It was a good day for uchi mata

 Judo at Gompers renewed a little of my faith in humanity.

"Every day is a good day when I'm on the mat."

It's beginning to feel that way. Today, 1980 Olympic team member Steve Seck dropped in unannounced for a visit.

Not only is Steve a terrific judo coach and an Olympic athlete, he also teaches at King Drew Medical Magnet High School. A major goal of our program at Gompers Middle School is to help students succeed personally and academically. Part of that is encouraging them to apply to the best high schools they can attend. Steve came last year to talk to our students and encourage them to apply to his school. Two of them did and were accepted.

He came again today and taught uchi mata because, being a former teammate of mine, he knows well that matwork is my strong point.  (Uchi mata is Japanese for inner thigh throw. You can see why in the pictures below where Steve's right leg catches Ain about on the inside of his thigh.)

When Ronda was young, I took her to Steve and Blinky to learn uchi mata and now both of them have come to teach the students at Gompers.

He told the students he told Ronda when she was 11 years old,

Anyone who can hop backward in a circle can do uchimata.

Another point he made, and see it illustrated in the photo above, is that you are generally going to be more effective with uchi mata using a high grip on the collar than a traditional lapel grip.

You can also see Steve's head going down toward the mat and his body turning as he pulls Ain into him with BOTH his right hand on the collar and his left hand on the lapel.

 Although Steve said he was too old to throw any more, you can clearly see that is not true. He's only letting go with his right hand at this point so as not to fall on Ain.

Speaking of good people - the good people of Orange County Judo Training Center had donated money to buy the kids water all year, since there is only one water fountain for 17-20 people, and that is on a different floor.  Every kid running down to get a drink would take half an hour.

I thought the water came from the check they gave us. Today, I found that I'd had that check in my gi bag all along. José Gonzalez, the same teacher who has been volunteering his  time after school for six years, also had been buying the water. I gave him the check for the Woodcraft Rangers so, from now on, that will be one less out of pocket expense for him!

We received a donation from a kind gentleman from Italy that will allow us to buy judo uniforms for the kids going to Kansas City and Gompers Judo t-shirts for everyone else. We desperately need more mats as the class is growing, so that is next on my list.

Everything is improving in every way all the time.  I had fun teaching. Steve was a great help because his strengths in throwing match up perfectly with my weakest points. I injured my knee when I was a teenager, so during my competitive years, I couldn't do a left uchi mata to save my life. Also, every time he comes, it is one more bit of encouragement for students to consider King Drew Medical Magnet.

To even further sweeten the pot, a couple of our kids that I was really concerned about academically are doing much better.

It was a good day. 

--------------- Black Belt likes me to remind you 
occasionally that I wrote this book on matwork with Jim Pedro, Sr. and it would be nice if you bought it. It's about winning on the ground. That's why it's in the title.

There's more than one way to makikomi a ko uchi

Here, for comparison, is how Ronda does a ko uchi makikomi (minor inside winding throw) and how I do it.

Her way is more risky. You are more likely to throw the opponent for an ippon in judo and win the match. However, if you DON'T get the ippon you are in a more vulnerable position.





Which way is "best" depends on your goal. If you are behind in the match and there is very little time left, do it Ronda's way. You are more likely to get a higher score and win. If you are ahead, I'd suggest my way. You may not score a full point, but you aren't very likely to get countered or choked either.

There's more than one way to ko uchi makikomi

Ronda does this throw one way and I do it another. It's not because her way is wrong and mine is right, or vice versa. Both are right for different purposes and wrong for others. As I demonstrate here, mine is best for a low-risk attack. It is hard to counter and easy to transition to matwork.

If you are better at matwork than standing (I raise my hand at this point), this may be a better choice for you. If you are ahead in the match and don't want to risk getting countered, it may get you a yuko, getting you even further ahead. At worst, you won't get a score and you'll still be ahead.




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 Learn math. Save lives. Learn culture. Kill things.(Relax, it's a game)

What a combination is and is not

Wow, two posts in a row about throws  - this has to be a record!

This past weekend at the West Coast Judo Training Center we were covering set-ups and combinations. My biggest complaint about combinations is that most people do a half-ass throw followed by a real attempt at a throw. That's not a combination. That's asking to be countered.

You probably know this if you are reading this blog, but it is worth emphasizing. When you do your combination REALLY attack with that first throw.

Here is an example with Liam who is (I think) 11 years old. Maybe he's 12. Comment below if you know.




Notice something really interesting here? Not only did he do both throws with a pretty serious intent to throw, but he does the same throw twice.

Nothing says you can't do that as a combination. I thought it was rather clever.

Set-ups and combinations - practicing not to be a one-trick pony

I watched our kids at the West Coast Judo Training Center this week and I noticed something that I think is very common with most good judo players (and I think this is true of jiujitsu , grappling and mixed martial arts as well).

I asked them to do their favorite throw and they all looked really good. When I said, "Go!" they went right to it, did it without hesitation and good technique.

Next, I asked them to do a set-up to their favorite throw, and then throw. This took a little more thought and they hesitated quite a lot at the beginning of the throw. That, of course, is bad, because your opponent is not just going to stay in position, waiting around for you to throw.

After we had practiced that for a while, I had them do a set-up, followed by their favorite throw, followed by a combination.

Here is an example of this drill with Bradley, who is 11 years old.

Now, he did not do it nearly as well as Crystal, who is a 19-year-old black belt, but he did it pretty well for someone who had just been practicing this for a few minutes.

The point, I told them, is to not be hesitating thinking about what you are going to do, but to practice it so much that you can do it without thinking. Crystal seconded that, saying that often after she has won a much by ippon, people will ask her what throw she did and she'll respond,

 "I don't know. A hard one. Where they fell down."

She demonstrates the end result of this drill. Over a period of time, it becomes automatic.

Take away lesson of today: Don't practice your throws in isolation.

Throwing tip: Outside Leg Sweep

If you have a hard time doing an outside leg sweep - known to us judo types as o soto gari, here are two quick tips.

1. Your right arm (assuming you are doing it right-handed) should be as if you are going to sock your opponent in the jaw. Your elbow should be bent and you should be lifting your opponent with that right hand and pushing toward the corner, putting all of his weight on his right leg. One of the most common mistakes you see with this technique is when the attacker "leaves the arm behind". Notice how my right shoulder is just about to smack into my opponent's right shoulder.

2. STEP IN with your left leg. A second really common mistake is to "reach" with that right leg. That's a bad idea. You are going to be off-balance and likely to be countered. Notice how my left foot above is almost even with my opponent's feet.

In over four years, I think this is the first post I wrote just about throwing.  While my focus has always been on matwork, I have occasionally thrown people. Just so you know.