Judo at New Mexico Military Institute

It has been a few years since the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, NM has had a judo program. As of the 17th of September 2009, that is no longer the case! Brigadier General Richard Geraci made the decision to allow me to teach Judo as a club activity this year. I want to thank General Geraci for this great opportunity and look forward to his continued support!


On to the judo!*

The 17th of September was an overcast day, which makes no difference for judo since we practice inside! After the mat was unrolled, we started with falling. Falling is always a good way to start a class, especially with new students. Starting with back falls we rapidly progressed from squatting to standing and showed our mettle as we ranged through the side and front falls. Only one didn’t do the front falls, but that was due to a shoulder injury.

On we worked! Onto the fundamental hip throw, O Goshi. Old and new cadets alike worked hard to develop the skills necessary to successfully perform this throw. Our first drill was simply learning to turn inside the feet of our partner. Using our shoes to simulate the placement of uke’s feet, we practiced for a time just turning into uke. After a while, we finally were able to develop enough skill to start learning to use our arms, but now we needed a real-live person! Shoes would no longer do for us! So we matched up by size and proceeded to work on O goshi.

The pairing worked well, but for one pair. Of course, when one partner is over six feet tall and the other around five foot nine, it is a little difficult for the taller to work. But prevail they did and soon bodies were flying about! Ukemi, loud in the basketball court, was being done smoothly and with crisp slaps, ensuring the safety of all.

Shortly before we left, Sensei allowed questions to be asked. Today’s question was about the difference between Jujitsu and Judo. Though sensei rambles when he explains things, the explanation was thorough and touched on several key points. The first of these points was which “Jujitsu” were we asking about? Were we thinking of the “roll on the ground fighting for submission” jujitsu or the older samurai jujitsu? Both types of jujitsu were explained in some detail and compared and contrasted with judo as Dr. Kano developed and the current evolved sport version of judo that we see at tournaments.

The next class will be on Tuesday, the 22nd, and I expect that all six, perhaps more, of Thursday’s class will return.
*Readers take note: I will speak not as the instructor but from a fictional student point-of-view when I talk about classes, sometimes. I think it makes the reading more interesting. Let me know!