Tempest

Additionally, there was a written exam. You guys can check out the written exam at http://www.tulsajudo.org/tjc_coach.html

Thanks to everybody for the congratulations. As for what kind of stuff I had to do, I had to throw most of the Gokyo no Waza, do the first 3 sets of the Nage no Kata as well as Osae, Shime and Kansetsu waza.

By being who he said he was. My experiences with martial arts prior to my current instructor were somewhat less than ideal, to put it mildly. So when I walked in to my current instructors dojo, I was a bit jaded, but when I met him I was instantly impressed by the fact that he claimed to teach only things he was qualified to teach and adamantly refused to claim it was anything else. William Wallace in Braveheart said it best. "Men don't follow titles, they follow courage." To that I would also add, they follow inegrity. Courage and integrity are fundamental precepts of any martial way and go a long way towards earning my respect as a teacher.

I just made Ikkyu in Judo. Feels AWESOME, though I did have to re-do one part of the test, I got a perfect score on another portion.

Names of techniques and procedures are in Japanese, but the lessons are mostly articulated in English.

Additionally, if you can't make additional class days, its important to do what you can on your own at home. The individual exercises you will be tought such as the shrimp and other drills can all be practiced at home.

You kniow, viewing those clips was a clear demonstration of why several high level BJJ players, that make clips on the internet, and even one brazillian Judo player that I train with will credit the influence of Capoeira on their game. Really smoothe stuff.

First of all, right now, before I say anything else, let me state that this is a great discussion with some excellent points being raised. Secondly, to address something tallgeese said earlier regarding it being more important to maintain a dominant position than it is to strike, I believe that you and I are making different assumptions about our potential encounter where the rules of sport do not apply. My assumption is an unprovoked street assault from someone who may, or may not, know any MA at all but likely will be willing to hurt you, as such it becomes of paramount importance to render them unable or unwilling to continue ASAP even if doing so may weaken your grappling position. That being said, I want it out there that in general I agree with something tallgeese has said before and is here defending, and that is that no amount of dirty tricks are a substitute for good fundamental fighting skills. You MUST practice whatever you intend to do, and experience has shown that basic grappling and MMA type movements are the most effective that you can safely practice at full speed and full contact. I just happen to have an unfortunate amount of experience with dirty tricks in fighting before I learned many formal martial arts so I know that they can be applied and DO work, and since the OP asked what we would do if we could cheat or in a non-sporting situation I posted some things that it would occur to me to do.

Judo does not so much NEED great physical strength as it DEVELOPS it over time. Shiai players, and even Kata players, who compte, are athletes, and like any athlete they will develope a great deal of strength in certain muscle groups. Now Judo in particular is a style of wrestling so you will see more of a wrestlers physique on competitive players. That being said, the TECHNIQUES of Judo are designed to make maximum use of the strength you do have and to allow you to overcome a larger, stronger opponent. But if you practice long enough and often enough you won't NECESSARILY be the weaker one anymore.

Respectfully, most of what you think would be effective here, would simply set you up for failure. I do agree that you could get the eyes from the guard. But everything you mention from the half guard would not be good. Holding the hair would open the back door for your back to be exposed. Holding it with the other hand would get you rolled over. If you're being crossfaced, you can't turn your head to bite anything. Getting the arm out of a kimura is a matter of proper mechanics. Elbowing the head isn't illegal now. That should tell you it's not an effective way to set up the kimura, unless you honestly believe you're the first human to think of that. It will get them to defend, but more likely to get you the americana or straight armlock. More importantly, give you an underhook so you can advance to a better position. Elbowing the back of the head is illegal, and that is the angle that would make it work. And the difference here is that most of what I mentioned is not going to give you the most stable position, or the most efficient method of advancing the position, HOWEVER what it will do is let you INJURE someone quickly. For example, holding the head opens you to being rolled, but if you pin the head against an unyielding surface then the physics of striking it become more like those of executing a breaking technique than a boxers punch. Those of you trained in a style which practices breaking techniques will recognize the amount of damage that can be done with even a single strike in this position.

A lot of this depends on your success with, and willingness to apply, pain compliance and injurious tactics to your opponent. So lets look at Guard first: Ok, the first thing is, if I am in bottom guard, no-gi and my opponent is raining dowd strikes, or attempting to pass, a thumb to the eye will provide an execellent distraction while a set up a finger lock to then feed my armbar. See, the same basic transitional strategy applies, armlock from the guard, but adding other techniques removes/reduces my opponents ability and will to resist. Half-Guard: From the top, make sure to target strikes to areas most likely to INJURE rather than subdue. Head punches are good, but grabbing the hair/head and holding it against the ground while punching with the other hand is better. From the bottom, if they crossface you, bit there ear off. If you are diving for a Kimura and can't quite get the arm out, elbow them in the back of the head until you can. More on this later. I am at work at the moment.

Very STUPID man. He left behind a family that will miss him and a life unlived for WHAT? A CAR? Look, I know the impulse to be a hero is a strong one. When I here someone scream for help, I run to help them. But I grew up in a bad neighborhood, have family in law enforcement and worked as a bouncer. Confronting violent people in the middle of violence without an equalizer is not brave, nor is it admirable. It is STUPID. And a good way to end up dead. You know who I feel for? His kids, left without a father and the woman who had to watch him die over a car. No, it would not have gotten much media attention if nobody had died, but she still probably would have gotten her car back eventually. And the guy who did it would most likely have been cought eventually. Yes, it takes time, and yes it is more than inconvenient for the victims of property crime, but the question is, was it worth this mans life? [/rant] Sorry about that. Just have seen too many of these up close and am tired of anything that encourages this behavior. Fight back if you want when it happens to you, but if you intervene in someone elses fight without the right tools you are asking to die and it WILL end in tragedy.

Uchi-mata is not an easy technique, neither is Harai Goshi or Tai Otoshi. All of them require a more advanced understanding of balance and footwork than the more basic techniques. The top five for street application for me would be: 1. Sasae Tsuri Komi Ashi 2. Standing Seioi Nage, especially with modifications for no-gi and to damage Uke's arm if needed. 3. Tsuri Komi Goshi, modified for no-gi using an underhook grip. 4. O soto Gari, this works well if you find yourself needing to go on the offensive. Hit them like a freight train. 5. One of the ma-sutemi waza. If you are taken by surprise and knocked down this will keep them from getting on top of you. Notice I have avoided all of the one legged throws, most of the advanced te-waza, and anything that may not work on difficult terrain.

Hey, there are a couple of good Judo schools where you live as well! But yes, there is an absolutely OVERWHELMING amount of TKD here. And I'm sorry to say, most of it I have experienced is drivel.

Ok, revisiting this now. First of all, as always, Sensei8's advice is top notch. Getting help will be very important if you want to pull off a successful event. But to add to it, the specific things you will need help with might surprise you. Its the little things that tend to get overlooked. For example, make sure if you intend to give out trophies or medals for the winners that you order enough of them. If you have extras, thats ok, save them for next time. Do NOT have the trophies or medals engraved with a specific year unless you are CERTAIN it will be given out at that event. Next, make sure you have the best referees and judges you can possibly get. Nothing will make people not want to attend an event like feeling as if it is not a fair. On the venue, having a enough room for the competition area is a given, but the next most important is having sufficient changing/restroom facilites and making sure they are clean. Also, unless you have a pre-existing deal with the venue holder always negotiate the price of the venue, its kind of like buying a car, you both need each other. More to come, but I have to go help wire an entertainment center now.

Katame no Kata for me. I really love the applications found in groundwork.

Liability insurance is a must. This is one of the reasons that many martial artists are members of an organization as many organizations offer either insurance through the group or by being a part of a group you can get a discount on policies. I have more to say on this as we run 3-5 tournaments a year here but I am at work so I will revisit this later tonight.

1. Sweep when the opponents weight is on the oppisite leg but they are attempting to put weight on the leg you are sweeping. The result should feel to your opponent like he stepped on a bar of soap. 2. Turn your support foot in the direction of the sweep. This keeps your leg from getting in the way and avoids you squishing your own valuable equipment. 3. Keep your sweep below the ankle if possible. You do not want to kick someone in the shin with a sweep. It will hurt both of you but it WON'T sweep them. If you practice on a tatami, use the sound as you guide. Your sweeping foot should make a swish as it goes across the floor. These should get you started.

You know, I head about this on the radio here but I did not realize that was your son. Awesome man. Just amazing story.

02-16 15 minutes of running 2 hours of Judo. Fit ins, groundwork drills, and free rolling.

I have effectively used Kote Mawashi, Shuto Uke, Mae Geri, and Gyaku Tsuki in non sporting confrontations. Really it depends on the situation. The thing about so-called "street" encounters is that you don't so much have to have a perfect technique as you must be ready to do something at all when the situation warrants it.

Lets try this again, in the vernacular this time. Rest in peace.

Got to agree with this. Particularly in the area of aging. One of the BBs I roll with is in his 70s and I am 25 and outweigh him by 20+ pounds. No amount of speed or strength training is going to help him. But with technique, knowledge, and experience he is able to make things VERY difficult for me on a regular basis.

Yes. But if you look at my profile and my posts you will see that I am grappler by nature and training. Karate is fun, and maybe someday I will return to it for a time as it is fun, but my first love will always be grappling.

Ridiculous. But then again, I am a fan of the Combat Sports. Wrestling, Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, etc.. Hopefully, when the final meetings on this are done they will reconsider.