by Kyle Sloan
Some folks might look at what we’re doing, and because it’s not a competition deal immediately dislike it.
Well, let me try to change your mind.
The method we use for the bulk of our teaching time is a non-resistive uke. This allows for the purest transmission of information between partners — the signal-to-noise ration is quite high. As uke begins to express his opinion about not being thrown, the quality of the information decreases — there’s more noise in the system, so we (be that uke or tori) is not learning as much.
Now, with that being said, I don’t think that being all airy-fairy, namby pamby for your whole life is a good thing. Training against a resistive partner is a good thing — most folks tend to have an opinion about being thrown. But, this sort of defensive play should not constitute the bulk of your training.
Sutegeiko is a great training tool. I tell you what throw I am going to use, and you defend against it with movement and skill. My objective is to work different entries for my throw, and to learn what throws setup other throws.
Randori is useful, as both people are actively working offense against each other.
Shiai is useful, but in my opinion should be a last resort for training. Lots of folks come in for class from other schools and say they want to randori, but they are actually doing shiai. The difference between the two is small, at least in my mind. In randori we can still be friends, but once it goes to shiai we are enemies. To me, randori is more difficult because all the safeties are still engaged.
All you need is a little does now and then of these resistive paradigms. Your objective is to learn judo. You should focus on learning — not on winning, not on kicking ass & taking names, not on how to not get your ass kicked/submitted. It is a process of learning. When the teaching/learning mindset is absent, you are doing something other than learning — whether that is winning, etc.
We only have a few precious hours each week to practice Judo with a skilled partner. Maximize that time. Class time should be for learning Judo, not for doing calisthenics and conditioning that should occur outside the dojo. When you are in class, focus on learning Judo.