On The Mat Day 1031: Simple Takedowns

I've tried to get good at judo throws. I really have given it my best shot but I have come to the conclusion that I really needed to have started judo as a teenager to have any decent ability to throw my opponent, especially in Japan. Think of a 40 year old foreigner living in England and wanting to play in a football match against teenagers without any prior knowledge of kicking a ball in a net. That would be tough. Judo makes me prone to injuries and not many people start training in it after 40. I've also came to the conclusion that my time would be spent better elsewhere learning sneaky tricks and throws that are anti-judo such as the Russian tie and single/double legs, collar and arm drags and guard pulls that lead to instant sweeps. That's not to say that a 40 year old cannot start judo today. Just in Japan it leads to a lot of frustration and injuries. I am still trying to learn judo throws but from judoka who I trust and train BJJ with. Those techniques are usually limited to foot sweeps and not things like seoi-nage or tai-otoshi where there is more risk of injury or failure.

I've been messing about with Lightworks but the free version was crap in terms of output since it only allows 720dpi resolution. Humblebundle had a great deal of 30 dollars for Cyberlink Powerdirector as well as some of its other products and I snapped that up and have been getting to grips with making another video. Check it out below for an easy takedown that I use often.

On The Mat Day 1025: Drilling Russian Tie-up

So I haven't posted in a while. It's a busy time right now during the O-bon holiday, everyone is traveling home and the weather is ridiculously hot. We've had a heat wave for what seems like 6 weeks where the highest temperature has been over 40 C. It makes it hard to train without air conditioning.

To avoid the heat of the day I've been training during the early morning on the weekend and on Tuesday evening after the sun has passed its peak. I've also had problems with my knee so have focused mostly on drilling during these classes. I've been to the hospital about my knee but that is a story for another day.

Last night we trained for 1 hour. This was broken up into 30 mins drilling and 30 mins sparring. I have been consistent in working on the Russian tie-up and transitioning to single-leg, sumi-gaeshi and fireman's throw. I try to use it to counter judo players because they are not used to the 2on1 grip. I've also invested in a new microphone which is semi-professional. The zoom h1n. It is excellent quality and sits on my desk as we speak. I'm also thinking about making more videos of commentary while sparring not only to give people tips but to also force myself to learn patterns.

See the video below. I hope it will help you in some way.