Judo and Life

Defend Your Child Against a New School Year

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:18:00 +0000

As every parent prepares their Children for the new school year there is always plenty of advice. I therefore hesitate to offer this little tidbit but just in case it helps someone I received this article in my email from a very trusted people called "Starting-the-School-Year---The-Kidpower-Way--Seven-Steps-to-A-Positive-Experience"

It does just what it says and offer Seven ways to help you child safely adjust to the new school year. The advice is simple and easy to put into action.

1. Take a realistic look at your child's emotional school-readiness.

2. Be clear about both safety and learning expectations.

3. Make a plan for potential problems.

4. Stay in touch with what is going on.

5. Offer support to your child's teachers and schools.

6. Prepare your children to set boundaries and to advocate for themselves.

7. Advocate for your children when things go wrong.

Even if any of these sound the slightest bit complicated trust they are not. Read the article and try them.

A Standing Armlocks

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:40:00 +0000

I like the idea of standing arm locks but I have never been able to pull one off in competition. They seem to me to be a great tool to develop.

This arm lock was sent to me some time ago and I really like it thought I never got to use it but I thought that I would share it.

The time to use it is when someone has a grip on your left lapel near your collarbone, and is holding you fairly close, so their arm is bent at the elbow. Take your left hand and slide it up so your wrist is between his wrist and your body, with your fingers pointed up towards the ceiling (palm facing to your right). This gives uke the feeling that you're resisting the grip, but weakly--so it doesn't seem suspicious, but also doesn't seem threatening.

To do the armlock, quickly turn towards your left and simultaneously slip your right arm up between his elbow and ribs, so your right hand should go up past his shoulder level. Quickly join your hands palm to palm and straighten your arms at the elbow--you've got him in standing ude-garami.

A couple of important points: the turn is important, as is making sure you get the angle just right, or else uke can escape by just straightening his arm and wriggling away.

One sensei said it was one of his "secret weapons" when he was in tournaments...just about everyone would watch out for his seoi-nage, so this was one of his techniques he could pull out of the blue when someone had him too well scouted. :-)

Enjoy

Richard

Shimewaza - How Effective are Strangles

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:21:00 +0000

I came across these two interesting articles.

Don't be put off a by a bit of Russian martial-art proselytizing at the start, its worth continuing.

They really goes into the anatomical perspective on the various ways strangles work, common misconceptions, and a bit of what you can do when in the predicament. (eg. how breathing techniques can decrease the effectiveness of strangulations and buy you a little more time to fight).

It would be great to try to remember some of it next time I'm stuck in Sankaku. The problem is that as far as I can ascertain from Doctors and other medical people that I know the basic premise is just not True.

It turns out that is is perfectly possible and in fact all too easy to squash the carotid arteries. So why do I pass this information on, because some of the information is useful in that so long as you are using good muscle control to protect the carotid arteries you can actually increase the length of time you can manage a strangle with good breathing technique its just not the amount of time the author would like it to be.

Anyway Give the breath strangle a read but check it out with your local Medico before you put any of it into action.

This is my Judo Suit and some Kicks

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:22:00 +0000

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Pure frivolity really to show this. I have no idea where this child comes from or who he is, but good on him for showing off what he loves.

I've had to learn the hard way that it is not always prudent to tell anybody that you do martial arts of any kind. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be proud of your achievements.

It took me a long time to sort out how to balance the above seemingly opposite points of view and a lot longer to work out how I should communicate that to my students. After all what's the point of learning something and then telling nobody what you know.

We do not want our Judoka to keep secrets because that implies there is something wrong with what they are learning: but at the same time we don't want them unwittingly putting themselves in dangers because the tell the wrong person. I'm sure an Martial artist knows what I mean

Eventually I managed to come up with:
"Be Proud of What You Achieve in Judo But Be Careful Who You Tell"

Enjoy the video:
Richard

Jigaro Kano & Ju No Kata

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:06:00 +0000

You know I'm sure everybody in the whole Judo community has seen this by now but I just get a kick out of it so much that I decided to share it again. I think it is really net to be able to watch or founder perform this classic Kata.

There is a disturbing element however when watching Jigaro Kano doing Ju No Kata, under todays rules this, our most famous of all Judoka, would probably not win any Kata contest.

It's a bit ironic really that times and rules have changed so much that the man who started it all would have to do retraining in this Kata were he around today.

I'm not exactly sure whether the change in rules are an indictment on modern judo or if it's just a sign of the sort of growth that Shihan Kano would be proud of and to some degree I don't really care, it's still pretty net to watch.

Halloween and Safety

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 01:43:00 +0000

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Australians haven't yet really cottoned on to Halloween yet although every Oct 31 we nearly always have one or two pushes on the door bell. But Martial Artists are not only in the land of OZ and safety is something that I think every Martial artist is striving for

The Halloween “Trick” that will “Treat” you and your family to safety all year long Is the slogan of One Million Safer Kids campaign this Halloween season.

I have followed Kidpower as an organization for years as they have as their Goal to teaching kids how to be safe: they have asked that we blog about their new campaign and I am enthusiastically doing so.

Keeping Kids safe is a passion of mine and that is what this campaign is about. It give me great pleasure to endorse this campaign and encourage you to get involved. I wish all Trick or Treaters a fun time but I also want to remind you that fun and safety go hand in hand. If you are not safe the fun stops.

Enjoy
Richard

Judo and Breakfall Stories 5 - About Saved Live

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 06:27:00 +0000

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Yet another mother came to me the other night very pleased saying "we know that he does the front break falls correctly now".

Apparently one of my youngest students had decided that he would jump from the jungle frame. As do most, if not all 5 year old's he thought he was superman or whatever super hero is now popular. As he was falling according to him thought better of it did a front breakfall.

From his description he was very calculated about it as we had been practicing this particular break fall for several weeks before hand and he was not getting it right. He spent a great deal of time, for a 5yo, outlining every detail of how he set himself up to fall as he was heading for the ground.

I am always amazed at how quickly the mind thinks when it in danger.

Interesting this child has had the front break fall correct ever since.

The whole thing must have been pretty impressive because the parents of this child have four boys and not only did the mother come to me to tell me about it but the father came to tell me about the incident the very next week.

I suppose it could be said that children of this age are very pliable and may not have hurt himself anyway with such a fall. It probably could also be said, as I have often said that children tend to fall correctly as infants and they unlearn it as they get older. I think they unlearn it because we as adult have such an adverse reaction to them falling they get frightened off it; but as I watched my own boys grow up and because I know how to fall I avoided teaching my boys to fall incorrectly. So much so that when they came to start Judo my Sensei was very impressed and asked if I had been teaching them how to fall. I said no I just had not taught them how not to fall.

Taking all this into account did better pliability and his youth have more to do with his good falling than his breakfall technique. I have no doubt that it did play a part but remember he did not have this break fall correct before he took this other fall and he thought it through as he was falling. It seems to me that his front breakfall had a lot to do with his being unharmed when he hit the ground.

Richard

JUDO Armlock

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:10:00 +0000

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This is a video of a Japanese judoka named Koji Komuro (5th dan). He is a full time instructor at Kodokan Judo Institute. His nickname is Komlock.

A past Japanese student Highlighted this particular video to me as an excellent example of the use of a standing arm lock and how to use an arm lock in combination with Tomo nagi .

Often these videos are really difficult to tell what is going on. They tend to be a blur of action and you just have to take on faith that the video is about what the title says. This video is not like that.

In this video you can clearly see the application of the arm lock and most of the movement that leads up to that application.

It's a great show:

Self Defence and Your Voice

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 06:30:00 +0000

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To Yell or Not to Yell

One of the things that I teach my students is that Yelling Like a Scream is a weapon.

I have very vivid memories of the effectiveness of a scream when I was in Bible college.

Because of the difficulty that it caused some people, I made sure that I avoided any discussion on Self defence when I was there at bible college; even to the point of making sure that no one knew that I ever learned judo let alone enjoyed competing. So I was surprised one day to have a fellow student come to me one day and ask me to teach her some self defence as she had heard that I learned Judo.

I felt sorry for her but as I explained to her I was only a blue belt at the time and not a qualified coach and I felt uncomfortable teaching for that reason alone. She was of course disappointed but seemed to understand.

A short time later we were on kitchen duty together along with some other students. One of the other male students and I, being typical males, thought that we would play a trick on the female students so we started to sneak up on them to give the aforementioned young lady and another female student, a fright.

We succeeded.

But at a price!

The young lady in question turned out to have the most powerful scream that I have ever come across: it was so powerful that my accomplice was forced to the ground with his hands over his ears not more than a few feet from our screamer and I was forced from the room with my ears ringing.

Some little while latter when my ears had stopped ringing. I was able to reassure our frighted friend that the best form of self defence that she could cultivate at this time would be her scream.

It can clearly be seen from this example that the use of ones voice is much more that a fear reaction, a stress releaser or a call for help. In itself the voice can be used as a weapon and like any weapon it has to be used correctly and with skill.

One should learn to raise your voice a loud as you can without hurting your throat. If you yell and you hurt your throat you are doing it wrong. You should be able to project your voice without hurting your throat. You should be able to modulate your voice so that other people can tell whether you are fearful or angry or giving instructions. You should be able to use your voice to control certain situations and attract attention in others. And most importantly you need to know when to shut up.

Your voice is weapon learn to use it correctly.

Richard.

Judo Throws - MakaKomi in Competion

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 08:06:00 +0000

For all my Senior Judo Students interested in seeing a version of Makakomi in action, this one was sent to me some time ago, by a friend and former student Yoshi.

The You Tube video title is "Flying arm bar". I can't see it myself.

Besides I'm sure that instead of winning the contest the Judoka would have been disqualified.

A real flying arm bars are illegal in contest these days.

Enjoy

Richard

Valuing Kicks and Punches - Atemi Wasa - Strikes and Blows

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 14:06:00 +0000

I have had parents come to me passing messages that one or two of my students had gone over to Ju jitsu. My initial comment is: "I am sorry to loose them as students but I have nothing against well taught Ju jitsu". After all Judo is Ju jitsu with some features that distinguish it and I often have a lot of respect for the teacher that they go to. I have a very good relationship with him.

However sometimes these parents go on to say something that really concerns me. Something that I passionately repudiate. They say that the other parents think that they learn better self defence from learning kicking and punching.

Atmi wasa or Striking practice is well established as a form of self defence but it has some serious sort comings particularly when it comes to children. I am referring to children as being under 10 and any child older than that who is not large in stature.

1) A strike or a kick has to be well placed in order to be effective.

The physical development of a child works against even the most well placed strike or kick being anything but a distraction. That is not to say that a well placed kick or strike won't hurt, but something that hurts is not necessarily disabling. Now I will be the first to admit that a good distraction is an excellent self defence tool but only if its part of an over all strategy. Running for instance.

I teach significantly more than this in my classes because running also has to have the correct context to be effective but in the right context running is a good start.

2) A strike or kick has the potential to do greater harm than good harm in the wrong context.

The place were a child is going to have the most effect with a kick or a punch is against the own peers. Do we really want our children using kicks and punches in the school ground?

You have no doubt realized by now that I have a very minimalist approach to Atmi wasa. I sometime teach a Kata (form practice) that has kicking and punching in it but it is designed as a warm up exercise not a form of defence (Tandoku Renshu).

I do however teach about the uses of Atmi to my students and I have a saying " If you are going to hurt someone you'd better make sure it is worth it. Because weather you are right or wrong you are going to get into trouble".

I have, in another article on, outlined a number of what I think are better ways that can be used to help a child who is being bullied in school. They just require the parents and the school to have the will to do something about it.

Beyond that if there is no other way to deal with bullying or threat situation I teach my students a number of highly effective skills that are age appropriate that try to avoid striking of any kind.

3) If you strike someone and you don't disable them they are more often than not likely to come back at you with even greater violence.

This is a fact that many of the striking martial arts choose not to discuss. The reality is that violence may not be avoidable but it always begets violence.

The only time when this is not true is when the threat of the consequences is so great that fear itself is the deterrent. Even then some people are so controlled by fear that they respond to a treat irrationally and to their own detriment and the only way to stop them is to disable them to the point where they have no ability to act any more.

In our context consider the child that has kicked their way out of a situation against a much stronger attacker. What do you think the reaction of the attacker is going to be? Let me tell you that it is not often going to be to run away.

Anger, pain and the loss of face are great motivators and the psychology of a bully is much more complex than people think. Only some bullies will run away if they are stood up to.

4) The effect of a kick or a strike on an adult is minimal

Consider the prospect of a child coming up against an adult. It's is obvious that the effect of a kick and a punch is going to be minimal.

Sometimes I teach demonstration self defense classes and as part of the demonstration I invite a child up to hit me as hard are they can. Even the children that have been smart enough to hit me in my testicles have had little effect. Because they are just not strong enough or fast enough. How much effect will they have on an adult who wants to hurt them.

I will admit that a child that has been taught to hit properly will have more effect but not that much.

and finally:

5) Faulty kicking style

The fact is Kata is what is taught in many of the kicking and punching styles of martial arts and it is very useful as a teaching tool. Useful to help instill form and automatic movement. But it is also very good at programing faults into someones technique if not watched very carefully. Faults that can be extremely difficult to teach out.

Now all students of any kind will pick up faults but consider the prospect of a faulty placed kick. Forget about the fact that schools are not always just places to be. That is nothing compared to the trouble a child will get into if someone ends up with a broken arm or leg or even skull. The legal aspect of the kicking and punching are enormous.

Conclusion
In my view there is only one value in teaching children to kick and punch and that is so they will be better in this form of Marital Art when they get older. This cannot be under estimated.

Properly taught Atemi Wasa Kata is of great benefit to an older student that has been taught young. But we must get out of this attitude that teaching a child to kick and punch will help them to defend themselves.

In most cases it won't!

Judo and Breakfall Stories 4 - About Saved Live

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 11:35:00 +0000

One of parents of one of the littlest students that I have, entered the Dojo the other night with a declaration supported by great joy.

"I have another story for your collection of stories on break falls that save lives" he said.

Apparently my students was up on the farm of a friend and as was her want, she went for a ride on the motorbike. She was well protected and was obeying all safety protocols. Well... most of them.

My littlest student then took up the story.

"Yes Sensei" she said. "The bike had stopped and I stood up to have a stretch but the drive didn't realize that I had stood up and started the bike and I fell off the back.

Everybody came running saying 'are you all right are you all right'."

Her father then took up the story "then to every-bodies amusement she stood up, dusted herself off, got back on the bike and said 'what's wrong with everybody. I'm ok. I just did a back breakfall. Can we ride some more.'"

"She had just fallen off a moving motorbike, she could have been killed and didn't even blink."

I suppose it could be said that falling off the back of a motorbike is not necessarily life threatening, but people have been killed and I would have rather her known how to fall in that situation than not.

Richard

Get thrown for Good Judo

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 10:39:00 +0000

"Thrown about all night and not even coming close to throwing the teacher and at the end of the night the teacher said 'you judo is good'."

It would seem that good breakfalls are considered, in at least some parts of the Japanese judo world, to be just as good Judo as being a good competitor.

I remember reading an email from a judoka on a Judo list I was on, outlining the above. I spent a lot of time pondering this concept.

Everybody who reads this blog will know that I a have a very high regard for breakfalls. But I do think that there are a lot in the Judo community that would have trouble with the concept that breakfalling alone could be good judo, even if it is to a superior partner.

For my part I have never been convinced that Judo is about the throws or grappling. It's about much more than that. Judo is about self development and how we respond to each other. Remember the two prime principles upon which Judo is built are:

Maximum efficiency for minimum effort and mutual welfare and benefit.

I think that breakfalls could be considered to be the epitomizes this.

Richard

Brilliant Judo Move !!

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:18:00 +0000

This was a video I found at fukung.net

The name is Not of my choosing but came with the video. However I thought that this was an excellent example of the use of Uchi mata as a counter.

Enjoy
Richard

In Praise of Parents and Volunteers

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:23:00 +0000

NO Not that!

Please!

Not that!

Heaven Forbid.

The very idea that I should talk about administration!

The single most difficult thing in running a club of any kind has got to be the administration. And I don’t just mean the paperwork.

The paperwork is just boring; it’s not in itself the most difficult thing about administration. Ok I admit it, paperwork can be difficult, as it does seem that sometimes the creators of the paperwork are more about creating work for themselves than making things workable and simple. But in the end paperwork can be worked through and resolved in most cases if you have the time.

And that is the point I am getting to. Time. I don’t care how good you are at running a club; any club that is a one man bad will eventually die. You have to get other people involved in the running of a club because if you don’t you run out of time to get every thing done efficiently.

I’m talking about getting others involved in the everyday stuff. Like organising that trip to the local competition, making sure the right equipment is made available. Having enough people around to lay the mats and making sure everybody knows where to go.

A club runs on its volunteers. I had one member of one of my clubs, his name is Patrick and oh how I miss him. He was always there. I tried to get him involved in teaching because he was a black belt, but he insisted that that was not what he wanted to do though he did do it for me a few times.

This guy laid mats for me and made sure moneys were received. He did photocopying and made sure everybody got a copy. When he left there was a big hole where he had been and the club has done nothing but struggle since.

I’m a great teacher and I see myself as a fair administrator but I cannot be good at both.

People like this are diamonds. You can’t have enough volunteers. If someone asks for a job make sure you give him or her a valued one. Let them know that they are a valuable resource.

I have tried every which way to get volunteers involved in my clubs and the single most effective way is to ask people directly to do a particular job. The ones I have asked have done a great job. Some at fixing cleats some at packing up mats. But I’m convinced that getting people to volunteer is a gift.

I don’t think I have that gift and I would pay big money, if I had any, to find someone who has.

In brief value your volunteers and find ways to encourage them because you need them.

In Praise of Kata For Exercise - Tandoku Renshu

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:07:00 +0000

I've herd untold complaints over the years about the Judo Kata Tandoku Renshu.

What is Tandoku Renshu?
Tandoku Renshu is the official name give by the Kodakan (Professor Kano's Judo school) in the book Kodakan Judo (see under the heading "HEALTH AND FIRST AID"), to series of Exercise movements, that comprises of the first part of a much longer Kata known as Sei-ryoku-Zen’yo Kokumin-Taiiku. It was devised by Professor Kano because he said, as I understand it, that he found the Calisthenic type exercises boring and not relevant to Judo. It is often performed in Kata competition as a Kata in itself. Here is a video version of the Tandoku Renshu. The term Tandoku Renshu can I'm told, also be applied to all forms of individual exercise.

So what's wrong with the Tandoku Renshu?

Well from my pointing of view, nothing.

But those who hate it would say:

It's not real martial arts
I'm a competition player and Kata has no relevance to me
The punches and kick are not how you would really do them they would be in effective

So lets deal with these one at a time:

To those who hate it would say: "It's Not Real Martial Arts"
What does that mean by the way? I'm sure I don't know. This statement is bandied about but I dare anybody to define Martial Arts. Sure Martial Arts is applied to fighting arts but it clearly means much more than that. It is just as readily applied to the way we live our lives and the philosophy with which we live or that is endorsed by a particular style. The Budo if you like.

Saying something from a particular fighting style is not "Real Martial Arts" without first defining what you mean by that, is just meaningless and the definition is to say the least illusive. So to dismiss an Kata because it doesn't meet with your approval is not an argument at all but mealy a statement of your personal taste.

To those who hate it say: "I'm a Competition Player and Kata has no Relevance to Me"
At least this statement is honest. However its just not true!

No matter how competitive you are every athlete that is worth their salt will practice certain movements over and over again.

Runners will practice their running action as well as work on their rhythm and timing.

Swimmers will rehearse their stroke contiguously tweaking arm, hand, leg and body position as they go. Without timing they can never make it to their peek.

Judo Players will sooner or latter do Uchi Komi in some form or other in order to perfect a throw. And every time a Judoka works on a combination what is that if it's not Kata.

Kata is an integral part of athletic training. You can't do without it as hard as you may try. So just because the Kata I practice is not your Kata how is that a reason to dismiss it.

To those who hate it would say: "The Punches and Kicks are not how you would really do them, they would be ineffective"
This really does miss the point of the kata. The Kata was, as I have said, designed to be a exercise. The emphasis is not on the kicks and the punches but the movement, the stretching and the exertion. The improvement in balance and accuracy alone makes kata worth it.

It has an added bonus that I suspect was at the core of Professor Kano's thinking when he developed it: the movements are martial arts movements, even if they are or are not good punching and kicking style.

One of the things that I had drummed home to me when I was training to be a coach was that the best exercise you can do for your particular sport is that particular sport. The problem is always how do you do warm ups and stretchers.

The warm ups are not that hard, usually a mild form of your sport is easy but the stretches are another thing. Most sports have to do activities that are not related to their sport in order to get the necessary stretching done. But the professor went one better. He came up with a series of exercises that are stretches and are related.

What are the Actions of Tandoku Renshu
There is stretching: I have to say some very satisfying stretching I've found
Rotation: something seriously neglected by many a Judoka
Slow Movement: there is nothing like building up to something slowly
Fast Movement: done right it gets your heart rate up very satisfactorily

Even if the kicking and punching actions are wrong and I have to say that the more Tandoku Renshu I do I am not convinced that that is true, the principles are there. Frankly I don't care if they are good style but as a teacher I'd rather have a student doing an action wrong that had the right general idea than try to get something perfect from the start.

Mind you, you don't want to program in bad habits either but minor corrections are great. I'm no kicking and punching expert but I'm reasonably sure that the Tandoku Renshu gives plenty of good foundation.

You don't have to do it as a Demonstration
There are many people that believe that the Tandoku Renshu has to be performed in a formal fashion only. Can I encourage people to get away from that from time to time. I love to see kata performed but it was intended as an exercise as well.

If you do it in your club or on your own you don't have to be restricted by the number of times you perform particular movements and actions. If you feel the need to repeat one of the actions 10 times why not.

Why not try it as an exercise before you can it. And Sensei' s try it as a warm up on you class.

Start off slow and then do it again faster and then once more as fast as you can. watch the laughter go up with the heart rate and feel the stretch and improvement in balance and accuracy.

Richard

In praise of Judo as a Self Defence (Defense):

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:39:00 +0000

Judo is a brilliant self-defence! You are just deluding yourself if you think it is not.

It’s not my policy to be critical of other martial arts. I would never suggest the kicking and punching martial arts are of lesser value in self-defence than any other martial arts and it turns out that I’m not alone.

Professor Kano was I understand a huge advocate of other martial arts. I’m given to understand that he dedicated significant resources of the Kodak an to collecting and gathering of as much information of other martial arts into its archives as he possibly could. I’m given to understand that the early days of modern Karate own much to the encouragement of the founder of Judo.

It seems to me then that only those who are uninformed or misinformed could possibly propose that Judo is only a sport and not a martial art or brilliant self-defence.

Yet people do.

So let me try and put the record straight.

I’m not putting down the value of a well-placed and well-trained kick or punch, but what happens if you miss? What happens if you end up on the ground? What happens if you attacker gets in close? Now I realise that on the last one there are such things as the 1-inch punch, but total dependence on that alone in close, is a huge mistake. No matter what you do know or have practiced there are going to be times when a punch of any kind is not going to do it.

I’ve always found it amusing, listening to people refer to Bruce Lee to make their case that the kicking and punching is the best self-defence. Has nobody ever noticed what so much of Bruce Lee’s finishing moves were on an opponent? They were throws!

So if Bruce Lee is the measure then Judo throws are clearly a valid form of self-defence.

Not that I see Bruce Lee as any basis on which to declare that anything is or is not a self-defence but I am here to tell you that I have personally used throws to great affect in defending myself, as unfortunate as that is.

Judo has been the victim of a malignant campaign that insists that anything that is a sport cannot be a good self-defence. I don’t know who started it but it is a very successful one. To the extent that there are very high ranking Judoka that don’t even know what they have in the hands.

One very famous instructor came to do a Kata education weekend in Melbourne Australia. As she was instructing us in one of the most popular self-defence Kata, she confessed that a while back she was attacked and her handbag was almost stolen. For a few moments she struggled aimlessly, as someone who was untrained in self-defence. Then suddenly realised, she did know what to do. Since then she has practiced her Kata with a whole new outlook.

The irony is that the very people that often propose that judo is only a sport are often the same people that actively promote their own. Take Brazilian Jujitsu. Promoted by proponents such as the Graziers to the point of high popularity as an excellent self-defence. But how do they promote it as such? They promote it as self-defence by entering in an Ultimate Fighting Contest or similar. A sport! A brutal sport but none-the-less a sport.

What about Karate? Again successfully promoted as self-defence. Yet many Karate organizations around the world are trying to get it accepted into the Olympics.

Then there is Tae Kwon Do its already in the Olympics. Forgive me but don’t most Tae Kwon Do schools promote themselves by declaring themselves as a form of self-defence?

My eldest son once attended a jujitsu contest. He had been bought up a Judoka and had changed to Jujitsu I think because he wanted to do more kicking and punching. What was his description of the contest to me on the phone that nite? He said “Dad it Judo”.

So clearly being a sport doesn’t mean you cannot be self-defence. I love my sport of Judo. I loved competing when I could. But I’m here to tell you that it has never let me down as self-defence. This is coming from someone who has had to use it in real life situations. I am someone who has been involved in centres for all sorts of non-conformist people. I have put my life in the hands of God and my Martial Art. Nether have let me down.

Richard

Self Defence Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:44:00 +0000

Recently I had one of my junior students come to me and ask "I have a friend who is always being picked on what can I do to help him".

The question is a very difficult one because unless the victim has confidence in themselves or there is some kind of intervention the bullying is most likely to continue.

My student could be a help by standing up for his friend. But even if he is successful in dissuading the bully, he can't always be around and it could just make it worse when he isn't.

We had a discussion with the other students where we discussed this problem without naming who it was that raised it. The answers were all very practical but essentially amounted to the same thing. You have to get some adult help and intervention.

As the night went on my student confided more information to me. Apparently his friend got up in show and tell at school to proudly announce that he had gained his green belt in Karate. He has been picked on ever since.

This child broke one of the most binding Keeping Yourself Safe rules: "Be proud of what you achieve but be wise who you tell".

My student was very happy to announce that he has adhered to this rule and was thus safe from any potential bullying of this nature, but he was still concerned for his friend.

Telling others that you do judo is fought with dangers if you tell the wrong people. This was a lesson I had learned in school many years ago. Knowing Judo gave me confidence to hold my ground in many situations but telling people potentially opened the door for them to want to test your skill.

I remember one time when I was in year 10 at school and some how a year 7 student had found out that I knew Judo. He was two years younger than me and not a fraction of my size. Not to mention I was built like a brick wall in those days (or a year 10 brick wall anyway) yet still insisted on trying to goad me into fighting him. This was nuts but it went on for a whole week.

By the end of the week I had had enough. Remember now that compared to this kid I was a giant. After a week of badgering with him following right behind me, saying "come on fight me fight me", I turned
took him by the scruff of the neck pushed him up against the nearest wall and said "Leave me alone".

I think what frightened him most was that he was a couple of inches above the ground when I said it. I never heard from him again.

So what's the point of this story? Well the point is that people are nuts when it comes to martial arts. Especially young, testosterone pumped men. They are willing to do almost anything to prove themselves. So if you study martial arts of any kind:

Be proud of your achievements but be wise who you tell.

Richard

Judo Kata - Confession of a Judo Kata Tournament Player -2009

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:52:00 +0000

The Australian Masters Games 2009, Kata Tournament.
(An experience of 2 Newport Judo Club students)

The Australian Masters Games are the nation's largest multi-sport festival, with thousands of participants and volunteers taking part in a wide range of sports. Some examples are: Cycling, AFL football, Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey, Karate, Netball, Rugby Union, Sailing, Soccer, Surfing, Swimming, etc, etc. The games have been built upon a spirit of participation and inclusion. They offer athletes the opportunity to compete, meet and socialise with others from all over Australia and the Pacific. The games have been in operation since 1987. For the first time, Geelong hosted the games from February 20 to March 1 2009. On Friday 27 February 2009, Philippe le Scoul and myself, Barbara Robinson (below), took part in the 'Kata' [series of pre-arranged moves, or 'forms'] tournament.

As we drove through Geelong the coastal city was decked out with huge eye catching games flags. We made our way to the Newtown Stadium. The first kata we took part in was 'Ju-no-kata' 'The forms of gentleness'. This kata was devised by the originator of Judo, Professor Jigoro Kano, in 1887. Both 'Uke', the attacker, and 'Tori' the defender, must develop strong initiative, timing, and graceful movements. Tori must learn excellent body evasion at the exact moment of Uke's attack. There are no complete throwing techniques in Ju-no-kata. The stretching movements develop flexibility of the shoulders and spine. The student's skill in breaking balance and body position is also tested. There are fifteen movements in this kata.

The next kata we took part in was 'Nage- no-kata' 'Formal techniques of throwing' (above).
This kata was created in 1887 by Jigaro Kano. Each technique is demonstrated twice, first as a right side throw, then as a left side throw. This totals as thirty techniques altogether. Both Uke and Tori must display excellent deportment, dignity, and bearing. Tori must demonstrate excellence of throwing. Uke must demonstrate excellence of break-falling techniques. A judo player needs a lot of experience studying the 'Gyo-kyo', or list of throws, or this kata will be very difficult to learn.

The third kata Philippe and I attempted was 'Goshin Jutsu' (above). Of the three katas, this is our present favourite. It is the newest kata, having been created circa 1956. It is composed of a number of self-defence techniques making use of throws, arm locks, strikes and kicks. Uke the attacker at times uses a wooden knife, stick, and wooden imitation gun. Philippe and I both have a background in other Jujutsu and Karate martial arts as well as Judo, so perhaps this is why we particularly liked studying this kata, followed in preference by Nage-no-kata [formal techniques of throwing] and Ju-no-kata [forms of gentleness].

Although we did not win any medals, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - it was the experience of a lifetime, and we would encourage all Judoka [Judo Students] to participate in The Australian Masters Games. Philippe, myself and one other player were, as far as we know, the only brown belts competing on February 27. Everyone else was first dan black belt or above. Not surprisingly the standard was very high. We were given a lot of encouragement and support by everyone we spoke to. The whole experience was a great day to remember. We hardly noticed that the air temperature was 33 Deg C.

The tournament was very well organised, with great input from the Judo Federation of Australia, Judo Victoria and the Geelong YMCA Judo Club. Also there was excellent still photography coverage both days. The next day Philippe watched the 'Shiai'[open contest] tournament, and reported back that the standard was as impressive as the kata tournament. I would also like to thank the Caulfield Judo Club for providing an extra opportunity for any grade of Judo player to study 'kata' judo at a monthly class. All judo players are very welcome to attend. The classes are usually the first Saturday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m.

Barbara Robinson, July 2009, Newport Judo Club, Moonee Valley Judo Club.

Helping children cope with a traumatic event

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:26:00 +0000

Children want to be safe! They Need to be Safe!

Well don't we all want to be safe. But the recent bush fires here in Victoria Australia, where almost 200 people lost their lives and thousands of homes and property affected if not destroyed, raised the need to be more aware of children trying to manage the traumatic.

I don't think there was a single person that was not affected in some way by these bush fires. We all seemed to know someone who were or a have friends that knew someone that was.

I am trained in grief counseling and I was having trouble dealing with it, so I was acutely aware that my judo students would also be trying to deal with it in their own way.

I remember with great clarity the World Trade Center on September 11. I remember the fear that particularly some of the younger Judo students were expressing. I was so concerned about it that I wrote some prose call "Sometimes". I didn't think it very good but it did seem to help.

One of the reasons that I teach the Protective Behaviors Program is because I don't care how fantastic you are at self defense, bad stuff will happen to you and you have to know how to deal with it. I don't think that there is anything that can beat the premise of "nothing is so awful that I can't tell somebody about it".

What I found surprising, was the way the students were coping with the bush fires. I don't know whether it was because it was in their own back yard or it was just because everybody was mobilized to be able to do something, even if it was only to give money to the Bush fire appeal. I do know that people are more able to deal with things if they can take action. After all that is why Self Defense is so popular and it is why I teach a Physical Syllabus of Self Defense. Never-the-less it was a relief to me that I did not have to spend most of the class dealing with peoples fear as I did with 9 11. That is not to say there were no fears only that they were being managed.

Which leads me to the reason for this entry in my blog. I believe that any person who deals with children has a responsibility to know how to help them through grief and trauma, especially if you are going to teach self defense, and so I spend time researching to make sure my information is up to date.

Learning how to help people through grief and trauma, in most cases, is not the specialist field that most of us would like to make it out to be. In fact I think that often we use that excuse to protect ourselves rather than to help the other person going through their difficulty. Mostly its only a matter of having a listening ear.

In my research, came across this article "Helping children cope with a traumatic event" that I thought was very useful for the lay person. I think that it deserves a read if you are a Judo coach or any body that deals with or has children.

The funny thing is that in helping others we usually help ourselves. Perhaps that is why I like teaching judo so much . After all it is about mutual welfare and benefit isn't it!

Richard

Judo Training and Disabilities

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:33:00 +0000

Disabilities do not stop someone from doing judo!

Well some do but not many.

I have had students with Cerebral palsy, brain damage, limbs that don't work, not to mention all those with discipline problems (I'm not yet convinced that this is a disability). And whilst it slowed down the development of these students skills it has never slowed down their enthusiasm or commitment.

Never-the-less I have learned that it is always fantastic to have resources avaliable to you that will assist you in making appropriate allowances any disability.

This recent article called About learning disabilities is just such a resource. It doesn't cover all the ones I have mentioned above but it does give a list of very useful websites dealing with a whole raft of learning disabilities.

It's well worth a read if you work with or are interested in working with Judoka that have difficulty in learning what you are wanting to teach. BUT even if you don't have any association with such students I think that if you are any kind of good coach you should read up on these sorts of things.

Lets face it, everybody has trouble at some time or other with learning. A good Judo coach will have taken the time to learn as much about how to communicate what you want your students to learn as you possibly can. What better way to understand how better to teach than to have an understanding of what sort of things can hinder your communication.

So take the time to have a look.

Richard

Judo and Breakfall Stories 3 - About Saved Live

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:09:00 +0000

Falling down stairs is not recommended no matter what you think you know about falling.

I know we see stunt men do it all the time on film. However it's not as if even they don't get injured occasionally when they do it, you just don't see that injury on film.

Still that doesn't stop some people trying it even if it is unintentional.

One of the ladies from one of the self defence groups, that I run only by request, told me of such an event in her life.

I met her and her friend, also a past student, in the food court of the local shopping centre and waved to them from a distance. I was immediately summoned over to their table with quite some excitement. For some reason she wanted to show her bruises.

I must confess to being quite concerned at the joy to which these injuries where being put on display. It would not have been the first time that I have counseled women to leave abusive situations. And it only added to my alarm when they told me that they had been obtained from falling down stairs.

But it turned out to be nothing of the sort. She had been in a loving relationship for many years and had fallen down the stairs when she slipped carrying he washing up the stairs.

She was only showing off her bruises to me because she had remembered something that I had taught her as she was falling. It was something that my own sensei had taught me. It goes like this: "If you are round you roll if you are flat you go splat". Apparently she recited it to herself as she was falling.

It just proves once again that proper falling technique saves lives .

Mind you I still don't recommend falling down stair to prove it.

Richard

Coaching your child's sporting (judo?) team

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:58:00 +0000

It doesn't matter what you know or not as the case may be, there are many opportunities available for parents to be involved in Judo coaching.

Most parents don't have the opportunity to coach in a Judo contest. This is because most parents don't feel as though they have the knowledge of judo they need. But parents should not allow themselves to be put off.

I've never been to a judo contest yet where they have ever turned down the offer of help from a parent.

Any contest requires announcers, time keepers, belt tying (for little Judoka), score keepers. And although it does take knowledge to do these things there is always someone willing to help you do it. It is often so much easier to show someone than to try and do all things yourself.

When I first offered my help at a judo contest I had the knowledge to do most of the activities but received a surprise when I forgot myself and tried to coach my students from the side as well. The realization that there was a whole other etiquette that you need to keep in mind when you are a helper and try to coach hit me in a whole other way.

There is an article in Kids life that talks about "coaching your child's sporting team". Your child's coach will love you if you volunteer to help run the club but it may be a good idea to read this first.

Richard

Judo and Breakfall Stories 2 - About Saved Lives

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:35:00 +0000

From time to time I conduct Self Defense courses for ladies. I only do this on request and their has to be more than one lady involved. I will not do private lessons for women.

Some of the ladies from my church requested such a short course. My wife who was never keen on doing a course with me (the only person I would have done private lessons for) decided that she would also attend since she had some friends to do it with.

It was a very successful course and I was very please with the progress that had been made.

Some time later, when my wife was carrying our forth child in late term, we had occasion to visit the Twelve Apostles. A very famous and popular tourist spot here in Victoria (Australia).

On occasions however it can be extremely windy.

It was particularly windy on this day whilst we were viewing one of the massive sand stone monoliths and we had decided that we would retreat to the car for a while.

To this day we do not know whether wind was a direct cause or if it was that the wind had created fatigue but I suddenly saw my wife heading for an almighty fall.

It's funny how even the smallest amount of training can help in a fall. I would not call what my wife did, the best break fall I have ever seen but what she did was far more effective that what she used to do.

Instead of putting her hands out directly in front of her like she was used to doing she rolled. Like I said it was not the best roll but it was more than sufficient to protect her and the baby.

Break falls save lives because they work.

Richard

Judo and the Power Rangers

noreply@blogger.com (Richard Roper) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:10:00 +0000

A Japanese friend of mine sent me this I thought it was very interesting.

When I was in Japan a month ago, I rented a DVD of the original Japanese version of Power Rangers called Go-Rangers ("Go" meaning five) that I enjoyed watching as a kid 30 years ago.

The weapon for each Ranger is:

Red Ranger----------Bullwhip
Blue Ranger---------Archery
Pink Ranger---------Earring bombs
Green Ranger--------Boomerang
and
Yellow Ranger-------JUDO THROWS

P.S. Yellow Ranger before transformation is a chubby Japanese Judoka!