610+01:00This is how you do Tai-otoshi<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/03Zu9l_rmzI" width="480"></iframe>Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-70104985780818978512014-09-17T11:29:00.002+01:002014-09-17T11:31:23.959+01:00High Wycombe Dan Grading<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So the time had arrived for my first dan grading contest. I
did compete in February at brown belt in a points scoring competition but this
was to be my first actual dan grading. Graeme very kindly drove me to High
Wycombe and I was very thankful for that especially as I was extremely nervous.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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On arrival I did what most people do, eye up the
competition. This wasn’t a good idea as sat next to me was a giant of a man who
stood at least 6ft 6 and weighed in at 113kg. Then there was the French guy,
full of muscles, who weighed in at 115kg. Both of these guys I felt sure would
be opponents of mine; however I only weighed 89kg so I would be giving away a
lot of weight.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Also present were some guys from Witley Judo club which was
nice as I was able to warm up with them before the fights started. Unlike the
competition I attended in February where I weighed in and that sat around for 5
hours waiting to fight, this was well organised and no sooner had we warmed up
than we called over to the mats to start fighting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What normally happens at dan gradings is that they split you
in to groups of light, middle and heavyweights. I normally weigh anywhere between
89 – 94kg so I’m usually classed as a HW, albeit one of the lightest ones. The
fights soon started and there was some lovely Judo on display. I was
particularly impressed with the newaza skills of a couple of the lighter guys and
was surprised that the referees gave plenty of time for the newaza to progress
before calling matte.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before long my name was called out along with my first
opponent who didn’t appear to be a heavyweight, in fact he was considerably
shorter than me, although he was fairly stocky. What I didn’t notice at the
time was the GB patch on his back so perhaps I shouldn't have been too surprised when
I was thrown not once, but twice with a drop seoi nage for wazari scores.
Bugger I had, as I always do, lost my first fight. On reflection I could have
done better and probably would have done had I been better prepared mentally. I’m
not saying I would have won but I was just caught cold a little.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I walked over to the side of the mats with a look on my face
which said “here we go again”. I was now thinking that if I can just win one
fight I’ll go home happy. Before long I hear my name called and again my
opponent was smaller than me. I would probably guess he weighed around 80kg. This
guy was someone I recognised from the tournament I entered in February at
Worthing so I figured he was competition hardened. When the ref called hadjime I
quickly took a dominant grip and was able to really bully him. At one point I
threw him to the mat just using my arms. It wasn’t long before I was able to do
that again but this time I got my foot in for a sort of Kosoto gari and he fell
flat on his back. “IPPON” shouted the ref and all of a sudden I was a happy man.
I had achieved my goal of getting 10 points at my first dan grading. If Graeme
had said lets go home at that point I would have probably gone home content.
However winning my second fight meant I had another fight and even if I lost
that I might still be in someone else’s line up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My wait for my next opponent went really quickly as all the
fights in between seemed to end in Ippon. Yet again my opponent was smaller
than me and I knew him, it was one of the guys from Witley called Jack. Jack
was just under 80kg so was giving a lot of weight away, however he was, at 17
years old 25 years my junior so I figured that evened things out a bit. Now I
have never done tachiwaza randori with Jack before but I have done Newaza and I
felt I definitely had the edge should we go to the ground. When the fight
started we were both a little too defensive and the ref stopped us at one point
and told us to attack more. With less than a minute on the clock I managed to
throw him for Ippon. I couldn’t believe it, 20 points at my first dan grading and
now I had a line up and the chance of actually getting all 100 points.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Out of the 20 or so guys that were present I think there
were five who qualified for a line up. The tall giant guy and the French guy
had both gotten a line up so I knew I wouldn’t have to fight them. The guy that
beat me in my first fight had also gotten a line up so I knew I wouldn’t fight
him. I think the organisers had a hard time matching us all up to be honest as
a couple of other guys had been choked unconscious, one to the point of
fitting, so they were not allowed to fight. Eventually my line up was called and
of my three opponents two were ones I had already fought and beat. My first
opponent however was what Graeme had called “a stopper” he was 102kg and was designed
to present me with a problem, a real test, which after all this was supposed to
be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was quite quickly able to establish a good grip and felt
confident that I was going to be able to throw him. I probed him tentatively
with some foot sweeps and noticed that he had his weight mostly on one side of
his body so I tried a Hiza guruma and he toppled over for ippon. Within seconds
I was fighting my next opponent, the guy I had beaten in my second fight and
this time he had upped his game and was moving around quickly, making it a lot
harder for me to control him. He attempted a drop seoi nage but I was easily able
to step off and attacked his turtle. I was trying for the Juji-gatame turnover
but his arm was stuck in good so I baited him by sliding off his back and hoped
he would take the opportunity to attack me on my back. When he did I quickly pushed
his left arm outside my guard and slapped on a really tight san gaku jime and
got the tap almost immediately. That was two wins and I needed one more to get
my 100 points. I was fighting Jack again and to be fair he really went for the
win but I was coming off of 4 ippon wins so my confidence was sky high. Again
it was a cagey affair and I was really reluctant to over commit to anything as
I feared being countered. Then, in what appeared to be a blink of an eye, he
attacked me with Kosoto gari and I was able to counter with Uchi mata for the
Ippon. I was stunned; I couldn’t believe I had actually done it, 100 points and
within touching distance of being a black belt. Jack had been my hardest
opponent by far and I’m sure he’ll get his 100 points at his next dan grading.
He ended up being in the tall guy’s line up and actually beat him with two
wazaris. I called him Jack the Giant Slayer afterwards and told him he should have
that put on his black belt when he gets it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Next up for me is the dan grade theory test so I need to
swat up hard. As I didn’t expect to be in this position I assumed I would have
at least a year to prepare but now I want to grade quickly, in a month or so,
so I have a lot of work to do. In the gym on Monday I felt a severe pain my
left bicep whilst doing chin ups which is exactly the same injury I had this time
last year. Hopefully it won’t keep me off the mats for long but at least I don’t
have to worry about shiai and fitness now, just technique.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Below is the video of my line up</div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/G885rT_KKds" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-65755437097051485862014-09-10T11:43:00.003+01:002014-09-10T11:43:46.900+01:00Dan Grade Theory<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In preparation for the theory side of my dan grading Graeme
said that we will be doing lots of dan grade techniques this term. We learnt
the first set of Nage waza under Renzoku waza on Thursday, which are combination
throws in the same direction as follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Seoi nage to Seoi otoshi<o:p></o:p></div>
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O Uchi gari to Ko Uchi Gari<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hiza guruma to Harai Goshi/Ashi-guruma<o:p></o:p></div>
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The last technique Graeme had us do Ashi-guruma as this is
what is listed in the BJA dan grade theory book as released by Roy Inman.
However the BJA’s website lists Harai-goshi so I did it with both and as there
isn’t a great deal of difference in the throws, apart from using the hip in the
Harai, it didn’t make too much of a difference. I was actually pleased with how
well I performed these techniques especially the likes of Seoi otoshi and
Ashi-guruma, which are not throws I ever use.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We also covered Kesa gatame and Kuzure Kesa gatame, the
holds and the escapes from, both of which are fairly rudimentary. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are still an awful lot of techniques to cover from the
dan grade theory and a lot of revision will be necessary but it looks slightly
less daunting once you actually get in to the nuts and bolts of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-20920289382227023412014-09-02T16:08:00.003+01:002014-09-02T16:08:33.531+01:00Kumi-kata - Witley Judo Club<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I’ve just returned from two weeks sunning myself in the Dordogne,
France and have literally done no exercise whatsoever, I figured my body could
do with the break. Before I went on Holiday I managed to get a good session in
at Witley Judo club and I attended another excellent class there on Monday
night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This was to be a “simple class” as Pete, the head instructor
put it, and by that he meant that we would only be learning a couple of
techniques., one a simple turnover against the turtle and the other a version
of kata-guruma where you do not touch the legs in anyway (so competition legal)
Apart from that the rest of the class was Newaza and tachiwaza randori.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was nice to catch up with Tim from Guildford Police Judo
Club who is now sporting a blue belt. It transpires that Tim has been training
BJJ at Andy Roberts place three times a week for the last couple of months and
it showed when I picked Tim for my first round of Newaza randori. He was very
active off his back, throwing up plenty of Juji attempts however I managed to
defend well against them. The round ended after I had swept him to mount and
was just about to apply an Ude-garami. Still his newaza has improved a lot and
if he carries on the BJJ training he will no doubt be subbing me next time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Following my roll with Tim I was able to pull off a number
of submissions including a couple of San-gaku-jime’s, however it still took me
quite a while to finish them and in doing so I really gassed my legs out, something
to consider if I attempt this in shiai.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve written before how I’ve had trouble in randori when I
face guys who have superior gripping strategies. This is usually apparent when
I visit places like Yoshin Ryu where they have a number of larger and/or higher
ranked guys. For me there are three components to randori. Tachiwaza, Newaza
and Kumi kata (gipping) but maybe I am getting too hung up on it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Last night Pete showed me a couple of things I was doing
wrong when I sparred with him. Now Pete is considerably shorter than me but it
still able to dominate me with his grips, should he so wish. He told me that I
was over reaching with my second hand when trying to get my sleeve grip, which
when facing a shorter person is like Christmas as they are able to use my
momentum to throw me. What he said I need to do is to pull them towards me and
then grip rather than to go looking for it. Quite simple but it makes perfect
sense. Another thing he pointed out is that I was a little too square against
the shorter guys which gives them the space to step in to when they inevitably
try there seoi nage’s against me. What I need to do is to have one leg slightly
forward which then reduces the space they can step in to. One last thing he
pointed out to me was that I need to fully commit to my throws rather than pull
out if I don’t immediately throw the other person, which I have been told
before but I am really making a conscious effort to do this now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dorking Judo Club is open again this Thursday so I’ll be
back at my home club but I’m going to keep training at Witley on Monday nights
and, when possible, Yoshin Ryu. I’m hoping this will be enough to see me
improve significantly so that I can start to collect some points towards my dan
grading although it might be a bit soon for this extra training to pay off with
my first dan grading event coming up on the 13<sup>th</sup> of September at
High Wycombe. I am, however, determined not to come away from it empty handed
and will be disappointed if I haven’t made some inroads in to the 100 points needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-29801699021118838052014-08-11T15:42:00.001+01:002014-08-11T15:42:27.694+01:00Kosei Inoue - The King of Uchi-mataSeeing as Uchi-mata is my tokui waza, there's no one better to watch than Kosei Inoue.<br /><br />
Enjoy<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5axqhZ4W4Ic" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
<br /><br />
<br />Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-84907814725290442392014-08-07T14:13:00.004+01:002014-08-07T14:13:59.382+01:00Sode guruma jime<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oli & Jadon joined me last night for another Newaza only
session at Yoshin Ryu. This was the second week running that Oli had attended
this class which, until last week, he hadn't been on the mats’, other than to
assist teaching the kids class at Dorking, for almost 1 year. It was perhaps
for this reason that I refused to tap when he caught me with a nice collar
strangle last week. I was pretty close to going out but for some reason (ego
perhaps) I decided I was not going to tap to him, due to his inactivity and how
that would look for me tapping to someone who, by his own admission, was a
little rusty. Luckily for me I was able to eventually escape his strangle and
the rest of the roll was a good back and forth exchange although neither of us
were able to get a submission or pin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last night Oli was the first person I sparred with and again
we had a good back and forth tussle. Both of us actively going for subs and
defending and reversing our positions. No subs were forthcoming again but it
was a very enjoyable roll.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I had a nice roll with Jadon where I was able to pass his
guard in to Yoko-shiho-gatame but in a moment of madness I looked away from him
and he was able to trap my head with his leg and turn it in to a San-gaku-jime
where he eventually got the tap. The rest of our roll was pretty close and I
was actually able to return the favour when he passed my guard and got a
Yoko-shiho-gatame on me as I used the same escape on him but matte was called
before I could try for the submission.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An orange belt was next, who also trains BJJ at RGA in
London and is a blue belt. He pulled guard and tried to play spider guard but I
was able to shake off his grips, pass his guard and sink in Sode-guruma-jime
for the tap. We started again and he continued with a very open guard, clearly trying
to play spider guard. I grabbed his legs and spun him over where I attacked the
turtle with a Juji turnover and finished him with a Juji-gatame.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sensei Dave was next
and he played guard to start with. I attempted to use the techniques he had
taught the class earlier on him (Sode-guruma-jime) but this obviously wasn’t going
to work on him. It was when he decided he wasn't going to play on his back anymore
that I started to get in trouble and he caught me with a couple of subs towards
the end and a pin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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Something that I took from watching the Judo at the recent Commonwealth
games was said by Neil Adams regarding attacking the neck and then the arm and
vice versa. I noticed last night that when I attacked someone’s neck they invariably
presented an armbar opportunity. The same thing happened when I looked for
their arm, they left their neck unguarded. This may seem quite basic and I've
probably been told this before but it really worked for me. I’m gonna have a
play with this and see if my submission ratio improves. It certainly did last
night.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1528762374214663227.post-80434582352646614812014-08-01T13:35:00.000+01:002014-08-01T13:35:58.612+01:00Ups and downs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the hot weather continuing in to its second week I
decided to buy a cheap single weave lightweight gi. I was lucky enough to spot
an Adidas 500gm single weave on eBay in my size which had been worn once,
washed and had shrunk too much for its owner (we've all been there right?) I
bought this for a measly £25 including postage, a bargain!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I wore the gi to training on Thursday night and I must say
it felt weird wearing a single weave gi after only wearing doubles for so long.
To be honest I’m not sure if I liked it enough to wear it again. What bothered
me most was the ease in which my opponent was able to grip it although it could
be said that wearing it could actually help improve my Judo because if I’m
effective wearing it then imagine what I’ll be like when I wear a double and
people are unable to grip it so easily.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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Following last week’s classes at Yoshin Ryu in which I left
feeling quite positive and was able to throw and submit people, this week was
the opposite. I submitted no one in newaza randori and don’t remember a single
successful throw in tachiwaza randori. Of course I need to take in to account
that I sparred with different people than I did the previous week so I
shouldn't beat myself up over it but it can be a little frustrating sometime
when you feel like you are taking one step forward and then two steps back.
However despite not throwing any resisting opponents we did do plenty of throw
for throw practice which I find really beneficial.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Stuarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13481282984187585853noreply@blogger.com0