Judo UK

On Sunday 30th March 2008, the Welsh National Judo Championships will be taking place at Cardiff WIS. Offically the event will start at 9.30am but I’ll be making my way down (only to spectate) around about 10.00am. I will be taking pictures and videos, bringing back the results after the event and breaking down any tips early next week.  If you are not competing, why not come on down to give your support and spectate. It’s a great day out for a £2 enterance fee. For all those that are taking part, good luck! Hopefully I will be on the mat next year!

There are currently discussions happening with in the Judo community about the UK grading systems. Speculation has emerged that the UK Grading system could not incorporate Contest style matches where you ultimately fight for your belts.

The idea is that theory or Kata could be more heavily used when trying to obtain your belts. There is no official word about the subject but I have heard speculation from various sources that Kata could play apart.

If match style contests were dropped from grading, what would this ultimately mean for Judo?

Personally, I started Judo because of the fact of its grading system was one of the hardest to obtain your belts within the Martial Art world. Fighting for your belt is, in my opinion, the only way to know if your technique (or your ability in adapting your technique) is effective or not!

And what a feeling when you win your fights and get your belt… no Kata in to world can provide you with such a sense of achievement.

Again, my own personal preference, I prefer the Martial aspect of Judo, than the Art.

This is not to say that Kata or theory doesn’t have its place in Judo or Judo grading. Studying the technique in greater detail and trying to refine and prefect that technique can only have a great advantage to your understanding of Judo, your ability to perform the technique and ultimately, thinking ahead, keeping the Spirit of Judo alive.

I think it is unlikely that the match fights will ever be replaced in Judo, but I think the argument of Kata and theory in grading has been slightly misinterpreted. I believe discussions (or maybe decisions) have been conducted to how Kata can be incorporated into Judo in the UK and all in all I think this is a great thing because it will ultimately help us as Judo practitioners to understand our Art in a depth that competition can not.

For those of you that do not know what Kata looks like in Judo, here an example:

I have been studying grips from since about Christmas. There is a theory that grips are most important technique you can learn in Judo because it is the best way to dominate a fight and will ultimately get your opponent:

1. Where you want him to throw or;
2. At least disable him / her from preforming a technique on you

It’s definitely worth knowing gripping strategies for Judo as they will enhance your game. Check out this book called Grips (Judo Masterclass Techniques) compiled by Neil Adams. It’s not a comprehensive glossary on grips as there are so many combinations but it will definitely worth a purchase as it encloses many grip strategies and describe how to lead into related Te-Waza techniques from them.

It covers the standard grip, double lapel grip and Russian style, over-the-back grips. Also covered is how to remove a grip and examples of illegal grips (handy to know to avoid those Shidos!). Check it out!

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A very important lesson learnt from some Ne-Waza training today was transitions or transitioning; moving from one move to another. The tip was given when I was struggling to apply an armbar technique on Uke. After the practice, Uke told me that I should be more fluild in my techniques and if I was finding one technique hard to apply, then move to the next. It helps avoid stalemate situations (e.g. hammering home an armbar on a Uke that won’t budge when you try to yank his arm free) and keeps Uke thinking. Good tip!