Saturday, January 14, 2012

In the Spirit of the 1967 World  Judo Championships held in Salt Lake City Utah 45 years ago. Utah Judo Inc., Is proud to announce our annual 2012 Utah State Judo Championship to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. This Shiai is open to all USJI, USJF and USJA member Judokas.

This Shiai is designated as a qualifier (State Championships) for the 2012 Senior National Championships and the 2012 Jr. Olympics.

Eligibility

• 5 years of age or older on the date of the tournament
• Current registration and insurance with either USJI, USJF, USJA
• All competitors must show proof of registration and insurance (NO EXCEPTIONS)
• USJI membership will be available at the tournament site.
• $20.00 for one weight category in one skill division
• $10.00 for one weight category in additional skill division (senior categories).
• Competitors may only enter one weight category per skill division.
• Junior:  8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
• Senior:  9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Entry Fees

•  $20.00 for one weight category in one skill division
•  $10.00 for one weight category in additional skill division (senior categories)
•  Competitors may only enter one weight category per skill division.

Registration/Weigh In

• Junior: 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
• Senior: 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Competition

• Juniors: 10:30 a.m.
• Senior: 1:00 p.m.

Method of Elimination

• Modified Double Elimination: Five or more competitors (1^st place is winner of finals, 2^nd place is loser of finals, and 3rd place is winner of consolation bracket).
• Round Robin: 4 or less competitors, points awarded as below.
• Tie-Breakers: 1^st tie-breaker: Win/Loss record, 2^nd tie-breaker will be decided by head to head competition, 3^rd tie-breaker will be points as follows: according to waza ippon = 10, wazari = 7, yuko = 3, hantei = 1, 4^th  tie-breaker will be replay by Golden Score.
• Junior:  2 minutes
• Senior Novice: 3 minutes
• Senior sankyu/yudansha: 5 minutes
• Masters 3 minutes

Match Times

• Junior: 2 Minutes
• Senior: 3 Minutes
• Senior sankyu/yudansha: 5 Minutes
• Masters: 3 Minutes

Rules of Competition

• All current IJF rules will apply with the following exceptions:
• Drop knee seoinage/seoiotoshi allowed for competitors including players under 13 years of age.
• No kansetsu waza for competitors under 17 years of age and/or under sankyu
• Competitors who enter a higher skill division compete under the rules of the higher skill division.  Includes Juniors in Senior Divisions.
• IJF bowing procedures will be enforced.Refusal to comply will result in disqualification from the match and ejection from the weight/skill division in which the infraction occurred.
• Current IJF medical rules apply for all senior divisions 17 years and older. All junior divisions 16 years and under will use pre-2004 IJF medical rules.
• Footwear is required at all times when not on the tatami.
• Match Times are modified (see Match Times section)
• Referee uniform – black slacks, black socks and white polo shirt.

• NOTICE: IJF Coaching standards with modifications will be implemented at this tournament. Only ONE coach per competitor in the designated coach’s chair. All others must be in the spectators’ area.

Minimum Dress Code: Collared shirt and long pants, or team sweats . Closed shoes. No shorts or cutoff jeans, t-shirts or sandals.

One of the big problems with trying to get fit at home is figuring out what the right equipment is to build a good home gym.

That’s why, when I stumbled across this web site today, I wanted to share it… holy crap load of a lot of home gym, vitamin, and workout information (including the Rush-Fit DVD from GSP.)  Anyway… a good one stop to read to your heart’s content.  Merry Christmas, and good shopping

The Dojo’s of Utah Judo are having a joint Judo workout this December:

HOSTED BY: ZENBEI MARTIAL ARTS – JUDO CLUB

WHERE: HIDDEN VALLEY MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
9854 SOUTH 700 EAST
SANDY, UTAH

WHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2011
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

COST: $5

INSTRUCTORS: SENSEI FRED LOUIS, YODAN (4TH. DEG.)
AND GUEST INSTRUCTORS T.B.A.

CLINIC INFO: THIS JOINT WORKOUT WILL FOCUS ON
GROUNDFIGHT SKILLS. THE MINIMUM AGE TO ATTEND
IS 9 YEARS OF AGE.

PLEASE PRESENT YOUR ASSOCIATION CARD AT THE
DOOR, USJA, USJF OR USA JUDO.

CONTACT JOINT WORKOUT HOST SENSEI FRED
LOUIS AT 801-243-5313, zenbeijudoslc@gmail.com PLEASE
CONTACT ME SO THAT I CAN GET A COUNT.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE JOINT
WORKOUT!!!

You know, we hear all of the time about a review for this product, or that product.  But seldom do the folks that make the experience of purchasing (and when necessary returning) the product really get their fair share of credit.

That is why I wanted to write this review today about MMAOutlet.com.

Well, for starters I have to tell you, that I am hard to fit.  Candidly, I’m fat.  Additionally, my broad chest and shoulders just make it even tougher to find products that fit.  Sure, I can browse websites, and I can read reviews (most of which say that every product is just great.)  But who can I really interact with, and ask for advice?

That is where the experience with MMAOutlet.com became immediately different.

As I looked over their website, trying to decide what to order, and terrified that whatever I ordered wouldn’t fit right, I was all of a sudden presented with a pop-up that asked me if I would like to chat with someone who could help me.  What?  A real person?  Well hell yes.

The person I spoke I chatted with was extremely helpful, and answered all of my questions.  Additionally, I was assured that if I had any problems at all with the fit of the product, I could simply call them up, get an RMA number, ship it back, and they would be more than happy to send me something else.  I didn’t need to stress about fit… They would work with me to find the right product.

So I ordered a gi.  It arrived right away.  It didn’t fit right.  But although I wasn’t surprised, for once I also wasn’t heart-broken.  I jumped on the phone, spoke to yet another REAL PERSON, in real-time rather than email with days delay in between, and got my RMA number.

I shipped back my product, and had another to replace it in a matter of days.

I can’t tell you how nice it was to have people to talk to, or to chat with.  People who were willing to work with me to ensure that they would help me try what I needed until I found what would work for me.

Most of my reviews end with a key question about the product: Would I buy another one.  In this case, the question is: Would I shop with MMA outlet.com again?  The answer to that is easy.  Yes.  I am actually planning my next purchase right now.  I am shocked to find that the product that I am looking at is roughly 30% cheaper on MMAoutlet.com than it is on Amazon.com!  I have been searching, and I can’t see it cheaper anywhere else.  Combine that with the level of service, availability of someone to talk to, and free advice, and it really is a no brainer.

Thank you to the team over at MMAOutlet.com.  I really couldn’t be happier.

Ever hear of Daredevil?

Well, here’s the long and short of it: He loses his sight, and his other senses are enhanced (there’s more to it than that, but you get the jist.)  By not thinking about what he sees he is more able to focus on his other senses.

Well, there’s some truth to this.  Lately I have been focusing less on really technical details, and more on just some basic building block of my training.  A couple of them are improving how I sleep, to keep from damaging my body, and taking in things that make me feel good and give me healthy energy, like my Bony Acai.   But you’ll see posts about those next week.

For now I want to focus on the other basic building block of a good grappling game, be it wrestling, Judo, or Jiu Jitsu: and that is Kuzushi, or balance.

Especially when teaching new students, but also in my own training, it is amazing what a detractor sight can be.  We focus so much on what we see, and looking at where our hand goes, or rather we appear to be turning in the same way as we were just shown, that we lose “sight” of what we feel.

Often times I will grab a new student who is feeling overwhelmed by trying to learn everything, and ask them to close their eyes and move around with me while we are holding on to each other.  I tell them that if I feel off balance that they should knock me down.  Once they do throw me down, and open their eyes to look at me, I ask them what the name of the throw they used is.  Generally the answer is, “I don’t know.”  I will then tell the student that it is called “Steve falls on the ground.”  Which is good enough.  they should not be so overwhelmed with what they see and try to remember that they lose sight of what they feel.

As I said, I have also been practicing this myself.  Last night we were working with Seoi Otoshi.  I just didn’t feel like I was hitting it right.  I looked okay, but the kuzushi just wasn’t there.  So I imagined the movements, and the feel, and the flow of balance and momentum… Then I closed my eyes and went through the move.  I found that it really helped a lot.  I did this several times.  Once I had the feel right I was able to open my eyes and fine tune the move further.

Similarly, I find that I often fight on the ground with my eyes closed.  It lets me focus more on the balance of myself and my opponent.

Anyone else have luck with this tactic?

Not long ago I wrote about my Confessions of an early tapper.  Basically, I recognized that as a large, fairly skilled person, I tended to find myself in top position a lot.  Perhaps too much.

When I did go against someone bigger, strong, better than me, and found myself on the bottom and in trouble, I found myself panicking and tapping earlier than I should.  I have been endeavoring to fix this.  At first I would focus on just starting from a bottom side-control position.  This was helpful, but I still found myself doing a pretty good job of fighting my way out and into a reversal.

I needed to get into real trouble if I was going to make any progress.

Last night in Judo/Jiu Jitsu class I worked with a couple of the guys for quite a while after class.  I started again from my bottom side-control position, but I agreed that I would not try to reverse position.  I would basically give them an opportunity to work on their submissions, and I would be working on my calmness under pressure and submission defense.

It worked great.  I spent about 45 minutes on my back, defending constantly.  I found myself becoming more and more calm, even at times where I normally might have picked ia bit.  Plus, it’s a good change for others to really work on their submissions from the top position.

I think that to really improve your game you have to not only be willing to get into positions that you hate, but you have to learn to live there.  You have to beg your training partners to take you there.  Only through embracing our weaknesses, rather than hiding from them can weak things be made strong.

Thanks to all of you who work with me to improve my game every week.  You are my family!

This weekend there was a Strikeforce event on Showtime.  During this event they posed a question, and had viewers text in their votes.  The question was:

Which of the following is the most dominant martial art in MMA:

- Wrestling

- Striking

- Jiu Jitsu

Well, of course the question itself is a little bit flawed, and needs to be looked at more in depth, but the results were interesting.  Let’s start by looking at what the question really asked.  Bear in mind that most viewers of MMA on TV are not trained in the martial arts.  Most fo them have little or no bias of one style over another.  They will just vote for what they see as the piece that makes people win the most.

Okay, so knowing that, the question that was asked is more likely interpreted as:

When people win, do they generally win because they can:

- Take down the other person, keep from being taken down if they want, and get back up when they are taken down.

- Beat the hell out of the other person standing and on the ground.

- Submit the other person.

Also, we have to bear in mind that due to separation and standups happening if things get slow, that striking is going to get a it more of an edge than it would without those rules.

The results:

Wrestling: 40%

Striking: 39%

Jiu Jtsu: 21%

Okay, so any of us who sat glued to those crappy VHS tapes and watched Royce Gracie dominate people may be a little shocked by this.  Also, those of us who are emotionally tied to one style or another may also bristle a bit.  But this is what people are seeing.  This is what is happening.

It got me thinking… Why did they choose to say “Wrestling”?  The answer: because wrestlers have show their takedown skills in MMA far more effectively than Judo or Sambo players.

So my prediction?  I think that as MA increases in financial importance for not just Pay Per View dollars, but also in terms of gym memberships, we will see “Takedown grappling” need to change a bit.  I really feel like Sambo, Judo and Wrestling are all still missing some things.  Here’s where I think there is some real opportunity for change:

Wrestling:

Wrestling has 3 main styles: Folkstyle, Freestyle, Greco Roman.  Folkstyle and freestyle are much of what we are seeing now in MMA.  Lots of leg shots.  But this really leaves some elements of takedowns out.  Freestyle wrestlers concentrate so much on having a person’s bak hit te ground, that they can get themselves into trouble by not being in the best position sometimes (sacrificing a real combat position for points.)  Folkstyle really has no good upper body throws.  Greco has great uppe body control, but doesn’t allow for trips, sweeps, or leg manipulation.

Basically, Wrestling is great.  But it ignores some of the key elements of Judo and Sambo that could make it much better.  Additionally (and I’m gonna say it!) grappling is more popular now in high schools due to MMA.  Dump the stupid singlet and let the kids dress in a way that doesn’t embarrass them.

Judo and Sambo:

Judo and Sambo are still too steeped in tradition.  We have seen Judo pull such throws as the Kata Garuma (wrestling fire-man’s carry) out of the list of allowed moves in order to make their art increasingly different than wrestling.  Judo and Sambo are also reluctant to train no-gi.  This means that while learning amazing throws and sweeps, people are not learning to use them no-gi, and are also not developing any of the wrestling-style leg takedowns which can be very effective.

So where am I going with all of this?

I believe we will see “takedown grappling” develop as a no-gi style with elements of Judo, Sambo, and wrestling.  This ability to take people down has proven itself in MMA as the dominant force.  Wrestling needs to learn to embrace the big throws and amazing sweeps of Judo.  Judo is going to have to embrace leg-shots, and learn to fight without the gi as well.

My two cents

So, first a bit about myself:

I am a big guy.  I’m 6 feet tall, and about 260 pounds.

Also, I am one of the most advanced students at the dojo where I train.  Especially when it comes to big guys.  Most of the large guys at my dojo (other than my instructors) are white belts.

So, here’s my problem: I am used to either rolling with people who are smaller than me, or people who are less experienced than me (or both.)  What this means, is that I tend to be in dominant position a lot, and when I’m not, I don’t tend to panic much, because I’m either stronger or more experienced than the person on top of me (or both.)

The result is that I don’t often get in serious trouble form someone big.  But this means that I’m really not very used to that situation.  the result (unfortunately) is that when I do get there, I panic and tap.

I’ll be honest, this is all a little embarrassing to say.  But it’s something I’m determined to overcome.

Last night I rolled for a while with Bill, one of my instructors at Hidden Valley.  Bill is a big, strong guy with great experience and technique.  I spent the first little bit on top, actually pretty pleased with myself, and how I was doing.  But eventually I got rolled onto bottom, and Bill started to work toward a submission.  As soon as he got even close to it, I panicked and tapped.  I wasn’t hurting.  I wasn’t stuck.  WTF??

It was almost like a weird claustrophobic  panic or something.  As soon as I thought there was now way out, I tapped instead of fighting.

I throw this out there, not as advice to anyone.  But to just let you know, that if this is you too, then you’re not alone.  I intend to fix this.  I’ll let you know how it goes.