Judo class this weekend was great.  We worked a bunch on various throws, and had several new students as well.  To top it all off, I am continuing to lose weight!!  I’m down 7 pounds in the last couple of weeks.

The main reason I wanted to be sure to write tonight though was to update everyone on the new location:

On Tuesdays and Thursdays the Kids class is from 5:00-6:00, and the adults are from 6:00-7:00 at the new location: Alta Canyon Recreation District (9565 south Highland Drive.)

Saturdays we will still be holding classes from 9:00-11:00 at the same place where we are now (I will get that adress and throw it out here as well.)

Wanna learn a cool martial art?  Wanna get in shape?  Wanna do it for $35 a month with no contract required?  I know.. me too!

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Judo class this weekend was great.  I really got sweating, and got a great workout.  Also, we worked a bit on really being ready to come in with a one-two-three plan on your throws.  Now normally you might think of using a combination only as it pertains to punches or kicks, but it’s key in throws as well.  The reason being that your throw is not always going to work… so it’s important to know what to fall to when it doesn’t.

As an example of this, we worked on the Tai Otoshi throw.  I have read many Judo experts state that they really like this throw, and find they can hit it often.  For me, I find it sucks.  Or at least I suck at it

So, what’s a guy to do?  Well, you look at what happens when it doesn’t work… Very often the person is leaning back, and onto the foot you are trying to attack to keep it on the ground and keep from being thrown.  If that’s the case, turn into them, and wrap around the leg… turning the throw into a rough sort of Osoto Gari, but a bit more to the side than really backwards.  I have been really stunned how well this works.  The person’s Kazushi is really ready to snap even before you hit this.

But another way that people resist the Tai Otoshi is by stepping over the leg you are trying to trip them with.  If that happens, turn into them and do more of a Kuchi Gari.  I am far less fond of this one… but I throw it out as an option.

These are really just examples though… the real point being to find where you are when a throw does not work, and ask yourself in what direction is the person’s kazushi ready to break… then decide ho to take them in that direction.  What is your “fall-back” throw?

We also worked a fair chunk on ground work this weekend.  I find myself getting more comfortable with the guard, which I really really need.

Finally, it looks like we will be moving.  Our class is currently scouting a few locations to move the class to.  I’ll keep you posted.

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Well, since my post last week kicking off my weight loss goal, I am currently down 4 pounds.  Not much, I know.  But it’s a start.

My main strategy thus far has been to really cut back on soda, and be more physical.  I have been attending Judo and working hard there, but have also just tried to really be more active at home… moving around, doing stuff in the yard that needs to be done.  I think Judo is the biggest part so far though (plus the soda thing.)  I come home two nights a week with my shirt so soaked with sweat you’d think I had been running through the sprinklers.

The other thing that has been really neat to watch is my son.  Ty has gotten so much better at Judo.  But I see it in him in so many other, non-Judo ways.  He has more confidence.  He is so much stronger and more coordinated.  It’s just really neat to watch what a huge change it has made in him.

You know, I have trained in a wrestling, Karate, and Judo over the years.  One of the questions I have always had in back of my mind is, “How well does this really translate into real life.”  Just as examples, Wrestling translated very well.  I fought a lot in high school.  I found I used my wrestling moves very often in these fights.  The problem was, that wrestling was great for taking a fight from an on the feet, punching fight, to an on the ground position where you were dominating the person.  The problem is that it stopped there.  Wrestling really doesn’t give you any “fight enders.”

Karate was interesting.  It was nice to learn to be more comfortable wit kicks, and in a real fight, I think I might use one or two.  But by and large, in a real brawl, no rules, I would have been willing to fight anyone in that class even before I learned any of the karate.  Not only that, I really didn’t feel that I was any more lethal in a fight after having been in karate for a year.  It’s not that I didn’t learn anything… I would have done better in a competition, but I think the typical “no head strikes” sparring style in karate doesn’t really prepare a person to fight.  If I had to choose to fight a karate blackbelt or an awesome wrestler I’d rather fight the blackbelt.

Judo however has brought a few things that wrestling didn’t.  One of the main ones is Kazushi.  Now I know you might be thinking that the main thing in Judo is throws, and you’d be right… half right.  The way to throw someone is to manipulate their Kazushi… their balance.  But, it is also all about controlling your own kazushi.  So learning to throw someone is really also alla bout learning not to be tossed around or thrown down by someone.  A downside of Judo, at leas for real-world brawling, is that you train so much with a Gi.  Note here, that I did NOT say because it is so reliant on the Gi… because I don’t think it is.  Most of Judo can work fine without it.  But that’s not how most Judo classes train.

Other key factors of Judo are that it helps a person unlearn” some of the bad habits of wrestling (such as turning your back to someone.)  Additionally, it has “fight enders.”  Judo has many moves that can be used to cripple a person or black them out.

Now, one thing you might be thinking is: What about Jujitsu?  Isn’t it tougher than Judo?

Okay, so here’s my take on it… it’s sort of like rock, paper, scissors… In my opinion, in a fight between a Judo guy and a Jujitsu guy, the jujitus guy wins.  So, if you are going to be fighting against other martial artists in a cage all of the time, I’d really choose jujitsu.

But, in a brawl against Joe Shmuck on the streets, I would give  as slight edge to a Judo guy facing him rather than a Jujitsu guy.  This gets more important if Joe has a friend.  Street fight, multiple opponents, Judo over Jujitsu, hands down.

Of course, throw in a little Mui Thai, and I think it could be mean as hell.  A question I have however, is how effective is “a little Mui Thai?”  As a said, in my experience, a year or so of karate really didn’t seem to help that much.  Does a year of Mui Thai?  Anyone have experience and care to comment?

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Okay, so as a followup to my weight loss thread… Eric, Mike, and I made a bet Tuesday.  Whoever can lose the most weight before Thanksgiving wins.  Losers must bow to the winner in front of the class.  I am starting out at 253.  I’ll keep a regular update here.

I hope Mike and Eric are working on their bowing skills… I am doing eliptical every night, and have not had a sugary soda in days!

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I know I have been a bit remiss lately on posting, so  wanted to try to get caught up a bit.

Class has been a bit slower, gentler pace lately.  What I am finding is that there is a real trade off when you are doing Judo… Fast and hard burns lots of calories, and gives you a great cardio workout… but you don’t actually learn very much.  Slow and methodical still works you and gets you sweating good, but you learn a ton more.

Lately, we have definitely been more int he slow, methodical camp.  I think part of this also might be because Jerry hasn’t been around for a while (Jerry’s a nice guy, and I love to spar with him from time to time, but slow and methodical is definitely not his style… he always trains like he has a big fight next week and has to be ready for it… hell, maybe he does

I have really enjoyed the learning we are doing (will touch on a couple moves in a minute), and have found that by supplementing the workout with some of the elliptical in the evening (my foot seems to be able to handle it now), I am starting to drop pounds (giving up soda hasn’t hurt either.)

So a couple of nice moves we have learned… One I really like is the gator roll into an anaconda choke.  You see, a Guillotine choke is not legal in Judo, so if someone shoots the legs, and I sprawl, I am left wondering what to do instead of a Guillotine.  This is a nice alternative.  There is some video of Mark Kerr doing this choke Here.

Also, we have boon workign on a throw that I do not know the name of.  Basically, it’s a top-grab with a fall back.  If you take a normal Judo (or even a wrestling) grip, then take then hand near the neck, and reach it over, past their head and grab the gi on their back.  I’ll see if I can get some pictures of this, as trying to explain it is just never going to work :)  But it is a really great throw for when someone locks up really tight with you.

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Okay, so I know it has been a bit since I have posted… but I plan to be more regular now that I am back in class.

It’s been great to ge back into class.  I find that Judo is not only a great workout (I come out completely drenched in sweat), but that it is so much easier to stick with than anything else I have done.  I think it is the competitive/collaborative nature of it that is so appealing.  Whoever I am working with I am competing with in one sense, and that we are really pushing each other and challenging each other.  But we are also very supportive, complimenting eachoter, and tryign to point out ways to improve.

I also feel so much more capable.  Whenever I rough-house now with someone who is not in my Judo class I am stunned how much more capable I am.  It has improved my strength, and my self confidence.

In Judo we have been working a lot more on our ground games lately, which works great for me, because my foot is still recovering.  I do look forward to the throws again though… in particular I am wanting to work on my Tai Otoshi… I have read several Judo champs who say that this move is one of their favorites.  I intend to add it to my short-list of “go to” moves.

I will keep you posted and how things are progressing.  In the meantime, want a great workout, better skills, and self confidence for $50 per month (3 classes per week)?  Come join us.

It’s good to be a Judo Junkie.

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Okay, so against everyone’s recommendations, and against my own better judgement, I headed back to Judo class last night.  As the foot is still prety sore, I did not do any standup at all, and just focussed on my ground game.

It was great.  We worked a bunch on the arm bar from the guard position.  I mainly worked with Brady which was a really nice change for me.  Brady goes a lt slower (I mean that in a good, controlled way ) and we really got a chance to focus on technique.

It was so nice to be back and get a bit of a workout… not to mention that I really feel that I learned a lot and improved on my ground game.

In other news: Saturday night is the Brock Lesnar fight!  I’m really excited to see Brock fight again, but I am fearful that he has just bitten off a bit too much in Heath Herring.  Heath is one tough SOB.  It will be really interesting to see how Heath plays the game against sucha  brute.  But the scary part if you’re esnar is that Heath is so well rounded.  Wherever the fight goes he will be strong.  I am going to predict that we actually see Heath avoid the tackdown for a bit and do some striking fairly successfully.  Then Brock takes him down and either pummels him into mush really quickly, or Heath ends up winning by submission as Brock makes a mistake.

Additionally in other news:  I have been devouring the book by Randy Couture, “Becoming the Natural.”  It is an insight into the life of who Couture is, and what has shaped him.  I ahve always had the greatest of respect for Randy.  Moreso than any other fighter.  I also respect that the book seems to be a very honest look at the facts and an admission of the sins of his past.  I have to say however, that I have not come away respecting him more… in fact, I find myself respecting him less.  I am surprised to find a person who seems to be pretty much willing to put everything else aside for his own desires… he cheated on his first wife like crazy, his second wife he was pretty much faithful to sexually, but when it came time to keep his promise to stop fighting, he didn’t even discuss it… he just threw promises to the wind and did what fit his desires.

Randy takes ownership of his actions in his book, but he doesn’t seem to really own them from a guilt level.  When his best friends are astounded at his actions he just feels betrayed rather than really seeing where they are coming from and owning up to them that what he did was wrong.  He is a stunning man.  A great man.  He is an inspiration.  But he isn’t who I thought he was.

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Okay, so for anyone who might not have caught the comment posted by Brady, I want to be sure and make it more prominent here.  As I have been laid up a bit wit injuries, I have been doing a lot more looking at Judo videos, etc.  Basically whatever I can do without actually putting any weight on my foot.

This week I had a look at the Super Judo website that Brady recommended.  Wow.  Extremely cool and informative.  If you haven’t checked it out yet definitely do so.

Thanks Brady!!!

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So good news: The foot seems to be healingup nicely (better than the rib did for sure.)  I woul guess I’m still going to be pretty tender for another couple of weeks, but should be back at Judo soon.  I am definitely looking forward to it.  I have a Gata Gatami inside me just itching to get out!

So did any of you watch the Affliction fight card last weekend?  Did anyone watch the UFC card?  Before I get into specifics, let me just star with the quality of the card.  EliteXC (the Showtime promotion) does some good fights, but as never been able to really build a card the quality level of the UFC.  The same cannot be said of Affliction.  The Affliction card was spectacular!  Huge names.  Big fights.  The UFC card for the same night paled in comparison.

Before I get into Affliction fights, I do want to mention one UFC fight:  Anderson Silva.  Wow.  That guys is really stunning to watch.

Okay… on the Affliction.

I’ll start with the main event:  Slaughter.  Poor Tim Sylvia.  Fedor mowed throw him like a buzz-saw.  I have never been all that impressed with Tim’s style, but I think that had little to do with his loss.  Fedor was just on top of his game.  I don’t know who could have withstood what we watched Fedor unleash that night.  I can’t wait to see Fedor go at it wit Couture… but I fear that each day that passes is a serious age setback for Couture (one of my personal heroes.)  Fedor has definitely made an impression on the US fans that might not have known him before.

Another fight I was watch closely was the Vitor Belfort, Terry Martin fight.  Vitor one this with a great upper cut that knocked Terry out cold.  While I’m happy for Vitor, it was still not  the Vitor so many of us watched come up through the ranks in the UFC.  A victory, but I would not say “Vitor is back.”  I fear the Phenom is no more.

Josh Barnett had a nice victory, but did any of us really doubt that he would?  Rizzo is washed up.  It was sad to see them throw him out in front of a world class fighter like Barnett.  It will be interesting to see Barnett fight Tim Sylvia (my guess at the next fight coming up) to see how good he really is.

Oh, and as to my confusion over Minotauro… Big Nog, Litle Nog.  So Apparently the Nogera brothers have the same name.  AND the same nickname (oh, that’s not confusing.)  AND they practically look like twins (although Big nog looks like the battered twin with the alcoholic father that beat him wih broken bottles.)

Affliction:  Nice fights.  Camera work needs some more work (I’m sure they’ll learn with time.)  Announcers: I don’t care what ti costs… find a way to steal Joe Rogan.

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So Thursday was my second day back to class since break my rib last month.  Things went really well… my rib held up, and really didn’t cause me any pain.  I was really enjoying being back, up until i broke my damn foot!!! Yup, that’s right.  How’s that for luck?!  I rolled my foot under me, and snapped it.  It sounded really bad, audibly cracking and whatnot, but didn’t hurt right away (we did Randori for another 10 minutes afterward just fine.)  But then it stared to  hurt a bit.  Insticare confirms… definitely busted.  Out for a month.

You know, I sent a tweet out on twitter last night about breaking it, and Phil Burns tweets back that it would appear that I am sufferign far more injuries learning self defense than any actually assailant might give :).  A co worker of mine this morning further pointed out that I am spending far more money than I would get robbed for as well!

All that said, I can wait to get back!  I love the workout, I love learning, and I love the self confidence it gives me.  Jus yesterday, actually on the way to Judo, I was sitting in the back of our van putting my Gi on, with my wife and son sitting up front.  In the McDonalds parking lot some guy got mad at her, and jumped out of his car to storm over to ours while we were int he driveup line.  I felt very confident stepping out of the back of the van to stick up for my wife.  I may get busted up a bit, but the quality of life that comes with feeling good about yourself is priceless….

I need to do a mastercard commercial:

Broken rib: $15 co-pay

Broken foot: $50 co-pay

Pain Killers: $30 co-pay

Being so used to pain, and confident in your ability to dish it out that you don’t take shit: Priceless.

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