Zdenek Matl is a neat guy. He was a national level coach in Czechoslovakia. He has developed an incredibly soft style of Judo…. so soft you could practice it on carpet. George created a DVD (item # 5075) titled “Some Effective Variations of Judo” featuring Zdenek. While not shown on the DVD, this is one…
by Kyle Sloan; Cameron Siemens, Uke; Photography & Video by Rob Goodwill Well, we messed up somewhere. Uke managed to slip past our legs. When practicing, uke should come to a kneeling position. This makes the falls much more low impact and safer. Place two hands together in one spot. You want to grab the…
by Kyle Sloan It’s important to understand the ground isn’t a bad place to be. We simply have to learn how to move around. First, you always want to be on your side and never flat on your back. The more on your back you are, the more surface area is in contact with the…
The idea is to take a piece of foam about 2 inches square and tape it to a fixed object at eye level. I’ve also seen this done with a piece of tape being the targe on a fixed object. Begin in tsune-no-kamae It does take a little practice to consistently hit the target dead…
This is a neat way to play with maki-otoshi. This reinforces the curling action and is an easy way to work on spacing with your partner. However, this method of maki-otoshi does not teach you how to intercept a moving target like the standard practice forms do. Begin with weapons crossed at standard maai. Nick…
Kyle Sloan, Tori; Cameron Siemens, Uke; Photography & Video by Rob Goodwill This is a neat little armbar many BJJ & Judo folks are unfamiliar with. We begin on our back with uke between our legs With your partner between your legs, watch for daylight coming through the armpit on either side. When you see…
All three of the trap blocks (Kuri-Tsuke, Kuri-Hanashi & Tai-Atari) all begin the same way: an attempt to execute Kuri-Tsuke. It is because of uke’s response that the second & third trap blocks happen. Tori’s actions always begin the same way, then adjust to uke’s response. In Kuri-Tsuke, the initial trap action is successful. Uke…
This time we’re looking at gyakute-tsuki. The element to focus on is between the thrust and the strike. 1. Begin in normal honte-no-kamae posture. 2. Pushing with the bottom (in this case, left) hand, raise the stick over your head. It is important to be directly in line with your head. 3. Make a thrusting…
Kyle Sloan This week I wanted to look at rolling backward. One of my fellow students asked me how I go about doing it, and thought I’d share. There are two things I want to note. First, I am using the belt to show the line of the body fall. This is the line from…