We’re going to do it!
Do you know who the Gracies are?
Did you know they have one of the best self-paced street defense training programs available for at-home study?
They do.
If you’re like me, though, self-paced and at-home mean I buy it and play with it for a while and never do anything with it. As a matter of fact, and you can check out my other blog post for a review and an idea of when I got them, I did do just that! So what I’ve decided to do is simple: We're going to use the DVD’s to learn the entire 36 techniques in the Gracie Combatives DVD series.
All 36 lessons. We’ll cover them three times each between January 4th and July. The best part about it? All you have to do is show up and be ready to work.
What’s the catch? Why is it free to you? Simple: I don’t have the money, the time, or the rank it takes to become a certifed instructor now. I also want to know if enough people really want to learn what they’re teaching before I plunk down the cash to take their course. We're just a judo club that's working on our ne waza and using this program to help us get better!
I hope you’ll come by and check it out. We can always use more partners and friends! They’re going to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:15-8:30pm and Fridays from 6:00-8:30pm.
31 December 2010
It’s the End of the Year as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
What a wonderful year we had! 2010 saw our first students entering tournaments and bringing home medals! We gained a number of new students. We expanded our class offerings to two different adult classes and one youth class. Our students are staying longer and doing more in and out of class!
I think 2010 was one of the very best years ever for me and for Roswell Judo Club. I went to a number of clinics and even held a few! Learning from Hayward Nishioka, Gerald Lafon, and Lynn Roethke (among others) in Las Vegas was a rare and wonderful opportunity. Being uke for Paul Nogaki in Albuquerque was an awesome experience and one I’d like to have the opportunity to do again (maybe 2011?)! Teaching my first clinic to Rolando and Eddy on Tai Otoshi was quite a humbling experience. Having Tony, Cody, and Daniel come in from Daniel to work with my guys was another great experience, especially with Tony validating my opinion on Rolando!
Next year promises to be a banner year as well with quite a few inquiries for the youth and adult classes. I’m also planning on offering the Gracie Combatives DVD course as a no cost opportunity (more details in the next post) for adults only.
I really and truly want to thank everybody who helped Roswell Judo Club. The Yucca Recreation Center, Ms. Lynn, Ms. Linda, Sergeant Bell, Mary, every single student whether you’re still with us or not, Toby and the entire NMSU Judo Club, Oscar and his crew from Mesilla Valley Judokai, Tony, Cody, and Daniel from Dallas, and everybody else whose name escapes me right now. Thank you so much for supporting us!
I think 2010 was one of the very best years ever for me and for Roswell Judo Club. I went to a number of clinics and even held a few! Learning from Hayward Nishioka, Gerald Lafon, and Lynn Roethke (among others) in Las Vegas was a rare and wonderful opportunity. Being uke for Paul Nogaki in Albuquerque was an awesome experience and one I’d like to have the opportunity to do again (maybe 2011?)! Teaching my first clinic to Rolando and Eddy on Tai Otoshi was quite a humbling experience. Having Tony, Cody, and Daniel come in from Daniel to work with my guys was another great experience, especially with Tony validating my opinion on Rolando!
Next year promises to be a banner year as well with quite a few inquiries for the youth and adult classes. I’m also planning on offering the Gracie Combatives DVD course as a no cost opportunity (more details in the next post) for adults only.
I really and truly want to thank everybody who helped Roswell Judo Club. The Yucca Recreation Center, Ms. Lynn, Ms. Linda, Sergeant Bell, Mary, every single student whether you’re still with us or not, Toby and the entire NMSU Judo Club, Oscar and his crew from Mesilla Valley Judokai, Tony, Cody, and Daniel from Dallas, and everybody else whose name escapes me right now. Thank you so much for supporting us!
17 December 2010
The Latest News That Is News!
Roswell Judo Club held its last promotional for the year on the 16th. This promotional raised three of our juniors to their next grades. Now our junior class has a Junior 3 and two Junior 1’s.
There won’t be any classes for the next two weeks. We’ll be starting up again on the 3rd of January for the Adults and the 4th for the Youths. Keep close tabs on the club website and the blog for the schedule and the events! When we start back up, we’ll have a lot of work and fun, so be prepared!
There won’t be any classes for the next two weeks. We’ll be starting up again on the 3rd of January for the Adults and the 4th for the Youths. Keep close tabs on the club website and the blog for the schedule and the events! When we start back up, we’ll have a lot of work and fun, so be prepared!
16 December 2010
Now Taking Requests
You've been reading my blog, maybe for a long time maybe not. I'd like you to keep coming back. So I'd like to ask you to tell me some of the things you'd like me to write about. Post a comment about what you'd like to know, and I'll see what I can do to find out about it and write something up!
03 December 2010
Teaching with a Plan
A lot of things have happened for the Roswell Judo Club since August, but first I want everyone who reads this blog to know that the most important thing an instructor can do is teach the fundamentals of whatever it is they are teaching. In my case it is teaching people how to be better people through judo. Over the last several months I’ve learned a lot, especially about making sure there’s a plan in place for every single class.
Tonight I had a plan. It started with warm-ups, moved to ukemi, then on to technical instruction. I expected about six students, but when I walked in only two were there. So much for the plan. I started with the contingency plan of having the two run the mat, forward, shuffling facing in, backward, and shuffling facing out. Then I got creative and ran them through somersaults, backward somersaults, shoulder rolls, somersaults with back, right, and left falls, and even front falls diagonally across the mat. When they did one diagonal event they bear-crawled, frog-hopped, crab-walked, and so on back to their starting place. The best part of the warm-up was that they had fun doing it.
Then we moved on. It’s getting time for promotionals so I wanted to make sure they know their stuff so we started with a diagonal ashi-waza drill I learned from Paul Nogaki. We moved from that into learning how to turn. While turning is a seemingly dynamic exercise, it’s only turning about an axis rather than turning about an axis while moving linearly. Since no judo happens standing in place, we practiced walking down the mat and turning around. As the students were doing this, I had an epiphany! If they could do this walking down the mat, why not have them do O goshi with a partner walking down the mat? They did. And they did it great!
What’s new since August?
Eddy and Ashley are our newest green belts (Rokyu for us). We went to Las Cruces and they tested with the New Mexico State University Judo Club students for them. I must, personally, say that they were absolutely fabulous with their techniques. Most impressive was Ashley’s left-sided from a right-sided grip Tai otoshi (a throw she can’t hardly do “normally” from either grip)! Great big thanks go out to Toby Rue and Oscar Tinajero for holding the event. Thanks also go out to Nadia and Carlos as well!
Rolando fought in his first tournament at the Denver Classic, though not a medalist he did get out there and show he was willing to work. A few weeks later Ashley and Loren IV went to their first tournament (Rolando came down for this as well). Everyone medaled (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) and, most importantly, had a great time! Many thanks to James Lloyd and LC-Grappling.
A couple of updates were posted tot the club website (http://www.roswell-judo.org/). Most helpful are video clips of club members doing almost all of the throws required through Rokyu.
Tonight I had a plan. It started with warm-ups, moved to ukemi, then on to technical instruction. I expected about six students, but when I walked in only two were there. So much for the plan. I started with the contingency plan of having the two run the mat, forward, shuffling facing in, backward, and shuffling facing out. Then I got creative and ran them through somersaults, backward somersaults, shoulder rolls, somersaults with back, right, and left falls, and even front falls diagonally across the mat. When they did one diagonal event they bear-crawled, frog-hopped, crab-walked, and so on back to their starting place. The best part of the warm-up was that they had fun doing it.
Then we moved on. It’s getting time for promotionals so I wanted to make sure they know their stuff so we started with a diagonal ashi-waza drill I learned from Paul Nogaki. We moved from that into learning how to turn. While turning is a seemingly dynamic exercise, it’s only turning about an axis rather than turning about an axis while moving linearly. Since no judo happens standing in place, we practiced walking down the mat and turning around. As the students were doing this, I had an epiphany! If they could do this walking down the mat, why not have them do O goshi with a partner walking down the mat? They did. And they did it great!
What’s new since August?
Eddy and Ashley are our newest green belts (Rokyu for us). We went to Las Cruces and they tested with the New Mexico State University Judo Club students for them. I must, personally, say that they were absolutely fabulous with their techniques. Most impressive was Ashley’s left-sided from a right-sided grip Tai otoshi (a throw she can’t hardly do “normally” from either grip)! Great big thanks go out to Toby Rue and Oscar Tinajero for holding the event. Thanks also go out to Nadia and Carlos as well!
Rolando fought in his first tournament at the Denver Classic, though not a medalist he did get out there and show he was willing to work. A few weeks later Ashley and Loren IV went to their first tournament (Rolando came down for this as well). Everyone medaled (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) and, most importantly, had a great time! Many thanks to James Lloyd and LC-Grappling.
A couple of updates were posted tot the club website (http://www.roswell-judo.org/). Most helpful are video clips of club members doing almost all of the throws required through Rokyu.
23 August 2010
Developing a Progression for Education
Judo is an educational system. That’s why it was so successful at the end of the Meiji Restoration. Unfortunately, as an educational system, it has not attempted, in the U.S. especially, to develop instructors to guide students along the educational path.
Imagine if you sent your children to school and there were no teachers. Imagine if you enroll in a college program and no professors are teaching. This is how judo develops students.
With this in mind, I have often wondered how to make it simpler to develop students into teachers as they grow in judo. Some of my thoughts have related to using the USJA’s Coaching Certification Program, requiring my students to assist in instruction, and encouraging them to do research. While these are certainly good things for students, they are not sufficient.
Recently, I started to look at how public education works to develop students and cover the material required. In the state of New Mexico, a book of standards exists which lists all of the items a student should know upon completion of the academic year for every course. Teachers have to develop lesson, unit, and activity plans to complete the standards. The better the planning the easier it is to complete all the standards.
In my case, I decided that having my standards for promotion (available on my club’s website) clearly written was insufficient. The next step was the path for teaching the techniques. I spent the last few weeks working with Visio to develop “fish bone” charts for several ranks (Junior 1-4 and Hachikyu-Gokyu; available here). The next part, well, I guess that will be developing the lesson plans for every step.
While this may seem excessive for some, I think it is the bare essentials for running not just a successful program, but a repeatable program.
Imagine if you sent your children to school and there were no teachers. Imagine if you enroll in a college program and no professors are teaching. This is how judo develops students.
With this in mind, I have often wondered how to make it simpler to develop students into teachers as they grow in judo. Some of my thoughts have related to using the USJA’s Coaching Certification Program, requiring my students to assist in instruction, and encouraging them to do research. While these are certainly good things for students, they are not sufficient.
Recently, I started to look at how public education works to develop students and cover the material required. In the state of New Mexico, a book of standards exists which lists all of the items a student should know upon completion of the academic year for every course. Teachers have to develop lesson, unit, and activity plans to complete the standards. The better the planning the easier it is to complete all the standards.
In my case, I decided that having my standards for promotion (available on my club’s website) clearly written was insufficient. The next step was the path for teaching the techniques. I spent the last few weeks working with Visio to develop “fish bone” charts for several ranks (Junior 1-4 and Hachikyu-Gokyu; available here). The next part, well, I guess that will be developing the lesson plans for every step.
While this may seem excessive for some, I think it is the bare essentials for running not just a successful program, but a repeatable program.
15 August 2010
On the Subject of Ranks
What is the purpose of rank, especially in regards to judo? Is the purpose to get as high in the belt rankings as possible? Is it to show off how much you know? Is it to get to a rank sufficiently high enough to accomplish your goals? Is it just to get a black belt? Why do we have rank?
Apparently this is a discourse that has occurred frequently throughout judo’s 100+ years. It probably won’t stop for a number of reasons including the individual’s perspective on judo as martial way or combat sport. Some will advocate its elimination because other similar sports, like wrestling, don’t need such a ranking. Some will advocate its continued use because of tradition. I don’t like either advocation.
When beginning judo, using the USJA senior ranking system, one starts with the white then progresses through yellow, orange, and green until coming to three stages of brown. I equate these levels as the primary and secondary education phases of judo. White through green, to me, are the phases where one learns the basic alphabet, syntax, and grammar of judo. The brown belt levels are the high school level; this is where the basics start to be developed into an individual’s style and interpretation, preparing them to really begin learning judo.
The early black belt grades, shodan through sandan, are the baccalaureate levels of judo. Certainly these individuals may be outstanding in the basics of judo with a large and broad general knowledge. Unfortunately, at this level, extrapolation, novel interpretation, and transmission of this knowledge are lacking.
The yodan and godan levels are the Master’s level of judo learning. Here the black belt is learning through experimentation and leading how best to teach and transfer skills and knowledge to the initiate. This is the stage where most judo instructors should start their career as instructors.
The rokkudan through hachidan levels are the Doctoral levels of judo learning. Here the judoka is developing their judo through diligent study and experimentation. Here they should be putting out their knowledge to the masses. The specialties developed here narrowed early and broaden as the levels increase.
Higher levels exist, however these individuals should be walking encyclopedias of judo and there really is no academic equivalent.
Obviously, the previous explanation ignores both sport and tradition as reasons for grading higher. So what should we do with the competitors or the traditionalists? You have me in the trap, I’m afraid. I never studied competitive judo while developing, so what I know of it you can put in your hat and still have plenty of room. On the other hand, I was raised in a traditionalist program. I believe that tradition plays a strong role in the development of a judoka. But tradition without evaluation is blind faith and I am sorely against blind faith.
So, allow me to talk about my perspective on sport and sport ranking. I do not believe a student under the green belt level is ready for competition unless that student has spent time in other arts similar to judo and has attained a sufficient level. Upon attainment of the green belt, however, competition is necessary to evaluate a student’s skill in comparison to others. Shiai is an evaluatory tool for most students, however, and should not be a medal chase. Eventually, perhaps at the ikkyu/shodan level, the student who would like to pursue shiai as a significant goal should have training dedicated to the pursuit of medals as, by this time, they have a sufficient grounding in the essentials of judo to be adequate and specialization at this level will not be as detrimental as it would be at lower levels.
I certainly will not discourage any of my students that wish to compete from competing, as long as they are at least a green belt. I will encourage my students that desire to compete to take up physical conditioning and endurance training to complement their judo. I do encourage my green belt and above students to compete, as long as they are training consistently.
So, what about the ranking of competitors? I believe their success in competition should be rewarded. The difficulty lies in the level of reward. Should one reward a “one trick pony” for beating everybody with one or two moves? I don’t believe so, no matter how far they take that one trick. The flip side of that is the competitive judoist that wins consistently using numerous waza to win.
How far should competitive success take the competitor? I don’t believe a competitor should be able to progress above another with greater knowledge. For example, an individual who cannot compete for some reason learns the full go kyo to both sides, nage no kata, katame no kata, ju no kata, trains daily, assists the club, and does a host of other helpful activities for judo may rank to sandan or yodan. A competitor that wins all the time in tournament but can’t do a single kata and only knows half the go kyo and rarely helps at the club could make it to nidan or sandan. On the other hand, the competitor who knows the same as the illustrated non-competitor should make it to yodan or godan, and faster to boot.
As to the initial questions, I know I haven’t answered them. Those are questions that one has to answer for oneself. I know the answer for me. What is it for you?
Apparently this is a discourse that has occurred frequently throughout judo’s 100+ years. It probably won’t stop for a number of reasons including the individual’s perspective on judo as martial way or combat sport. Some will advocate its elimination because other similar sports, like wrestling, don’t need such a ranking. Some will advocate its continued use because of tradition. I don’t like either advocation.
When beginning judo, using the USJA senior ranking system, one starts with the white then progresses through yellow, orange, and green until coming to three stages of brown. I equate these levels as the primary and secondary education phases of judo. White through green, to me, are the phases where one learns the basic alphabet, syntax, and grammar of judo. The brown belt levels are the high school level; this is where the basics start to be developed into an individual’s style and interpretation, preparing them to really begin learning judo.
The early black belt grades, shodan through sandan, are the baccalaureate levels of judo. Certainly these individuals may be outstanding in the basics of judo with a large and broad general knowledge. Unfortunately, at this level, extrapolation, novel interpretation, and transmission of this knowledge are lacking.
The yodan and godan levels are the Master’s level of judo learning. Here the black belt is learning through experimentation and leading how best to teach and transfer skills and knowledge to the initiate. This is the stage where most judo instructors should start their career as instructors.
The rokkudan through hachidan levels are the Doctoral levels of judo learning. Here the judoka is developing their judo through diligent study and experimentation. Here they should be putting out their knowledge to the masses. The specialties developed here narrowed early and broaden as the levels increase.
Higher levels exist, however these individuals should be walking encyclopedias of judo and there really is no academic equivalent.
Obviously, the previous explanation ignores both sport and tradition as reasons for grading higher. So what should we do with the competitors or the traditionalists? You have me in the trap, I’m afraid. I never studied competitive judo while developing, so what I know of it you can put in your hat and still have plenty of room. On the other hand, I was raised in a traditionalist program. I believe that tradition plays a strong role in the development of a judoka. But tradition without evaluation is blind faith and I am sorely against blind faith.
So, allow me to talk about my perspective on sport and sport ranking. I do not believe a student under the green belt level is ready for competition unless that student has spent time in other arts similar to judo and has attained a sufficient level. Upon attainment of the green belt, however, competition is necessary to evaluate a student’s skill in comparison to others. Shiai is an evaluatory tool for most students, however, and should not be a medal chase. Eventually, perhaps at the ikkyu/shodan level, the student who would like to pursue shiai as a significant goal should have training dedicated to the pursuit of medals as, by this time, they have a sufficient grounding in the essentials of judo to be adequate and specialization at this level will not be as detrimental as it would be at lower levels.
I certainly will not discourage any of my students that wish to compete from competing, as long as they are at least a green belt. I will encourage my students that desire to compete to take up physical conditioning and endurance training to complement their judo. I do encourage my green belt and above students to compete, as long as they are training consistently.
So, what about the ranking of competitors? I believe their success in competition should be rewarded. The difficulty lies in the level of reward. Should one reward a “one trick pony” for beating everybody with one or two moves? I don’t believe so, no matter how far they take that one trick. The flip side of that is the competitive judoist that wins consistently using numerous waza to win.
How far should competitive success take the competitor? I don’t believe a competitor should be able to progress above another with greater knowledge. For example, an individual who cannot compete for some reason learns the full go kyo to both sides, nage no kata, katame no kata, ju no kata, trains daily, assists the club, and does a host of other helpful activities for judo may rank to sandan or yodan. A competitor that wins all the time in tournament but can’t do a single kata and only knows half the go kyo and rarely helps at the club could make it to nidan or sandan. On the other hand, the competitor who knows the same as the illustrated non-competitor should make it to yodan or godan, and faster to boot.
As to the initial questions, I know I haven’t answered them. Those are questions that one has to answer for oneself. I know the answer for me. What is it for you?
09 August 2010
Why Should I Show Up?
I have a pretty laissez faire perspective on attendance. I refuse to force students to come to class, especially as the rise up to and past the brown belt level. There are reasons for this but mostly it derives from my personal belief that success in any chosen endeavor must come from within.
So, why should a student show up? This isn’t just about judo or martial arts, it relates to most areas of human endeavor.
When a student starts an activity, especially judo, things are difficult. Moving is hard. Falling hurts. Everybody can throw you and you can’t throw anyone. Instructors and teammates should encourage the new student to keep coming because it will get better. As a student progresses things become less difficult for a time and success becomes more frequent. Then comes the brown belt.
The brown belt grades are hard grades to pass through. They are not especially challenging physically, but they become more mental, especially here. A black belt is not just a brown belt with seasoning. A brown belt needs to show mental discipline and good character. While there are many ways to show these qualities, if you desire to show them, you must show up!
Why should a student show up?
The grades lower than brown belt also have trials and tribulations to undergo. Showing up often and participating much helps growth. Learning to deal with that student who is shorter or heavier than you helps you understand judo better. Learning to deal helps you deal.
You need to show up to class because without class you cannot grow in your judo. Reading about judo is good. Watching judo videos is good. But they pale in comparison to getting on the mat and trying these things out!
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. No matter how many shadow uchikomi you do, no matter how many times you practice your foot sweeps against a pole or a wall, no matter how many times you work alone you cannot progress without qualified input. You get qualified input at class!
Show up, have fun, learn. You will get better.
So, why should a student show up? This isn’t just about judo or martial arts, it relates to most areas of human endeavor.
When a student starts an activity, especially judo, things are difficult. Moving is hard. Falling hurts. Everybody can throw you and you can’t throw anyone. Instructors and teammates should encourage the new student to keep coming because it will get better. As a student progresses things become less difficult for a time and success becomes more frequent. Then comes the brown belt.
The brown belt grades are hard grades to pass through. They are not especially challenging physically, but they become more mental, especially here. A black belt is not just a brown belt with seasoning. A brown belt needs to show mental discipline and good character. While there are many ways to show these qualities, if you desire to show them, you must show up!
Why should a student show up?
The grades lower than brown belt also have trials and tribulations to undergo. Showing up often and participating much helps growth. Learning to deal with that student who is shorter or heavier than you helps you understand judo better. Learning to deal helps you deal.
You need to show up to class because without class you cannot grow in your judo. Reading about judo is good. Watching judo videos is good. But they pale in comparison to getting on the mat and trying these things out!
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. No matter how many shadow uchikomi you do, no matter how many times you practice your foot sweeps against a pole or a wall, no matter how many times you work alone you cannot progress without qualified input. You get qualified input at class!
Show up, have fun, learn. You will get better.
08 August 2010
Contemplation of the Future
Every judo club needs to look to its future. What happens if the unthinkable happens? What will happen to the club if the sensei leaves? Will the club continue? Who will teach? Who will take care of the paperwork that the sensei does?
Let’s start with what it takes to run a club, specifically Roswell Judo Club. Roswell Judo Club is organized as a sole proprietorship. This is not the best organizational structure, however a 501(c)3 structure costs a fair bit and we are not ready for that. The business aspect, as anathema as that is to many judo instructors, requires tax considerations, such as gross receipts; inventory ordering; scheduling events; and membership filings.
The business considerations require an individual that understands basic bookkeeping, business demands, and judo association guidelines. I certainly won’t say that I’m the world’s best business person at the moment, but I haven’t had anyone volunteer to take over or even learn how the operation works. I probably won’t look into that until 501(c)3 status is attained anyway.
The second aspect of running a club is instructional. Who will teach the classes? Does it require only one instructor or can there be several instructors teaching different classes? Simply put, I think several instructors would be a much greater idea than a single person. Multiple instructors mean that when one must go for the time, the classes aren’t cancelled.
Unfortunately, training instructors is a bit different than teaching judoka. Judoka learn techniques and how to apply those techniques. Teachers need to know the techniques and how to apply them, but that is the least of the concern! Teachers have to know how to transfer that knowledge to their students effectively. A teacher that teaches adults only may or may not be able to teach kids and vice versa. This takes time, both to learn the techniques and learn to teach them.
Right now Roswell Judo Club is not facing this situation, but how far in the future should a club look? In RJC’s case, we have to look about a year and a half to two years in advance. Why do we have to look a year and a half to two years? Currently we don’t have anybody at a level to take over. While we do have two brown belts on the rolls, one is leaving town soon and the other is less available to take over. After these two brown belts our highest grades are orange which will take until at least December of 2011 to move to the low brown belt grade. The most probable case will be May of 2011.
My club members need to understand that I’m not looking at leaving right now. I do want to make it clear that every student should be looking at the future and thinking about what they want to do with their judo. Do you want to be a teacher? Do you want to start your own club? Do you want to just be a club member? All of these are fine and we’ll certainly get you to where you want to be.
Let’s start with what it takes to run a club, specifically Roswell Judo Club. Roswell Judo Club is organized as a sole proprietorship. This is not the best organizational structure, however a 501(c)3 structure costs a fair bit and we are not ready for that. The business aspect, as anathema as that is to many judo instructors, requires tax considerations, such as gross receipts; inventory ordering; scheduling events; and membership filings.
The business considerations require an individual that understands basic bookkeeping, business demands, and judo association guidelines. I certainly won’t say that I’m the world’s best business person at the moment, but I haven’t had anyone volunteer to take over or even learn how the operation works. I probably won’t look into that until 501(c)3 status is attained anyway.
The second aspect of running a club is instructional. Who will teach the classes? Does it require only one instructor or can there be several instructors teaching different classes? Simply put, I think several instructors would be a much greater idea than a single person. Multiple instructors mean that when one must go for the time, the classes aren’t cancelled.
Unfortunately, training instructors is a bit different than teaching judoka. Judoka learn techniques and how to apply those techniques. Teachers need to know the techniques and how to apply them, but that is the least of the concern! Teachers have to know how to transfer that knowledge to their students effectively. A teacher that teaches adults only may or may not be able to teach kids and vice versa. This takes time, both to learn the techniques and learn to teach them.
Right now Roswell Judo Club is not facing this situation, but how far in the future should a club look? In RJC’s case, we have to look about a year and a half to two years in advance. Why do we have to look a year and a half to two years? Currently we don’t have anybody at a level to take over. While we do have two brown belts on the rolls, one is leaving town soon and the other is less available to take over. After these two brown belts our highest grades are orange which will take until at least December of 2011 to move to the low brown belt grade. The most probable case will be May of 2011.
My club members need to understand that I’m not looking at leaving right now. I do want to make it clear that every student should be looking at the future and thinking about what they want to do with their judo. Do you want to be a teacher? Do you want to start your own club? Do you want to just be a club member? All of these are fine and we’ll certainly get you to where you want to be.
30 July 2010
Developing Teachers and Tonight's Class
Judo, unlike many other sports, is an educational process. Like other sports, however, it helps its student develop character, motor skills, discipline, and many of the characteristics our society values. The difference between judo, and other martial arts, and sports like soccer, American football, and baseball is the ability to cause great harm through the normal course of the activity if the participants don’t internalize the values of judo.
One of the biggest problems in martial arts is the development of quality instructors. Certainly there are many instructors in the martial arts but the critical criterion is quality. I’m not interested in pointing a negative spotlight on poor teaching; I don’t care a whit about ferreting out bad instructors. I am interested in the best process I can use to develop my students to teachers.
Nationally, the United States Judo Association seems to be making the greatest strides toward developing a national minimum level of coaching ability. Unfortunately, the process has taken an extremely long time but progress is moving smoothly, apparently. The problem with this is that a coach is not a teacher.
Some say that a teacher is more difficult than a coach. Others say that coaching is harder than teaching. I disagree with both. Teaching and coaching are equally difficult, but differently difficult. Some judo players are adept at teaching, others at coaching. The process of developing the teacher and coach must be a process. USJA is doing well with the coaching process, but not far enough in the teaching process.
Again, I’m not here to bash anyone that’s trying to develop a good method for teaching or coaching. I’m just throwing out some observations.
Okay, so what am I doing since no one else is doing things to my satisfaction? (That sounds arrogant, doesn’t it?)
Right now, I have two students that appear to be interested in teaching. Both of them I have help out in the kids’ class or working with lower kyu grades. My classes are loosely structured with simple building blocks and these students that are interested work with the more senior group of students.
For example, today two brand new students came to class. The remaining four youth students worked under the guidance and supervision of my brown belt. While he was not specifically developing the curriculum to be taught to these students, he was tasked with guiding them through their assigned tasks. The tasks were their ukemi, various drills, and nage waza. He did well.
One of the biggest problems in martial arts is the development of quality instructors. Certainly there are many instructors in the martial arts but the critical criterion is quality. I’m not interested in pointing a negative spotlight on poor teaching; I don’t care a whit about ferreting out bad instructors. I am interested in the best process I can use to develop my students to teachers.
Nationally, the United States Judo Association seems to be making the greatest strides toward developing a national minimum level of coaching ability. Unfortunately, the process has taken an extremely long time but progress is moving smoothly, apparently. The problem with this is that a coach is not a teacher.
Some say that a teacher is more difficult than a coach. Others say that coaching is harder than teaching. I disagree with both. Teaching and coaching are equally difficult, but differently difficult. Some judo players are adept at teaching, others at coaching. The process of developing the teacher and coach must be a process. USJA is doing well with the coaching process, but not far enough in the teaching process.
Again, I’m not here to bash anyone that’s trying to develop a good method for teaching or coaching. I’m just throwing out some observations.
Okay, so what am I doing since no one else is doing things to my satisfaction? (That sounds arrogant, doesn’t it?)
Right now, I have two students that appear to be interested in teaching. Both of them I have help out in the kids’ class or working with lower kyu grades. My classes are loosely structured with simple building blocks and these students that are interested work with the more senior group of students.
For example, today two brand new students came to class. The remaining four youth students worked under the guidance and supervision of my brown belt. While he was not specifically developing the curriculum to be taught to these students, he was tasked with guiding them through their assigned tasks. The tasks were their ukemi, various drills, and nage waza. He did well.
26 July 2010
A Brief Catch-up and Something Interesting
It’s been a fair amount of time since last I wrote. Judo at the club has been moving along, but I’ve been busy job hunting. Roswell is a hard town for jobs of the “over qualified.” I’ve got some plans for the blog for the next month or so and should be writing more often.
I’ve been looking at some interesting stuff lately and working on developing some plans. I love research and have been doing a lot lately. I found an interesting looking book on kanji that I’m going to try to pick up (maybe someone will buy it for me for my birthday, which just passed). I found some interesting questions regarding the highest possible ranks in judo. And I am going to talk about my kids’ classes.
First, the book: it’s called “The Key to Kanji” and it’s written by Noriko Kurosawa Williams. It’s not like most kanji books where they essentially define the character so you have to memorize what it looks like and the stroke order. Instead, it’s a break-down of the kanji and it’s evolution to its current appearance. This strikes me as similar to teaching root words, prefixes, and suffixes for all of our Latin and Greek based words in English. (And chords of “Why Can’t the English Teach Their Children How to Speak” from “My Fair Lady” go passing through my head.)
That weblink gives two sample pages (click on the Preview tab) that you can print out to evaluate. Or, if you just want them handed to you…Kanji_301-600_1R 1.pdf and Kanji_301-600_1R 2.pdf.
I’m going to expound upon this pdf in another post, but to give you something to read now: JudoKodokan-Nov1963-20QuestionsRank.pdf. Some of the interesting bits are Questions 6, 10, 12 (this is for AnnMaria and a comment she made at the JudoForum Camp in 2008), 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20.
I’ve been looking at some interesting stuff lately and working on developing some plans. I love research and have been doing a lot lately. I found an interesting looking book on kanji that I’m going to try to pick up (maybe someone will buy it for me for my birthday, which just passed). I found some interesting questions regarding the highest possible ranks in judo. And I am going to talk about my kids’ classes.
First, the book: it’s called “The Key to Kanji” and it’s written by Noriko Kurosawa Williams. It’s not like most kanji books where they essentially define the character so you have to memorize what it looks like and the stroke order. Instead, it’s a break-down of the kanji and it’s evolution to its current appearance. This strikes me as similar to teaching root words, prefixes, and suffixes for all of our Latin and Greek based words in English. (And chords of “Why Can’t the English Teach Their Children How to Speak” from “My Fair Lady” go passing through my head.)
That weblink gives two sample pages (click on the Preview tab) that you can print out to evaluate. Or, if you just want them handed to you…Kanji_301-600_1R 1.pdf and Kanji_301-600_1R 2.pdf.
I’m going to expound upon this pdf in another post, but to give you something to read now: JudoKodokan-Nov1963-20QuestionsRank.pdf. Some of the interesting bits are Questions 6, 10, 12 (this is for AnnMaria and a comment she made at the JudoForum Camp in 2008), 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20.
25 April 2010
What's Been Going On
Well, it’s been a few days since I last had anything to say. Tonight, however, I have a little bit to say.
These last two weeks I’ve been working on improving some of my sutemi waza. This is always a difficult thing to do when you consider that I’m the highest ranked person participating in my club! So, the solution I’ve come up with is to use YouTube to help me get better.
What I do is video myself and my usual uke. I perform a series of throws, sometimes just one throw over and over again, other times a couple of different throws. Then I ask several rather reliable individuals to evaluate me. I do this through the JudoForum or by instant messaging.
It seems to work out. Now, I don’t always like the responses I get, but that’s what learning and becoming better gets you. If you ask people you trust to give honest feedback, expect honest, perhaps even brutally so, feedback. Once you get that feedback, apply it!
If you’re wondering what they are, I’ve put the YouTube videos below. (Oldest to newest, starting 12 April 2010 and running until 22 April 2010.)
Now, the other thing I’ve been working on is developing a kind of guide like the Gracies use in their Gracie Combatives program. This includes the lesson plans and the note taking section. I think that is one of the best developments they’ve done for martial arts. Say what you will about their marketing and legal strategies, they’ve got a great product for a great price!
It’s a difficult thing to create and I’m having a hard time with it, but it’ll work out in the end. Oh, and great thanks to Kristan for hopping on the bandwagon to help create the artwork for one of my other projects. She rocks!
These last two weeks I’ve been working on improving some of my sutemi waza. This is always a difficult thing to do when you consider that I’m the highest ranked person participating in my club! So, the solution I’ve come up with is to use YouTube to help me get better.
What I do is video myself and my usual uke. I perform a series of throws, sometimes just one throw over and over again, other times a couple of different throws. Then I ask several rather reliable individuals to evaluate me. I do this through the JudoForum or by instant messaging.
It seems to work out. Now, I don’t always like the responses I get, but that’s what learning and becoming better gets you. If you ask people you trust to give honest feedback, expect honest, perhaps even brutally so, feedback. Once you get that feedback, apply it!
If you’re wondering what they are, I’ve put the YouTube videos below. (Oldest to newest, starting 12 April 2010 and running until 22 April 2010.)
Now, the other thing I’ve been working on is developing a kind of guide like the Gracies use in their Gracie Combatives program. This includes the lesson plans and the note taking section. I think that is one of the best developments they’ve done for martial arts. Say what you will about their marketing and legal strategies, they’ve got a great product for a great price!
It’s a difficult thing to create and I’m having a hard time with it, but it’ll work out in the end. Oh, and great thanks to Kristan for hopping on the bandwagon to help create the artwork for one of my other projects. She rocks!
20 April 2010
Roswell Judo Club Students
I don’t often write about my club. Usually I just write about things that have interested me or that I’m studying for judo or the Gracie program. Today, though, I’m going to write about my club.
Tonight’s practice had five of my club members practicing. I shot video, like I tend to do. But I watched it, which I’m not really in the habit of doing, and certainly not immediately. As I watched it dawned on me that I am really blessed to have such amazing students.
Five students isn’t a lot of students, but when Rolando and I were working on the Nage no Kata, which is atrocious, they all sat and watched intently. How often do you find four novices, I mean absolute beginners, willing to really sit and watch what one elite athlete said was, “boring as watching flies f***.” (Direct quote, and no, I won’t say who! But it was hilarious to hear that…)
After the brief attempt at kata, which while atrocious isn’t bad when one considers I haven’t practiced the full set since gaining Shodan in 2005 and having a partner who’s never done the full set, they all got back to work with zero grumbling and worked hard! We didn’t concentrate on anything competitive, just basic nage waza. They’re not perfect, but they keep working at them trying to make them better.
I just want to say this to the world and, most especially, my students: I have got some of the best students any instructor could ever ask for. These are the people for whom I do judo.
Tonight’s practice had five of my club members practicing. I shot video, like I tend to do. But I watched it, which I’m not really in the habit of doing, and certainly not immediately. As I watched it dawned on me that I am really blessed to have such amazing students.
Five students isn’t a lot of students, but when Rolando and I were working on the Nage no Kata, which is atrocious, they all sat and watched intently. How often do you find four novices, I mean absolute beginners, willing to really sit and watch what one elite athlete said was, “boring as watching flies f***.” (Direct quote, and no, I won’t say who! But it was hilarious to hear that…)
After the brief attempt at kata, which while atrocious isn’t bad when one considers I haven’t practiced the full set since gaining Shodan in 2005 and having a partner who’s never done the full set, they all got back to work with zero grumbling and worked hard! We didn’t concentrate on anything competitive, just basic nage waza. They’re not perfect, but they keep working at them trying to make them better.
I just want to say this to the world and, most especially, my students: I have got some of the best students any instructor could ever ask for. These are the people for whom I do judo.
12 April 2010
Tournament Success
Roswell, New Mexico is right out in the middle of nowhere. We are three hours from the three major towns in New Mexico (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces). New Mexico, if we’re lucky, holds two tournaments a year, both in Albuquerque. El Paso, maybe, holds one tournament a year. All these factors and a few others make it easy to see why the Roswell Judo Club doesn’t go to tournament.
All that being said, however, we finally took one to tournament. We took Alana Brumbaugh to the Southwest Championships held by Synergy Martial Arts at the Rio Rancho High School on the 27th of March. It was a wonderful experience for both her and me (as the coach).
For those of you who are unaware of judo tournaments and matches, a brief explanation is in order. First, tournaments are divided into divisions like Juniors, Seniors, and Masters. These divisions are age brackets. Further dividing these divisions are sex, weights, and ranks, if there are enough competitors to justify dividing them. Typically Senior Women’s divisions, especially in New Mexico, are not divided at all.
The matches are timed with a maximum length of time for competing but can be shortened for a number of reasons, including an Ippon throw, submission (tap out), unconsciousness (through a choking technique), penalties, or medical reasons. Senior Women’s matches are set for three minutes duration.
Alana had three matches. Her potential time on the mat for competition was nine minutes, but she didn’t need all of them! Watch the matches in the video below!
She did a great job with her matches and I was spectacularly proud of her effort and work.
I would like to thank Synergy Martial Arts for holding this tournament. I wish the scheduled Referee clinic had been held, but limited interest is limited interest I suppose.
All that being said, however, we finally took one to tournament. We took Alana Brumbaugh to the Southwest Championships held by Synergy Martial Arts at the Rio Rancho High School on the 27th of March. It was a wonderful experience for both her and me (as the coach).
For those of you who are unaware of judo tournaments and matches, a brief explanation is in order. First, tournaments are divided into divisions like Juniors, Seniors, and Masters. These divisions are age brackets. Further dividing these divisions are sex, weights, and ranks, if there are enough competitors to justify dividing them. Typically Senior Women’s divisions, especially in New Mexico, are not divided at all.
The matches are timed with a maximum length of time for competing but can be shortened for a number of reasons, including an Ippon throw, submission (tap out), unconsciousness (through a choking technique), penalties, or medical reasons. Senior Women’s matches are set for three minutes duration.
Alana had three matches. Her potential time on the mat for competition was nine minutes, but she didn’t need all of them! Watch the matches in the video below!
She did a great job with her matches and I was spectacularly proud of her effort and work.
I would like to thank Synergy Martial Arts for holding this tournament. I wish the scheduled Referee clinic had been held, but limited interest is limited interest I suppose.
24 March 2010
Developing Judo
I have been teaching judo for about three years. During this time I’ve learned quite a number of things. Some of what I learned is about judo, some about running a judo club, and some about me. Now I sit at my club wondering about this wonderful thing called judo that I try to spread to others.
The most important lessons I believe I have learned is that patience and a solid basis of basic understanding is essential to teaching judo to others. However, I believe that the Japanese and other cultures have it right with a prohibition on those below yodan or sandan teaching.
How can I, a mere USJA shodan and Yawara nidan, say such a thing as this? Shodan through sandan are just ready to really undertake learning. Concentrating on learning the foundational elements of judo is paramount at this stage, not teaching! Yet teaching is what these brave young dan grades do!
In some, exceptional, cases those below sandan may be head instructors. This is a sorry situation and does no great service to the students or the instructor. These instructors are barely versed in the essence of judo much less how to convey that essence to others.
What solution have I to this sorry state of affairs that U.S. Judo has found itself? I’m not sure that I truly have a sufficient solution, but I have some ideas.
1. Teaching is teaching. Students who desire to be instructors must undergo training in how to teach others. They need to understand things like lesson planning, transference, research, activity- and knowledge-based learning.
2. Coaching is not teaching. Coaching and teaching seem similar to the uninitiated. These are very different points of view in the educational process. Students who desire to be teachers should learn how to coach those that are junior to them effectively. They must understand shaping processes (both forward and backward), conditioning, tactics, strategy, and nutrition. Beginning coaches should specialize in small step coaching like coaching a specific group of waza to a small group of students.
3. Increase professionalism in our coaches and teachers. I don’t mean that coaches or teachers should exclusively do judo for their living, but the mindset of volunteerism because “I love judo” has to go. Love for the endeavor gets one in the door; it does not keep you working. A professional, whether or not currency changes hands, does the job because it is the job to do. They will do that job to the best of their ability every single time not because they “love it” but because it is the right thing to do. A volunteer can leave any time. A volunteer doesn’t have to do the job to the best of their ability because they are a volunteer.
4. National organizations need a program, even if it is just an online coursework program, to develop teaching and coaching. These need to be separate programs.
5. National organizations, within their structures, need to have a cohesive developmental approach to teaching judo students judo. Worrying about student waza selection is a lot like asking your five year old what he or she wants for supper, a bad idea. Students need to learn a progression of techniques and applications because they build upon and transfer to each other. Understanding Uki goshi and O goshi will help your student learn 90% or more of the other koshi waza!
I’m just a shodan/nidan, depending on who you ask, but these seem an important necessity for judo in the U.S.
The most important lessons I believe I have learned is that patience and a solid basis of basic understanding is essential to teaching judo to others. However, I believe that the Japanese and other cultures have it right with a prohibition on those below yodan or sandan teaching.
How can I, a mere USJA shodan and Yawara nidan, say such a thing as this? Shodan through sandan are just ready to really undertake learning. Concentrating on learning the foundational elements of judo is paramount at this stage, not teaching! Yet teaching is what these brave young dan grades do!
In some, exceptional, cases those below sandan may be head instructors. This is a sorry situation and does no great service to the students or the instructor. These instructors are barely versed in the essence of judo much less how to convey that essence to others.
What solution have I to this sorry state of affairs that U.S. Judo has found itself? I’m not sure that I truly have a sufficient solution, but I have some ideas.
1. Teaching is teaching. Students who desire to be instructors must undergo training in how to teach others. They need to understand things like lesson planning, transference, research, activity- and knowledge-based learning.
2. Coaching is not teaching. Coaching and teaching seem similar to the uninitiated. These are very different points of view in the educational process. Students who desire to be teachers should learn how to coach those that are junior to them effectively. They must understand shaping processes (both forward and backward), conditioning, tactics, strategy, and nutrition. Beginning coaches should specialize in small step coaching like coaching a specific group of waza to a small group of students.
3. Increase professionalism in our coaches and teachers. I don’t mean that coaches or teachers should exclusively do judo for their living, but the mindset of volunteerism because “I love judo” has to go. Love for the endeavor gets one in the door; it does not keep you working. A professional, whether or not currency changes hands, does the job because it is the job to do. They will do that job to the best of their ability every single time not because they “love it” but because it is the right thing to do. A volunteer can leave any time. A volunteer doesn’t have to do the job to the best of their ability because they are a volunteer.
4. National organizations need a program, even if it is just an online coursework program, to develop teaching and coaching. These need to be separate programs.
5. National organizations, within their structures, need to have a cohesive developmental approach to teaching judo students judo. Worrying about student waza selection is a lot like asking your five year old what he or she wants for supper, a bad idea. Students need to learn a progression of techniques and applications because they build upon and transfer to each other. Understanding Uki goshi and O goshi will help your student learn 90% or more of the other koshi waza!
I’m just a shodan/nidan, depending on who you ask, but these seem an important necessity for judo in the U.S.
10 March 2010
Shaping - Forward and Backward
WHAT IS SHAPING?
According to Rushall and Siedentop, shaping is a strategy for teaching new behaviors and modifying old behaviors (Rushall, 1972). They further discuss what is involved in developing a shaping strategy:
1. the definition of a terminal topography,
2. the sequencing of steps of closer approximation to the terminal behavior,
3. the use of primes and prompts to produce performance variations, and
4. the use of reinforcement.
WHY DO JUDO COACHES NEED TO KNOW THIS?
If you don’t have a strategy for where your players are going, are you actually coaching? I don’t think so. Some coaches have a curriculum map, I certainly do. But that map doesn’t do much for actually teaching the skills, and developing a repeatable methodology is my greatest concern. After all, my goal is to create better judo players and teachers.
FORWARD SHAPING AND BACKWARD SHAPING
Have you ever gone to a class, a clinic, or tried to learn how to do something and the person or group teaching started at the beginning and worked their way to end? If you have, and I’d say everyone has, then you’ve experienced forward shaping. It’s the normal way most people learn to teach something, start at the beginning and work all the way to the end. It’s simple, but it does have a few problems.
First of all, in judo we aren’t concerned so much with how to start, but getting the end, the Ippon, hold-down, strangle, or Kansetsu, right. In forward shaping, however, we concentrate extensively on how to start not how to end. We also introduce opportunities for students to get confused between the beginning and the terminal component. A confused student will make mistakes when it comes time to use the training they received whether it’s in a tournament, randori, or self-defense.
Backward shaping takes the whole process and reverses the teaching stages. Let’s use falling as our teaching subject. In order to make sure students start falling correctly and safely, we should start teaching students, using the backward shaping model, on the ground with their body properly positioned. Once they have the proper position have them relax then, on command, have them get right back to proper position. After they have completed a number of successful evolutions of proper placement the instructor could move to the next step and continue this pattern until the student is doing standing or leaping falls with no hesitation or incorrectness.
A sample backwards shaping list for a back could be as follows:
1. Student laying on their back in the proper position
2. Student raises their hands to an appropriate position then slaps
3. Student rises to a sitting position with their hands in the appropriate position then rolls back and slaps
4. Student rises to a squatting position with their hands in the appropriate position then rolls back and slaps
5. Student rises to a standing position with their hands in the appropriate position then squats and rolls back and slaps
6. Student stands with their hands in the appropriate position then performs a back fall skipping the squatting stage and slaps
7. Student stands with their hands in the appropriate position the jumps into the air performing a back fall and slaps
This may seem like an obvious progression for most instructors and I think it is. This step-by-step process is quite obviously backward shaping. But how can we use backward shaping for the various waza or kata? That’s where the coach or instructor’s creativity comes into play. For example, I teach Nage no Kata starting with the falls and work backwards to the full waza. This gets really interesting in the case of big throws like Kata guruma (I haven’t figured out a backward progression on that). But my list of how to teach Uki otoshi for Nage no Kata follows (Uke’s part):
1. Uke steps in the kata fashion then, on the third step Uke performs a shoulder roll fall
2. Uke and Tori face each other, without gripping or placing hands on each other, Uke and Tori begin the kata’s stepping motion, on the third step Uke does the shoulder roll fall while Tori plants his or her knee on the mat adjusting his or her body appropriately.
3. This step is similar to Step 2, however, Uke and Tori both place their hands appropriately without gripping each other.
4. Again, this step is similar to Step 2, this time Uke and Tori grip each other.
That is a quick example of how to teach Uki otoshi using a backward progression model. If we teach it from the beginning with Uke and Tori gripping the final result will include errors because they don’t understand all their parts well enough to compile them into one continuous and harmonious flow.
Try changing some of the ways you teach various waza to a backward progression and see if you get better results. I know that I did.
Many thanks for introducing me to the concepts of forward and backward shaping go out to Gerald Lafon.
According to Rushall and Siedentop, shaping is a strategy for teaching new behaviors and modifying old behaviors (Rushall, 1972). They further discuss what is involved in developing a shaping strategy:
1. the definition of a terminal topography,
2. the sequencing of steps of closer approximation to the terminal behavior,
3. the use of primes and prompts to produce performance variations, and
4. the use of reinforcement.
WHY DO JUDO COACHES NEED TO KNOW THIS?
If you don’t have a strategy for where your players are going, are you actually coaching? I don’t think so. Some coaches have a curriculum map, I certainly do. But that map doesn’t do much for actually teaching the skills, and developing a repeatable methodology is my greatest concern. After all, my goal is to create better judo players and teachers.
FORWARD SHAPING AND BACKWARD SHAPING
Have you ever gone to a class, a clinic, or tried to learn how to do something and the person or group teaching started at the beginning and worked their way to end? If you have, and I’d say everyone has, then you’ve experienced forward shaping. It’s the normal way most people learn to teach something, start at the beginning and work all the way to the end. It’s simple, but it does have a few problems.
First of all, in judo we aren’t concerned so much with how to start, but getting the end, the Ippon, hold-down, strangle, or Kansetsu, right. In forward shaping, however, we concentrate extensively on how to start not how to end. We also introduce opportunities for students to get confused between the beginning and the terminal component. A confused student will make mistakes when it comes time to use the training they received whether it’s in a tournament, randori, or self-defense.
Backward shaping takes the whole process and reverses the teaching stages. Let’s use falling as our teaching subject. In order to make sure students start falling correctly and safely, we should start teaching students, using the backward shaping model, on the ground with their body properly positioned. Once they have the proper position have them relax then, on command, have them get right back to proper position. After they have completed a number of successful evolutions of proper placement the instructor could move to the next step and continue this pattern until the student is doing standing or leaping falls with no hesitation or incorrectness.
A sample backwards shaping list for a back could be as follows:
1. Student laying on their back in the proper position
2. Student raises their hands to an appropriate position then slaps
3. Student rises to a sitting position with their hands in the appropriate position then rolls back and slaps
4. Student rises to a squatting position with their hands in the appropriate position then rolls back and slaps
5. Student rises to a standing position with their hands in the appropriate position then squats and rolls back and slaps
6. Student stands with their hands in the appropriate position then performs a back fall skipping the squatting stage and slaps
7. Student stands with their hands in the appropriate position the jumps into the air performing a back fall and slaps
This may seem like an obvious progression for most instructors and I think it is. This step-by-step process is quite obviously backward shaping. But how can we use backward shaping for the various waza or kata? That’s where the coach or instructor’s creativity comes into play. For example, I teach Nage no Kata starting with the falls and work backwards to the full waza. This gets really interesting in the case of big throws like Kata guruma (I haven’t figured out a backward progression on that). But my list of how to teach Uki otoshi for Nage no Kata follows (Uke’s part):
1. Uke steps in the kata fashion then, on the third step Uke performs a shoulder roll fall
2. Uke and Tori face each other, without gripping or placing hands on each other, Uke and Tori begin the kata’s stepping motion, on the third step Uke does the shoulder roll fall while Tori plants his or her knee on the mat adjusting his or her body appropriately.
3. This step is similar to Step 2, however, Uke and Tori both place their hands appropriately without gripping each other.
4. Again, this step is similar to Step 2, this time Uke and Tori grip each other.
That is a quick example of how to teach Uki otoshi using a backward progression model. If we teach it from the beginning with Uke and Tori gripping the final result will include errors because they don’t understand all their parts well enough to compile them into one continuous and harmonious flow.
Try changing some of the ways you teach various waza to a backward progression and see if you get better results. I know that I did.
Many thanks for introducing me to the concepts of forward and backward shaping go out to Gerald Lafon.
02 March 2010
Teaching Nage no Kata
I was thinking of writing a blog about forward shaping and backward shaping because they are very important to teaching. However, to paraphrase one of the items on Skippy’s List, I just recently had an experience I just have to write you about (#83)…
I require the first three sets of the Nage no Kata for all of my students that want to be sankyu. Unfortunately, I don’t have too many people nearing that fateful milestone so the opportunities for those few (2) to have an opportunity to really get my full attention towards kata are limited. Tonight was different, but only one of the two was there.
Tonight my student who will be looking at sankyu (R.) in April or May and my MMA competitor (E.) were the only students I had. So I decided that they both needed certain specific work. As it turns out the yonkyu got the most time, and that on Nage no Kata. His partner for this is a “beginner” who is looking at a skip promotion to, what I class, as shichikyu (orange belt for us).
Obviously, a beginner should probably not be doing kata at speed. So we started by breaking down the kata into its component elements. The first thing, actually the last (so this qualifies as backward shaping) is the ukemi for Uki otoshi, a basic shoulder roll. E. got comfortable doing these shoulder rolls from a three step movement, just like the kata requires. Eventually we progressed to face to face moving through Uki otoshi without grips to make sure R. and E. could move in concert and perform the action without hurting each other.
The second to last step was the laying on of hands. I had them both set their hands in the appropriate positions to get their hands working accordingly. Several run-throughs of this and they were ready to actually grip. This worked beautifully! E. had never done this throw before. While he certainly will win no awards at a kata competition any time soon, for a first time it was excellent. R. who had done this many times before but very poorly actually began to understand the basic physics of the waza!
On to Seoi nage and much the same process occurred. You have no idea how interesting it is to watch someone do a leaping shoulder roll fall over a stationary partner to get the action of the fall correct! And it worked well. Well, except for the left side; this was just awful. But they worked solidly on it. With only one blemish to the exceptional record for the night, we just moved on.
Kata guruma, the bane of my kata existence, seemed to be working for me, but not R. It finally dawned on me why he was in the wrong position and a solution! It saddens me to say that I have to use Duck Tape to keep my mats together, however, that dull silver tape helped R. align his feet correctly! After only a few tries he finally lifted E. pretty correctly!
Things came together tonight and I’m fairly happy with the work these two are putting in at the club.
I require the first three sets of the Nage no Kata for all of my students that want to be sankyu. Unfortunately, I don’t have too many people nearing that fateful milestone so the opportunities for those few (2) to have an opportunity to really get my full attention towards kata are limited. Tonight was different, but only one of the two was there.
Tonight my student who will be looking at sankyu (R.) in April or May and my MMA competitor (E.) were the only students I had. So I decided that they both needed certain specific work. As it turns out the yonkyu got the most time, and that on Nage no Kata. His partner for this is a “beginner” who is looking at a skip promotion to, what I class, as shichikyu (orange belt for us).
Obviously, a beginner should probably not be doing kata at speed. So we started by breaking down the kata into its component elements. The first thing, actually the last (so this qualifies as backward shaping) is the ukemi for Uki otoshi, a basic shoulder roll. E. got comfortable doing these shoulder rolls from a three step movement, just like the kata requires. Eventually we progressed to face to face moving through Uki otoshi without grips to make sure R. and E. could move in concert and perform the action without hurting each other.
The second to last step was the laying on of hands. I had them both set their hands in the appropriate positions to get their hands working accordingly. Several run-throughs of this and they were ready to actually grip. This worked beautifully! E. had never done this throw before. While he certainly will win no awards at a kata competition any time soon, for a first time it was excellent. R. who had done this many times before but very poorly actually began to understand the basic physics of the waza!
On to Seoi nage and much the same process occurred. You have no idea how interesting it is to watch someone do a leaping shoulder roll fall over a stationary partner to get the action of the fall correct! And it worked well. Well, except for the left side; this was just awful. But they worked solidly on it. With only one blemish to the exceptional record for the night, we just moved on.
Kata guruma, the bane of my kata existence, seemed to be working for me, but not R. It finally dawned on me why he was in the wrong position and a solution! It saddens me to say that I have to use Duck Tape to keep my mats together, however, that dull silver tape helped R. align his feet correctly! After only a few tries he finally lifted E. pretty correctly!
Things came together tonight and I’m fairly happy with the work these two are putting in at the club.
27 February 2010
Deciding on a new Judo Club Logo
Some of you out there may know about graphics. I know a little bit, just enough to get by, really. Well, apparently in t-shirt printing and other wearable graphic arts, the source images need to be done in vector rather than pixilated graphics. This was where my difficulty began.
Originally, I designed what I thought was a way cool logo. I liked it. The printer didn’t.
So that was the original. I really think it’s cool…but when you make it really big, you can see the pixels.
So, since that wouldn’t work for the printers, for obvious reasons pointed out by the printers. So, I had to come up with something. The next iteration was this:
This version is a vector graphic design. What that means is that no matter how large I make the image, it will look the same. Now, savvy viewers will notice that the guys in the middle are pointing a different way. Judo savvy viewers will notice that not only are the guys in the middle pointing a different way, they’re doing a completely different throw!
To say the least, I wasn’t really satisfied with this particular version. It seems a little limp, doesn’t really have the same emphasis as the first one. So I kept at it. Today, I’m unveiling two new designs for which I’d like some feedback. Here they are:
What do you, my wonderful readers, think of these designs?
Originally, I designed what I thought was a way cool logo. I liked it. The printer didn’t.
So that was the original. I really think it’s cool…but when you make it really big, you can see the pixels.
So, since that wouldn’t work for the printers, for obvious reasons pointed out by the printers. So, I had to come up with something. The next iteration was this:
This version is a vector graphic design. What that means is that no matter how large I make the image, it will look the same. Now, savvy viewers will notice that the guys in the middle are pointing a different way. Judo savvy viewers will notice that not only are the guys in the middle pointing a different way, they’re doing a completely different throw!
To say the least, I wasn’t really satisfied with this particular version. It seems a little limp, doesn’t really have the same emphasis as the first one. So I kept at it. Today, I’m unveiling two new designs for which I’d like some feedback. Here they are:
What do you, my wonderful readers, think of these designs?
26 February 2010
The Last of the Las Vegas Clinic
Finally, at long last, the remainder of the Las Vegas clinic! It’s been a long time coming, I know, but I’ve got my notebook, I’ve got some time, so here it is!
The afternoon session was the practical session. This is the mat time. This is when we get to throw and hold and learn how to teach better! Lynn Roethke was the lead-off and she was teaching tachi waza.
Lynn Roethke
Most of Lynn’s segment was about attacking. Keep constant pressure on your opponent. Make them work harder than you, and you better be working insanely hard. She taught us counters from popular throws and her own unique style of attack.
For the coaches, she recommends intense, short duration matches, about 10 seconds, with a break between iterations. She had ideas about doing a variety of “get-ups” to develop speed in getting from the ground to your feet from any number of different ground positions.
For the nage waza, Lynn demonstrated a beautiful counter to O soto gari with Seoi nage! I wouldn’t have ever thought it would work…except it does and so easily! She also demonstrated/taught her style of, what I call, “Backpack loading” Seoi nage.
Check it out here!
Another thing, all you would-be competitors, you need to work your fitness! If you want to run in the competitive arena and you aren’t fit enough to last…GET THERE!
Jim Pedro, Sr.
Probably the gruffest of all the clinicians, Jim knows his business and knows it well. I mean, after coaching Jimmy and Ronda to a collective three Olympic Bronze Medals, it should be obvious.
Anyway, Jim’s section was on ne waza. His first two points were interesting. The first is that Juniors are Juniors and Seniors are Seniors. This is a great point for all you coaches out there that want to teach 13 year olds armbars or 10 year olds chokes. If they can’t use it and aren’t near enough to the age to start using it, don’t teach it! You’ll only make matters worse.
The second point involves transitioning to mat work. Students need to be going to the mat when they finish their throws. I think he wants them to do it all the time, even when just practicing the throws themselves. Personally, I think it’s a great idea that should be done, but I’m not sure about when they’re learning how to do a throw.
After that it was all ground work, escapes, drills, transitions, what to teach first, body position, and when to not even bother. First the last, because it caught my eye when I wrote it: If you’re in the guard position and you’re in a judo match, don’t even bother trying to get out, you don’t have time. As for what to teach first, well Big Jim suggests, in his inimitable fashion, teach the Half-Nelson turnover first, but teach it right! And finally, when you teach and do Ude garami, roll your wrists! I like to think of it like riding an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the type where one hand is the throttle and the other adjusts the timing.
Gerry Lafon
By far Gerry Lafon is one of the most controversial figures in US Judo. He advocates many things, some outrageous by conventional US Judo ideologies and some progressive for US Judo. I’m not going to weigh in on most of that because that’s not what this blog post is about. Suffice it to say that he’s very strong willed and has some great ideas.
First off, DRILL! Drills are where skill development occurs. If you’re not drilling, you’re not learning and neither are your students! Drill everything. Drill throws, drill counters, drill ground work, drill sequences. Whatever it is you or your students want to learn, drill it!
Speaking of counters, Gerry suggests that there are four opportunities for countering: Early technique, Late technique, Early movement, and Late movement. Each of these is specifically tied to timing. In both Earl and Late technique countering, you need to have body contact for the greatest effectivity.
Gerry suggests that judo coaches help their students by practicing “losing judo.” Why should one practice losing judo? Who wants to be a loser? I know I don’t, but think about this for a minute, if all you ever practice is winning and you never practice those precarious situations where you are in a losing environment, like being held-down or about to be thrown, how will you know when to counter the throw or escape the hold-down? Practice losing judo.
Another really interesting thing, this is part of the “outrageous” by conventional standards stuff (so was the last), is that he suggest that when you teach beginners, you shouldn’t strive for them to perform perfectly, strive for close. If they’re getting the gross movements, move to a finer level of detail. It makes sense to me; after all, you’ve got to have some comprehension to dial in the detail.
Another interesting tidbit is the concept of forward shaping and backward shaping. These learning sequences are quite useful for the average coach to develop a complete sequence of events. Each has a unique aspect of it, that sounds like it should be another blog post, don’t you think?
Oh, anyone who wants to coach: BUY SUCCESSFUL COACHING by Rainer Martens.
Hayward Nishioka
Hayward was the most cordial of all the clinicians. He seems to have a way about him that suggests kindly sensei. His clinic was the hardest for me to take notes because we were constantly moving! He covered teaching ashi waza. Let me tell you, it was much simpler the way he taught it!
It was a mad rush it seemed to write it all down, but it was so unrushed in the teaching time evaporated! We went from standing with one foot atop the other the hanging one foot. From putting our feet close together to their widest, all the while testing our balance.
Eventually we started walking first like narrow robots then big robots then walking and steering. It was amazing how easy it was when he showed us. Unfortunately it was like trying to take a drink of water from a fire hose on full blast.
It was fun. I learned a lot. I just wish I could see it again and again and again!
And one more thing: ALWAYS ENCOURAGE your students!
Bill Montgomery
Finally, the end! Bill taught ashi waza drills. Most importantly, ashi waza takes time to learn, so you should start early and practice often! There are lots of details to Bill’s session and I’m running long, so, unfortunately, this may not be a very complete section.
Some major details:
• All waza come from the hips
• Your hips move first, then the “sweepy” leg
• Once the attack starts, don’t stop attacking until you’ve achieved SUCCESS!
Finally, the most important thing for a teacher or coach to do before teaching any waza: Your body movement must be correct! If you have to, practice in front of a mirror to get things right. Your students, especially kids, will mimic every move you make when learning the throw. So if you aren’t doing it right, they will pick up on it and do it just the way you showed them!
I apologize to Bill for making this section so short.
Final Thoughts
If you ever get the chance to go to a clinic by any of these people, no matter what your particular judo ideology is, GO! Don’t let your hang-up on classical or traditional or competitive or whatever hold you back. They are wonderful instructors from whom you can learn something!
I liked going to the clinic. Vegas was good, but the clinic was Great!
The afternoon session was the practical session. This is the mat time. This is when we get to throw and hold and learn how to teach better! Lynn Roethke was the lead-off and she was teaching tachi waza.
Lynn Roethke
Most of Lynn’s segment was about attacking. Keep constant pressure on your opponent. Make them work harder than you, and you better be working insanely hard. She taught us counters from popular throws and her own unique style of attack.
For the coaches, she recommends intense, short duration matches, about 10 seconds, with a break between iterations. She had ideas about doing a variety of “get-ups” to develop speed in getting from the ground to your feet from any number of different ground positions.
For the nage waza, Lynn demonstrated a beautiful counter to O soto gari with Seoi nage! I wouldn’t have ever thought it would work…except it does and so easily! She also demonstrated/taught her style of, what I call, “Backpack loading” Seoi nage.
Check it out here!
Another thing, all you would-be competitors, you need to work your fitness! If you want to run in the competitive arena and you aren’t fit enough to last…GET THERE!
Jim Pedro, Sr.
Probably the gruffest of all the clinicians, Jim knows his business and knows it well. I mean, after coaching Jimmy and Ronda to a collective three Olympic Bronze Medals, it should be obvious.
Anyway, Jim’s section was on ne waza. His first two points were interesting. The first is that Juniors are Juniors and Seniors are Seniors. This is a great point for all you coaches out there that want to teach 13 year olds armbars or 10 year olds chokes. If they can’t use it and aren’t near enough to the age to start using it, don’t teach it! You’ll only make matters worse.
The second point involves transitioning to mat work. Students need to be going to the mat when they finish their throws. I think he wants them to do it all the time, even when just practicing the throws themselves. Personally, I think it’s a great idea that should be done, but I’m not sure about when they’re learning how to do a throw.
After that it was all ground work, escapes, drills, transitions, what to teach first, body position, and when to not even bother. First the last, because it caught my eye when I wrote it: If you’re in the guard position and you’re in a judo match, don’t even bother trying to get out, you don’t have time. As for what to teach first, well Big Jim suggests, in his inimitable fashion, teach the Half-Nelson turnover first, but teach it right! And finally, when you teach and do Ude garami, roll your wrists! I like to think of it like riding an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the type where one hand is the throttle and the other adjusts the timing.
Gerry Lafon
By far Gerry Lafon is one of the most controversial figures in US Judo. He advocates many things, some outrageous by conventional US Judo ideologies and some progressive for US Judo. I’m not going to weigh in on most of that because that’s not what this blog post is about. Suffice it to say that he’s very strong willed and has some great ideas.
First off, DRILL! Drills are where skill development occurs. If you’re not drilling, you’re not learning and neither are your students! Drill everything. Drill throws, drill counters, drill ground work, drill sequences. Whatever it is you or your students want to learn, drill it!
Speaking of counters, Gerry suggests that there are four opportunities for countering: Early technique, Late technique, Early movement, and Late movement. Each of these is specifically tied to timing. In both Earl and Late technique countering, you need to have body contact for the greatest effectivity.
Gerry suggests that judo coaches help their students by practicing “losing judo.” Why should one practice losing judo? Who wants to be a loser? I know I don’t, but think about this for a minute, if all you ever practice is winning and you never practice those precarious situations where you are in a losing environment, like being held-down or about to be thrown, how will you know when to counter the throw or escape the hold-down? Practice losing judo.
Another really interesting thing, this is part of the “outrageous” by conventional standards stuff (so was the last), is that he suggest that when you teach beginners, you shouldn’t strive for them to perform perfectly, strive for close. If they’re getting the gross movements, move to a finer level of detail. It makes sense to me; after all, you’ve got to have some comprehension to dial in the detail.
Another interesting tidbit is the concept of forward shaping and backward shaping. These learning sequences are quite useful for the average coach to develop a complete sequence of events. Each has a unique aspect of it, that sounds like it should be another blog post, don’t you think?
Oh, anyone who wants to coach: BUY SUCCESSFUL COACHING by Rainer Martens.
Hayward Nishioka
Hayward was the most cordial of all the clinicians. He seems to have a way about him that suggests kindly sensei. His clinic was the hardest for me to take notes because we were constantly moving! He covered teaching ashi waza. Let me tell you, it was much simpler the way he taught it!
It was a mad rush it seemed to write it all down, but it was so unrushed in the teaching time evaporated! We went from standing with one foot atop the other the hanging one foot. From putting our feet close together to their widest, all the while testing our balance.
Eventually we started walking first like narrow robots then big robots then walking and steering. It was amazing how easy it was when he showed us. Unfortunately it was like trying to take a drink of water from a fire hose on full blast.
It was fun. I learned a lot. I just wish I could see it again and again and again!
And one more thing: ALWAYS ENCOURAGE your students!
Bill Montgomery
Finally, the end! Bill taught ashi waza drills. Most importantly, ashi waza takes time to learn, so you should start early and practice often! There are lots of details to Bill’s session and I’m running long, so, unfortunately, this may not be a very complete section.
Some major details:
• All waza come from the hips
• Your hips move first, then the “sweepy” leg
• Once the attack starts, don’t stop attacking until you’ve achieved SUCCESS!
Finally, the most important thing for a teacher or coach to do before teaching any waza: Your body movement must be correct! If you have to, practice in front of a mirror to get things right. Your students, especially kids, will mimic every move you make when learning the throw. So if you aren’t doing it right, they will pick up on it and do it just the way you showed them!
I apologize to Bill for making this section so short.
Final Thoughts
If you ever get the chance to go to a clinic by any of these people, no matter what your particular judo ideology is, GO! Don’t let your hang-up on classical or traditional or competitive or whatever hold you back. They are wonderful instructors from whom you can learn something!
I liked going to the clinic. Vegas was good, but the clinic was Great!
Olympian Ronda Rousey to Teach Judo in Watts...Yes, that Watts
I just read on AnnMaria's blog that her daughter Ronda will be teaching judo in Watts, CA. Yes, that Watts. For more information go to her blog at drannmaria.blogspot.com.
I know I promised more about the Las Vegas clinic, but this is much more important than that!
I know I promised more about the Las Vegas clinic, but this is much more important than that!
21 February 2010
Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques – Tai Otoshi
Saturday, the 20th of February 2010, I taught my first clinic.
We started at 9:15 a.m. or so, waiting in hopes of more attendees, but alas it was not to happen. Two students, Eddy and Rolando, decided to sacrifice their Saturday to learn how to do my favorite throw a little better. And learn they did!
A little digression is necessary before we really begin this post. The United States Judo Association and the United States Judo Federation are working together to develop grassroots judo in the United States. One of the programs they are developing is the Modern Kodokan Throwing Techniques Certification Program. Basically the nut of this program is to increase a judo student’s understanding of how to apply the techniques they have learned in a dynamic, rather than static, environment. In order to best accomplish this mission, they have adopted Daigo-sensei’s book Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques as the manual. Daigo-sensei’s book is an excellent resource and explicitly details how to perform the throws.
The digression is over, on to the meat of this post!
We started the day with the usual ukemi, back, right- and left-side, zempo kaiten, just to get the blood moving a bit in a judo exercise. The usual ukemi was followed by the ukemi that uke should perform when Tai otoshi is performed properly. That was a bit confusing for Eddy and Rolando, though they picked up on it rapidly enough.
Eventually we began the building blocks of Tai otoshi, beginning with the proper foot placement and hand movements. I’m not going to reveal my secrets to teaching this throw online, but if you have questions, feel free to e-mail (sensei at roswell-judo dot org). Starting with the Tai otoshi stretch we began to understand how our feet were to be placed and the feeling it develops in our lower bodies. Once in the stretch, we began to work our hands in the appropriate motions for the kake action of our throw.
Finally, we were ready to practice Tai otoshi the way we knew how and work to improve it so we could really learn the dynamic applications of Daigo. Initially all of the throws thrown were standard but not good. After working on them for half an hour, we moved to randori. The randori was light one-for-one randori, but the attacks for the throws were not good enough to be of real use in shiai. When randori ended it was time for lunch. I admonished Eddy and Rolando to read the handouts provided so they could see what was to come.
The afternoon session consisted of the three variants discussed by Daigo-sensei in his book. First up was Sono Ichi, which is a standard variation of Tai otoshi, consists of withdrawing from uke and encouraging him to voluntarily withdraw setting him up for the throw. After forty-five minutes of practicing this, Eddy and Rolando’s Tai otoshi was light years ahead of where it was when we began the clinic.
Sono Ni, a cross-grip variation of Tai otoshi, took less time to practice to understanding, though there was some confusion about the placement of tori’s cross-gripped arm. Once the placement issue had been settled, the waza became very simple for the two to understand and perform.
Sono San, a variation where uke’s arms are crossed up, was a bit more difficult but much more devastating in application. The greatest bit of confusion in this technique is the proper gripping and encouragement of uke to attempt to remove the grip of tori which lets tori perform this variation. Once the proper gripping was understood, this variation came together so smoothly it quickly became the favored variant of Tai otoshi.
The last bit of teaching during this clinic was grip fighting. I’m not a big proponent of grip fighting, but it is necessary to perform these throws, especially considering the preference toward the last variation. To start the grip fighting we began with the basic “Climb the Rope” style of attaining the lapel. Once both were achieving the lapel consistently we moved to achieving a cross grip. Again this was similar in style to the “Climb the Rope” but with the opposite lapel as the goal. Finally, the goal was to achieve a single side, almost kenka yotsu, grip in preparation for Sono San.
By the end of the clinic both Eddy and Rolando were well on their way to being able to do this technique at will. Both are looking forward to the Southwest Championships in March to see how well they will do with this throw.
I didn’t forget the remainder of the Las Vegas clinic…I just can’t find the notebook right now!
We started at 9:15 a.m. or so, waiting in hopes of more attendees, but alas it was not to happen. Two students, Eddy and Rolando, decided to sacrifice their Saturday to learn how to do my favorite throw a little better. And learn they did!
A little digression is necessary before we really begin this post. The United States Judo Association and the United States Judo Federation are working together to develop grassroots judo in the United States. One of the programs they are developing is the Modern Kodokan Throwing Techniques Certification Program. Basically the nut of this program is to increase a judo student’s understanding of how to apply the techniques they have learned in a dynamic, rather than static, environment. In order to best accomplish this mission, they have adopted Daigo-sensei’s book Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques as the manual. Daigo-sensei’s book is an excellent resource and explicitly details how to perform the throws.
The digression is over, on to the meat of this post!
We started the day with the usual ukemi, back, right- and left-side, zempo kaiten, just to get the blood moving a bit in a judo exercise. The usual ukemi was followed by the ukemi that uke should perform when Tai otoshi is performed properly. That was a bit confusing for Eddy and Rolando, though they picked up on it rapidly enough.
Eventually we began the building blocks of Tai otoshi, beginning with the proper foot placement and hand movements. I’m not going to reveal my secrets to teaching this throw online, but if you have questions, feel free to e-mail (sensei at roswell-judo dot org). Starting with the Tai otoshi stretch we began to understand how our feet were to be placed and the feeling it develops in our lower bodies. Once in the stretch, we began to work our hands in the appropriate motions for the kake action of our throw.
Finally, we were ready to practice Tai otoshi the way we knew how and work to improve it so we could really learn the dynamic applications of Daigo. Initially all of the throws thrown were standard but not good. After working on them for half an hour, we moved to randori. The randori was light one-for-one randori, but the attacks for the throws were not good enough to be of real use in shiai. When randori ended it was time for lunch. I admonished Eddy and Rolando to read the handouts provided so they could see what was to come.
The afternoon session consisted of the three variants discussed by Daigo-sensei in his book. First up was Sono Ichi, which is a standard variation of Tai otoshi, consists of withdrawing from uke and encouraging him to voluntarily withdraw setting him up for the throw. After forty-five minutes of practicing this, Eddy and Rolando’s Tai otoshi was light years ahead of where it was when we began the clinic.
Sono Ni, a cross-grip variation of Tai otoshi, took less time to practice to understanding, though there was some confusion about the placement of tori’s cross-gripped arm. Once the placement issue had been settled, the waza became very simple for the two to understand and perform.
Sono San, a variation where uke’s arms are crossed up, was a bit more difficult but much more devastating in application. The greatest bit of confusion in this technique is the proper gripping and encouragement of uke to attempt to remove the grip of tori which lets tori perform this variation. Once the proper gripping was understood, this variation came together so smoothly it quickly became the favored variant of Tai otoshi.
The last bit of teaching during this clinic was grip fighting. I’m not a big proponent of grip fighting, but it is necessary to perform these throws, especially considering the preference toward the last variation. To start the grip fighting we began with the basic “Climb the Rope” style of attaining the lapel. Once both were achieving the lapel consistently we moved to achieving a cross grip. Again this was similar in style to the “Climb the Rope” but with the opposite lapel as the goal. Finally, the goal was to achieve a single side, almost kenka yotsu, grip in preparation for Sono San.
By the end of the clinic both Eddy and Rolando were well on their way to being able to do this technique at will. Both are looking forward to the Southwest Championships in March to see how well they will do with this throw.
I didn’t forget the remainder of the Las Vegas clinic…I just can’t find the notebook right now!
08 February 2010
Sunday’s Events (As Promised)
Sunday was a long day! Eight different topics were covered by eight different clinicians. That may sound like a lot and if it doesn’t, I don’t want your idea of a lot! Each clinician spent about 45-55 minutes on their topic and covered it as thoroughly as possible within the allotted time frame. The morning was broken into a more academic side to clubs while the afternoon was dedicated to helping those coaches in attendance learn how to be better coaches.
The lead-off clinician was Paul Nogaki of Temecula Valley Judo started with how to run a judo club as a business. Mostly the early aspects covered keeping the dojo doors open. After all, if the doors aren’t staying open month to month, where will you do judo? The deeper the topic went the closer we came to discussing ideal business structures for judo clubs. Paul appears to be of the opinion that the average judo club should never be run as a partnership or a sole proprietorship, but as a corporate entity, an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp with LLC being the easiest to become. Finally, Paul closed out his session by discussing Risk Management and independent insurance policies even suggesting that a $3,000,000 should be the minimum a club should have.
Gary Goltz filled the middle of the morning sessions with a wonderful presentation of marketing. The PowerPoint presentation Gary used was shameless self-promotion and a fine example of how he and Goltz Judo Club have made use of marketing, networking, the internet, and all the aspects of his discussion. Besides, what is marketing besides shameless self-promotion? Gary appears to be a master of this as he has one of the largest judo clubs in the United States Judo Association! If you’re interested in the PowerPoint presentation, Gary may be willing to let you in on it, but you’ll have to ask him. Maybe you can suggest that he put an article in Growing Judo! (I highly recommend the PowerPoint and going to any kind of seminar or clinic where Gary is presenting!)
The final morning presenter was Hal Sharp presenting the USJA/USJF’s new Modern Kodokan Throwing Technique (21st Century Judo) Certification Program. (That link is a pdf file discussing the program.) Hal discussed the book upon which this is based, Daigo’s Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques, and what makes this book so different than every other judo book out there. This book, according to Hal, is a book not of how to do this or that technique, but when to do this or that technique. Every judo student begins by learning a rote technique in a static fashion. Eventually the student is lead to randori but not taught how to apply techniques in a dynamic or randori fashion. This book, if used by competent instructors and students, overcomes that obstacle. The problem becomes a concern when people buy this book and let it collect dust up on the shelf (I’ve been guilty of buying really neat judo books and never getting around to them, myself!). The USJA and USJF decided that this book could be a foundational book helping students to learn how to apply techniques. Thankfully somebody understands American motivation and decided that just having a book that helps someone to learn is fairly pointless in the US, but if you create a carrot, in this case a certification program, then some people will head toward the book and what it has to offer.
Okay, I thought I was going to be able to cover the whole day’s events, but I’m out of space for now. Next time I’ll try to get through all of the afternoon events, but I might not be able to…or it’ll be a really long post!
Gary Goltz filled the middle of the morning sessions with a wonderful presentation of marketing. The PowerPoint presentation Gary used was shameless self-promotion and a fine example of how he and Goltz Judo Club have made use of marketing, networking, the internet, and all the aspects of his discussion. Besides, what is marketing besides shameless self-promotion? Gary appears to be a master of this as he has one of the largest judo clubs in the United States Judo Association! If you’re interested in the PowerPoint presentation, Gary may be willing to let you in on it, but you’ll have to ask him. Maybe you can suggest that he put an article in Growing Judo! (I highly recommend the PowerPoint and going to any kind of seminar or clinic where Gary is presenting!)
Okay, I thought I was going to be able to cover the whole day’s events, but I’m out of space for now. Next time I’ll try to get through all of the afternoon events, but I might not be able to…or it’ll be a really long post!
07 February 2010
Websites, Manuals, and Writing Stuff
For those of you who visit my website, at all, you may have noticed the very long time it’s been under construction. I apologize. That being said, if you’ve never tried to develop a website, especially on a shoestring budget, you can’t imagine how difficult coming up with content, be that interesting information, pictures or graphics, or any of that other stuff that people go to websites to see, can be. For me, it’s hard to do.
Recently I’ve been concentrating on learning how to be a better instructor and coach for my judo club. The clinics I went to in January were very enlightening. Some things happened that I hadn’t even realized if you read the JudoForum or Gerry Lafon’s blog. I’m not going to bash Gerry or his ideas; I think he’s got some very good ideas, especially when it comes to coaching competitors. I would love to go out to Judo America and spend some time learning from him and his organization! He even brought up a great book for coaches by Rainer Martens called Successful Coaching (the Third Edition!).
Let me talk about Las Vegas first. The events started Saturday morning about 9 am, Las Vegas time. The referee’s “meeting” lead off the affair and they talked about a variety of things, specifically emphasizing the new rule by the IJF regarding the leg grabs. Following the referee’s “meeting” was Lynn Roethke (Silver Medalist at the 1988 Olympic Games) and her clinic on footwork. Mostly the participants in the clinic were females getting ready to compete after the clinic. It was an incredible clinic by an incredibly athletic woman! After the clinic came the tournament. An All-Women’s Judo Tournament!
The tournament has gotten some flack by a wide range of people. I don’t get it. If you follow my posts on JudoForum (RoswellJudoClub) you might see that I did some arguing about it. Simply enough, I don’t care one way or another; however, having watched the tournament, I think it’s a great idea for there to be All-Women’s events. Some people argue that it’s not fair for there to be women’s only events if there aren’t men’s only events. I say, hold your own tournament and decide who gets to show up.
Following the tournament was the USJA Board of Directors meeting. It was a much better run affair than the NMJI meeting, but I wasn’t much involved with either. Least said on that regard the soonest forgotten.
That’s the end of the first day. In my next post, I’ll talk about Sunday’s events…if I remember!
Recently I’ve been concentrating on learning how to be a better instructor and coach for my judo club. The clinics I went to in January were very enlightening. Some things happened that I hadn’t even realized if you read the JudoForum or Gerry Lafon’s blog. I’m not going to bash Gerry or his ideas; I think he’s got some very good ideas, especially when it comes to coaching competitors. I would love to go out to Judo America and spend some time learning from him and his organization! He even brought up a great book for coaches by Rainer Martens called Successful Coaching (the Third Edition!).
Let me talk about Las Vegas first. The events started Saturday morning about 9 am, Las Vegas time. The referee’s “meeting” lead off the affair and they talked about a variety of things, specifically emphasizing the new rule by the IJF regarding the leg grabs. Following the referee’s “meeting” was Lynn Roethke (Silver Medalist at the 1988 Olympic Games) and her clinic on footwork. Mostly the participants in the clinic were females getting ready to compete after the clinic. It was an incredible clinic by an incredibly athletic woman! After the clinic came the tournament. An All-Women’s Judo Tournament!
The tournament has gotten some flack by a wide range of people. I don’t get it. If you follow my posts on JudoForum (RoswellJudoClub) you might see that I did some arguing about it. Simply enough, I don’t care one way or another; however, having watched the tournament, I think it’s a great idea for there to be All-Women’s events. Some people argue that it’s not fair for there to be women’s only events if there aren’t men’s only events. I say, hold your own tournament and decide who gets to show up.
Following the tournament was the USJA Board of Directors meeting. It was a much better run affair than the NMJI meeting, but I wasn’t much involved with either. Least said on that regard the soonest forgotten.
That’s the end of the first day. In my next post, I’ll talk about Sunday’s events…if I remember!
31 January 2010
The Long Break!
Okay, so it's been awhile. Let's see, November, December, and January. Where was I?
November:
The New Mexico State University Judo Club held a promotional clinic and I was invited down to take part. It was a great event and Toby Rue and Oscar Tinajero had a fair number of students ready for promotion. All went well and no major problems occured!
December:
I had a car accident, no injuries, then a long trip to Dallas, TX. There was another promotional clinic and, again, I was invited to participate. This time we had four kids moving up to their next grade and three students moving up to shodan and two moving up to their next brown belt. Again, all went well and no major problems occured.
January:
This has been an exceptionally busy month! First was the NMJI election meeting. I was less than pleased with this, but won't say anything further about that.
Second, the USJA/USJF All-Women's Tournament and Coaching Clinic. This was an amazing event with 8 clinicians hosting clinics covering a wide range of topics from 501(c)3 to Combinations and Counters! Paul Nogaki, Gary Goltz, Hal Sharp, Lynn Roethke, Jim Pedro, Sr., Gerry Lafon, Bill Montgomery, and Hayward Nishioka were all amazing clinicians!
Finally, this weekend (30th and 31st) was a clinic in Albuquerque, NM at Wayne Maxwell's Albuquerque Judokai with Paul Nogaki as the clinician. It was a great clinic. Many thanks go to Wayne Maxwell forholding the clinic and Paul Nogaki for clinicianing! (Is that even a word? It is now!)
I've got a whole lot of notes from the last two clinics (about 20 pages (front and back) of notes). I'm hoping to type them up and maybe pass some of that information on. Not all of it. If you want all of it, you should go to the clinics that the USJA sponsors!
Speaking of clinics, I'll be hosting my very first clinic, as clinician, on the USJA/USJF's new Modern Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques program (http://www.usja-judo.org/GrassRoots/GrassrootsJudoKDKCertificationProgram.pdf). I'm going to cover Tai Otoshi as discussed in Daigo Toshiro's book Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques (http://www.amazon.com/Kodokan-Throwing-Techniques-Toshiro-Daigo/dp/4770023308/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264997010&sr=8-1). I expect the clinic to be rough, but it is my first attempt, so have some patience! I'm hoping to get it sanctioned so all participants can get some points for it! The cost will be $10.
Anyway, I hope to be posting a bit more often providing updates and good information for all my "followers."
November:
The New Mexico State University Judo Club held a promotional clinic and I was invited down to take part. It was a great event and Toby Rue and Oscar Tinajero had a fair number of students ready for promotion. All went well and no major problems occured!
December:
I had a car accident, no injuries, then a long trip to Dallas, TX. There was another promotional clinic and, again, I was invited to participate. This time we had four kids moving up to their next grade and three students moving up to shodan and two moving up to their next brown belt. Again, all went well and no major problems occured.
January:
This has been an exceptionally busy month! First was the NMJI election meeting. I was less than pleased with this, but won't say anything further about that.
Second, the USJA/USJF All-Women's Tournament and Coaching Clinic. This was an amazing event with 8 clinicians hosting clinics covering a wide range of topics from 501(c)3 to Combinations and Counters! Paul Nogaki, Gary Goltz, Hal Sharp, Lynn Roethke, Jim Pedro, Sr., Gerry Lafon, Bill Montgomery, and Hayward Nishioka were all amazing clinicians!
Finally, this weekend (30th and 31st) was a clinic in Albuquerque, NM at Wayne Maxwell's Albuquerque Judokai with Paul Nogaki as the clinician. It was a great clinic. Many thanks go to Wayne Maxwell forholding the clinic and Paul Nogaki for clinicianing! (Is that even a word? It is now!)
I've got a whole lot of notes from the last two clinics (about 20 pages (front and back) of notes). I'm hoping to type them up and maybe pass some of that information on. Not all of it. If you want all of it, you should go to the clinics that the USJA sponsors!
Speaking of clinics, I'll be hosting my very first clinic, as clinician, on the USJA/USJF's new Modern Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques program (http://www.usja-judo.org/GrassRoots/GrassrootsJudoKDKCertificationProgram.pdf). I'm going to cover Tai Otoshi as discussed in Daigo Toshiro's book Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques (http://www.amazon.com/Kodokan-Throwing-Techniques-Toshiro-Daigo/dp/4770023308/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264997010&sr=8-1). I expect the clinic to be rough, but it is my first attempt, so have some patience! I'm hoping to get it sanctioned so all participants can get some points for it! The cost will be $10.
Anyway, I hope to be posting a bit more often providing updates and good information for all my "followers."
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