My son and I competed in a Grappling tournament last weekend.  It was more like Jiu Jitsu than anything else.  We both did Gi and no-Gi divisions.

After the tournament I started really doing some soul searching on why I didn’t do better…  It reminded me of a scene from the movie Apocalypto.  Our hero attempts to defeat the handsome gentleman pictured here.  It doesn’t go so well.  In the picture, the victor is making the statement, “Almost,” (because the hero almost won,) “Your name is Almost.”  In the movie, “Almost” is translated into the word “Olac.”

Well, If I had to choose a fight name right now, Ifeel like I’d have to go with Olac.  Why is it that I never seem to finish the job??

I sat down and reviewed the videos of my fights.  The are a couple of the fights where I was just out done.  I did what I could, fought hard, but still lost.  I found that these didn’t bother me.

But half of my fights, I seem to tap when I really don’t look like I should.  In those cases, I feel that in a lower stress environment, like just in class rolling around, I could probably take these guys.  But on the mat in a competition these guys are beating me.  Why am I so quick to tap?

I had to painfully admit that they just wanted to win more than I did.

That didn’t taste very good.

But it has given me something to think on.  I always think about what move or position to improve on.  But this is a mental thing.  It’s different than technique.  What I really need is to grab someone better than me, and have them push me into ugly territory.  I need to keep from tapping so soon.  I need to sit, trapped in a position for a while, with no hope of escape; and be okay with that.  I need to hold longer, and fight harder.

This is an element of training that I think can be easy to overlook.  We are so used to tapping as soon as a good hold gets put on, with a brotherly, “nice job.”  But when do we work to fight that extra little bit to not tap.

Well, for me at least it appears that the answer is: Not often enough.

So, I begin my journey toward no longer being Olac.

Wish me luck

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Have you ever worked on something, and asked yourself, “Am I really trying hard enough?  Am I really giving my all?  Or am I slacking off?”

Well, good news folks.  When you’re really trying in Judo and Jiu Jitsu, it means that your opponent needs to get a pretty good grip on your Gi to pass your guard, or get a good throw.  Of course, we don’t want to really rely on strength… The real goal of these arts is to use our speed, technique, and kazushi.  But every once in a while, when you come home looking like this (which I did last night,)  you know you earned all of the sweat in that Gi

Heal well my friends.

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Judo is based on two core concepts:

Maximum Efficiency of Power

Mutual Benefit and Welfare

What I want to write about today is the “Mutual Benefit and Welfare” aspect of Judo, why it’s so true, and the brotherhood it tends to build.

I have done several martial arts over the years, Judo, Karate, Jiu Jitsu.  In most styles of martial arts, as you drill your moves it is pretty evident rather or not they are working.  In Karate, I can see if I am kicking hard, straights, and fast.  In Jiu Jitsu, I can see pretty clearly rather I choked you or arm barred you based on rather or not you tap.

In Judo however, you generally grab a partner, and do what are known as Uchikomis (oochee-k0meez.)  These are the beginning of the move, where you go just far enough to start to affect a person’s balance (Kazushi.)  The reason this is important is that you need to count on your partner (you Uke) for two important things:

1- To act normally.  If your Uke is unnaturally stiff, or just floppy, you will not get a real feel for how to do the move.

2- To give you feedback on what he/she is feeling.  Subtleties of their balance, and what is or is not breaking their Kazushi should be shared so you know where you are doing well or not.

In these ways, your Uke, even if they are more junior in the art than you, really are a partner in your learning process.  You have to be able to count on each other.  “Mutual Benefit and Welfare” isn’t just a neat concept, the art literally depends on it.

This partnership of the Uke and the Tori (the person attempting the move) builds a mutual respect and bond that is often not there in arts where everything is merely competitive.  This brotherhood of Judo is a unique and wonderful part of the art.

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I’m not a small person (6’1″, around 260lbs.)  So I have long since come to grips with the fact that I cannot (as they say in the Motley Crue song) “move like a cat.”  So I’m always on the lookout for a good Judo throw for my body type.  A while back I did a post on what has become one of my favorites, the Makikomi.  As a big guy, once I get my weight behind the Maki, people will tend to hit the ground pretty hard.

But I have recently started to get a good feel for, and quite like a derivative of the Harai Goshi.  Now, a typical Harai Goshi uses a lot of Gi gripping.  but the way I prefer to throw it doesn’t so much.  I like this better not only because I feel it lets me man-handle an opponent a little more, and I have a better success rate.  but also because it makes the move applicable for use in a non-Gi situation as well (something I always watch for in throws.)

The key to how I like to throw the Harai Goshi is that instead of grabbing the collar of the Gi, I slip my arm under the opponent’s/ victim’s arm.  I tend to like to have my arm pointing up a little more than some of the videos we’ll be showing here… a little bit more like the Uki Goshi.

This first video is a good example of a couple of big guys, using a lot of strength (yes…I know it’s about Kazushi and not strength… but sometimes it take both.)  The throw is pretty much at the end of the video.  Unfortunately our view is a bit obstructed in this shot, but I think it still gives a pretty good view of what I’m talking about with this throw.

Another great video of this throw actually comes to us from Sambo, who refer to the throw as a “Forward Leg Sweep.”  This video really does do a nice job of showing the mechanics of the throw.  As this is done in the video, you might find yourself thinking that the momentum shown is a little contrived… Throws never seem to work as well against an opponent as the do against a willing target on a youTube video.  While that’s true, the power shown here is very real.  I have moved very large opponents effectively with this.  It really does work well on people who can be difficult to move in other ways.

Finally, I want to add another option on the throw.  You can’t always get the foot clear across the other person to pull of the Harai Goshi.  That’s okay.  It doesn’t mean you can’t still nail a good throw here.  the following video shows several versions of the Uchi Mata throw.  Pay particular attention to the version that leverages the same under-the-arm-and -up-the-back grab that we have seen on the other two videos.  I think, particularly with a large opponent, that the grab over the arm, rather than under can be tough to pull of… their base is sometimes just too good.

Enjoy, and happy throwing

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… is fear itself.

In 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt made that famous statement.  But never has the statement been so salient for me as it was this weekend.

I have not actually competed very many times in Judo.  Also, it has been a year since my last competition.  Until this weekend that is.

We showed up early for weigh-ins (9:00).  My son Ty got to start competing starting at a bit after noon.  But my bouts did not actually get started until probably about 3:00 in the afternoon.  What all of this means is that I had a good six hours so sit around and stew about my first competition in a year.

I have to tell you here, I am not afraid of confrontation.  In my job I negotiate hard issues, deal with aggressive lawyers, an have had to slug it out in some very tense situations.  Even outside of the workplace I am not a person to cringe from confrontation.  I don’t go looking for trouble, but have always been willing to deal with it when it comes.

But waiting is something different.  This isn’t the moment of exhilaration when you realize you need to deal with a confrontation.  This is hours of that same primal, crippling nervousness that I haven’t felt since grade school, and watching the clock all day before going to meet at the flag pole at 3:30 for the clandestine throw down.

As some of you who follow this blog know, I am a fairly new brown belt in Judo.  The man I was to face was a very, very experience and tough black belt.

But once I stepped onto the mat, and fear was gone.  It was on.  The first match I feel I did okay, but he pretty well owned me.  The second match I feel I did much better.  I avoided several of his throws, and at once point took his back and worked toward (an eventually unsuccessful) choke.

But I was jazzed.  I loved every minute of it.  Even though he beat me soundly, I would have been happy to step back onto the mat a dozen more times to face him.  I was learning and experiencing.  I was better than I thought.  It was a great!

I saw several of my good friends feeling this same creeping tension throughout the day.  I was so impressed with how they all did.  Win or lose, I hope they enjoyed the experience, and learned as much from it as I did.

But the main reason that I wanted to write this article really comes back to the title:  As FDR told us, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  How true.  The advice for myself that I take away is to be eager to be on that mat.  To remember the excitement.  To keep from letting that all-day tension eat at me.

I can only hope that anyone else can benefit as well.

I’ll try to get a post up later this week with some pictures from the event.

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This Saturday, May 1st is the third annual Kaizen Judo Tournament.  Everyone is encouraged to compete, or even to just come watch.

Never watched Judo?  Well, good news: admission is free!  So come check it out.

Competition start times:

Juniors: 9:30

Seniors: 12:00 noon

Location: Ogden Weber Applied Technology College (200 N Washington Blvd. in Ogden)

See you there!

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Weekend before last, my son, Ty (15, tell and skinny) competed in his first Jiu Jitsu tournament.

He really, really got into it.  Particularly the no-gi portion.

As a follow up to that, we had a really great seminar this weekend with several other schools.  We do Judo and Jiu Jitsu at our school.  We had another Jiu Jitsu school join us (thanks Robert Scoca!), as well as some Hapkido guys (great to see you Ty!)  We even had a guy who teaches catch wrestling (sorry, I forgot the name… but I definitely want to learn more about it.)  It was a great experience to train with other people, of other styles, and from other schools.  I can’t wait for more combined seminars in the future.

One of the things that really stood out to me were some of the differences.  I have often noticed that in any class, if you have more than one instructor, you will start to see some stylistic differences.  You might even have one correcting what another just showed you to to.  It’s just the nature of martial arts I think.

Whenever you work with new people there will be certain things you nod your head and think, “ya… just like I do it now,”  some things that you may find yourself internally disagreeing with, and some things that make you say, “Holy crap!  That’s cool!”  Just go into it expecting that, and don’t get too hung up on any discrepancies.  Realize that every one’s style is a little different, and respect all of the people who are working to share their knowledge and experience.

Thanks to all who contributed to make this seminar possible.  It was really great.

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I have to tell you, the last few classes over at Hidden Vally Judo / Jiu Jitsu have been some of the best I’ve had.

I took some time over the weekend to really reflect on why that is.  The answer that came to me is this: To really know, and be good at a martial arts is actually different than being a true, experienced and seasoned competitor who knows what actually works.

A person can know all of the correct ways to do throws, and be absolutely text-book in their execution.  But that will only take you so far.  It’s the experience of how to set up a throw, and some subtle nuances and variations of the throws that the instructor has had good success with that become the real gold.

Just this last week Dr. Chen showed us how to turn a cross-collar Osoto Gari into a Swain-like arm attack that puts amazing pressing on the arm, and really breaks the Kazishi of the defender much easier.  Mike showed me a beautiful setup for what is essentially a wrestling-like “duck under” into a Tani Otoshi, as well as how to leverage a leg grab to setup up an Osoto Gari or Makikomi.  All of these came from “What has worked really well for me,” rather then “The way this move should be done is.”

Whatever your martial art, don’t just find someone who is a certified instructor, or who just happens to be a black belt.  Ask some questions about their experience.  What have they really done with the art they are teaching?

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Last night in class we had a few students who are either brand new, or haven’t been with us long.  I love working wit new students… It’s amazing how much more it sometimes makes you think when you teach something, rather than just do something.

I have found a fairly consistent patten wit new students, and concepts they struggle with.  These are: energy conservation (or “bursting”), and rigidity vs. fluid.

I recently posted another article on Energy conservation and cardio in grappling (Judo, Jujitsu, etc) and MMA, so I won’t be covering that topic again here.  What I do want to discuss however, is the concept of fluidity vs. rigidity.

You can tell a new Judo student right away.  When the lock up on the feet they are so stiff and tense.  They all seem to have an inherent logic in their brain that tells them that if they are more tense, they are more prepared, and as a result better defended and more ready to attack.  They often carry this same tension when they are on the ground as well, but I think the aspects relating to the ground game are better covered int he “bursting” article, so I’ll just focus on the feet here.

One of the analogies that I often use to help students understand the difference of rigid and stiff compared to fluid is the one of the mattress.  Most of us have, at one time or another, had to move a mattress set up stairs.  When doing so, It is far easier to move a box-spring than it is a big, floppy mattress.  Why is this?

Well primarily it is because the box spring is rigid.  When you push it, you are pretty sure exactly where it is going to go, and how far.  You know exactly how much force it will take to tip it one way or the other.  This is because the box spring is consistent.  It does not flex or remain fluid in order to absorb and of your force or pressure.

A big mattress on the other hand is a pain in the butt.  It never seems to do what you think it will.  You push, expecting a specific result, and it bends and sways under the pressure, absorbing some of it, and not being tipped and moved as easily as you would hope.

By having a good solid grip, but remaining loose and fluid, able to react to an opponents pressures, and “give” when needed as well as being able to surprise an opponent with a sudden burst of offense, rather than telegraphing our every intention through or rigidness we can be better Judokas.

Next time you randori, or work you Uchikmois, relax your body.  Be ready, be strong, have a good grip, but don’t be rigid.  Be fluid.  Be a mattress.

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I have to tell you, that class over at Hidden Valley was amazing on Saturday.

We started out by pairing up, and working on some light randori.  But “light” can quickly become amazingly taxing.  Mike really kept on us.  Once we would stand up, he kept pushing the pace, pushing us to grab back onto some one an keep going.  To improve our endurance, and equally important: to teach us to perform when we are tired.

As we worked, I commented to Mike that I was struggling a little with fighting out of bottom position in a side control.  I have a good strong bridge, but just was a little out of practice.  Mike gave me exactly what I needed: An off-ramp to hell.  He grabbed someone, and had them take side control on me.  Once I fought free, he would throw a new, fresh person at me, and have them take side control.

This really pushed me, and gave me exactly what I needed, in addition to teaching me more by interacting with so many different people and body types.

So the morale for this story?

Be willing to, an even eager to embrace your weakness and make it strong.  Whatever it is you are challenged with, push it to the utmost limits.  Don’t just “work with it a little.”  Work with your sparring partners to have them push you beyond your limits and your comfort zone.  Into fatigue and beyond.  This is when you really improve.  This is the true gain.

Thanks Mike!

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