Having veered off into other topics somewhat lately, I decided to focus just on judo in the next few posts. Tuesday night, we were going to do a video blog showing the most common mistakes at the USJA Junior Nationals, but Julia had the opportunity to have a sleepover with Kiah and Lucy, and being 10 years old, she wisely decided to do that instead, so I lost my tori. Today, we had the opportunity to do three episodes of what is now going to become a weekly feature, every Thursday: AnnMaria & Julia's Judo Video Blog Sneakerdoodle Zebra Judo. There are actual judo points in here but it is not wholly serious. I mean, come on, my partner is going into the fifth grade and our studio audience is comprised of stuffed animals.
Big mistake number 1: GET AN INSIDE GRIP!!! Hello??? If your opponent has an inside grip, say, on your lapel and sleeve or both lapels, and you have an outside grip say on their shoulder or back, there are more options for them to throw you than for you to throw them. When your coach is yelling at you to get your grip, he or she most likely means to get an inside grip.
Big mistake number 2. COUNTER! I don't know how many times I saw one person go in off-balance on seoi or harai goshi and the other person did NOT counter when it was staring them in the face. The reason for this is obvious. Counters are pretty much a reflex to do B when A happens. They need to be practiced a lot in the dojo.
Big mistake number 3. LEARN TO FIGHT LEFT-HANDED PLAYERS: Notice, I did not say "learn to fight left-handed", which is a completely different thing.
That's it for now. Next Thursday, we will have another post on Sneakerdoodle Zebra Judo. (Julia came up with the name, if you can't guess.)
I like that!
ReplyDeleteGood Stuff! Keep 'em coming
ReplyDeletehahaha julia loooks like a champ
ReplyDeleteYour written tips are always great, and combining text with video is I think a very effective approach. It's wonderful to see the person behind all the writing!
ReplyDeleteAbout getting the inside grip -- a friend of mine once got thrown with uchimata by a more experienced player in a promotional tournament. When I studied the videotape, I saw the opponent had taken the inside grip, and had tried to come in for uchimata a couple of times. My friend made the mistake of letting go with the very hand that had been blocking the uchimata, and reaching over in a big arc to get a behind-the-back grip on the guy. All that did was give the guy a window of time where he was holding with two hands and my friend was only holding with one hand -- and not the hand that could push away the uchimata. The opponent had the reflexes to capitalize on this, and once the opportunity appeared the match was over in a second.
Since then my friend has gotten his shodan and has improved his game considerably. He's also been studying grip-fighting. I trust he won't make that mistake again. :)
Very nice,Giulia's seoi looks very fluent,I think you'll have another champ in your family sooon.Also ne-waza video required please.Grazie un abbraccio Ric
ReplyDelete