BARRON SHEPHERD'S MARTIAL ARTS PAGE

Returning to my grappling roots

2010-10-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

I sort of feel like Al Pacino in the last Godfather movie. His line "Everytime I try to get out they pull me back in." LOL. The line Seems to apply.

I had moved to Evansville last year and gotten involved with a local judo program then later that year I started teaching a Kenpo class. As of two weeks ago I am now active teaching Judo at the Y. The previous instructor left and I was offered the judo class.

We are two weeks into the NEW session and of course this week will be a good week everyone in class will have thier gi's and we can get moving with our Judo training.
It seems that Judo is always brought up to me no matter what I am doing or how far I run. LOL. Not that I am avoiding Judo but I cant help but think it is an omen something meant to be. It seems I am for what ever reason supposed to be involved with judo, which I gladly accept.

I am looking forward to this new Program with the Y which will be taught on Mon and wed as my Kenpo classes will be on Tuesday and Thursday.

As another added bonus my Daughter will be involved with class also. She attends college and has the judo nights free and will be attending when she isnt working. So this really makes it special a chance to develop a stronger bond with my daughter. You cannot know how elated I am. Judo has turned out to be a real blessing in my life.

BARRON SHEPHERD'S AMERICAN KENPO ACADEMY

2010-07-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Barron Shepherd is a 6th degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and Jujutsu, a certified instructor and state representative for The International Kenpo Karate Academies (IKKA). Sensei Shepherd also holds black belts in Judo and Shotokan.

Committed to the study of Karate and Jujutsu for over thirty years and dedicated to his neighborhood and community, Sensei Shepherd has done seminars on crime prevention and women’s self defense courses for several businesses, women’s organizations and clubs. Sensei Shepherd was once certified to train police officers in the self defense and use of force portions of state regulated police training and has volunteered countless hours as an auxiliary law enforcement officer providing back up for regular duty law enforcement officers. Presently, Shepherd is a volunteer for the YMCA teaching Kenpo Karate and Jujutsu.

Shepherd's interest in Karate began at the age of thirteen in 1978. Inspired by movies such as "Breaking Point" starring Bo Svenson, "Judo's Gentle Tiger" and "Enter the Dragon" starring the late Bruce Lee, Shepherd purchased the book "Bruce Lee's Fighting method Vol. two: Basic Training" published by Ohara Publications. Shepherd studied from the book and followed the training that was described in it. His solo training continued until the summer of 1979. That summer Shepherd worked as a laborer for his father and uncle who were block masons. Using the money he earned, Shepherd enrolled for lessons at Winter Haven 6th street Karate Dojo.

Shepherd earned his 1st degree black belt on Feb. 12th 1987. In 1989 Shepherd became an Auxiliary Law enforcement officer and certified Law enforcement Instructor thru the state of Florida. In April of 1991, Shepherd received his 2nd degree black belt and opened his first school AMERICAN KARATE SYSTEMS located on 3rd st. n.w. in Winter Haven, Florida. In addition to his dojo, Shepherd had a contract to teach self defense classes for the Polk County Board of Commissioner's office later that same year and continued doing the classes until into 1993.

It was about this time that Shepherd was introduced to John Zimmerman thru a mutual friend and acquaintance. Zimmerman owned and ran Stunt Dynamics Inc. a stunt production company for the film industry. Zimmerman invited Shepherd to observe some auditions for a live stunt show. After which, Shepherd was invited to come back and teach some of Mr. Zimmerman's stunt guys some martial arts techniques, in return Mr. Zimmerman would show Shepherd how to prep others for and perform various stunts. ZImmerman would also use Shepherd on a few different projects.

1994 was an extremely busy year for Shepherd. He would hold other classes, seminars and demonstrations on crime prevention and self defense for other community groups, corporations and businesses. In addition Mr. Zimmerman had opened the door for Shepherd to work on the TV series "Seaquest DSV"during it's second season run. The seond season of the series was shot at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. (Steven Spielberg was the executive producer for season1 and 2 of the series) Shepherd worked as set and personal security for the TV series and landed parts on several episodes.
The series started the second seaon off with a two hour television movie entitled "Daggers" in which the crew of the newly rebuilt SeaQuest must deal with a hostage crisis at a UEO prison colony, where genetically engineered soldiers have risen up against their captors. Shepherd played a dagger, a gentically engineered super soldier with camouflaged skin. (he can be seen performing a martial arts kata) He also had a part as an extra in which he played a UEO security guard in the same episode. Shepherd would play a UEO soldier in other episodes such as the episode "The Fear that Follows". Shepherd also landed parts on the TV series "Fortune Hunter" that same year.
Shortly after earning his 2nd degree black belt in 1991, Shepherd was introduced to a local Judo instructor Terry Tucker. Remembering the movie "Breaking Point" in which Bo Svenson played a judo instructor, Shepherd took up the study of judo at the Winter haven judo Club under Sensei Tucker. By 1996, Shepherd, an Ikkyu (Brown belt) in judo, was recommended by Steve Scott, District Director of the Amateur Athletic Union, to be a regional director for the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) for Judo in the state of Florida. Shepherd went on to earn his Shodan (1st degree Black belt) in judo on Jan 28th 1998. That same year shepherd started another program, teaching a Judo class for the City Of Auburndale, Fl. Recreational Department. Then in 2005 Shepherd attained a United States Judo Association (USJA) Level 1 coaching certification and in 2006 earned his Nidan (2nd degree Black belt) in Judo.

In 2009, Shepherd became the Indiana State Representative for The International Kenpo Karate Academies (IKKA). Shepherd volunteers his time teaching Kenpo Karate and Jujutsu for the Dunigan Family YMCA in Evansville, Indiana.

KARATE RANK RECOGNIZED BY:
International Kenpo Karate Academies (#IKKA-08)
American Kenpo World Ass. (AKWA)
First Nation Fighting Arts (Oyate Tokaheya Wokicize Wakagapi)
Hawaii Kosho Ryu Kenpo Karate (080-J)

JUJUTSU RANK RECOGNIZED BY:
The International Jujitsu Federation (IJJF)The European Jujitsu Union (EJJU)
Hawaii Kosho Ryu Kenpo Jiujitsu (#0023)

AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS:2009: IKKA Indiana State Representative
2008: IKKA Distinguished Title of Professor (cert # 1108-IKKA)
International Kenpo Karate Academies (IKKA) Certified Instructor
2005: United States Judo Association (USJA) Level 1 coaching certification.
1996: Amatuer Athletic Union (AAU) Regional Director for Judo.
National Sport Judo (NSJ) Life Time Member

For more information go to:
THE AMERICAN KENPO KARATE ACADEMY WEBSITE

AMERICAN KENPO KARATE ACADEMY WEBSITE

2010-05-20T01:24:00.000-07:00

AMERICAN KENPO KARATE ACADEMY

LOCATION:
Dunigan Family YMCA
6846 Oak Grove Rd.
Evansville, In. 47715
In the Dunigan YMCA Express bldg.

Tuesday and Thursday @ 7:30 PM

WEBSITE: http://americankenpo.weebly.com/

American Kenpo Karate is a balanced system of Self-Defense, utilizing both hands and feet.It is a no-nonsense, realistic, proven system of self defense. American Kenpo relies on the laws of physics, using concepts, principles and theory. A kenpoist uses knowledge of anatomy and body mechanics to overcome a much bigger attacker. Kenpo as designed, will teach a person to survive against an assault by multiple aggressors. American Kenpo is known for it's very fast hand speed and powerful kicks.

As a practioner of American Kenpo the student will learn basics of Kenpo, sets, forms, self-defense techniques, freestyle fighting, anatomy, basic psychology of different types of aggressors, conflict resolution techniques, use of force, and weapons defense among many other things.

From the very first lesson the student begins to formulate self-defense techniques. The student will learn proper movements utilizing the natural weapons of the body, hands, feet, knees and elbows. Starting from the first lesson the student will feel a sense of achievement as the student's whole body is awakened from each workout. Kenpo Karate's unique training system improves flexibility, co-ordination, muscle tone, endurance, quick reflexes and agility. Kenpo is not a mindless workout, but rather a workout that keeps you focused, so as to work out the mind as well as the body.

Kenpo Karate maximizes self esteem and increases confidence.In addition to confidence building, we also employ the four major cornerstones of morality and integrity in the Martial Arts: HONESTY, COURTESY, RESPECT AND DISCIPLINE. The student may discover a new inner harmony and outer ability which can help them throughout life. We do more than just teach someone how to punch and kick. For many, Kenpo is a life long journey of self mastery. Obtaining a mastery over one's self rather than the mastery over others. KENPO IS A WAY OF LIFE

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Barron Shepherd is a certified 6th degree black belt American Kenpo Karate instructor and state representative for The International Kenpo Karate Academies (IKKA), teaching Ed Parker's American Kenpo (EPAK). Sensei Shepherd also holds black belts in Jujutsu and Judo.

Shepherd's American Kenpo Karate Acedemy is located at the Dunigan Family YMCA in Evansville, Indiana. Classes are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

For more information go to:
THE AMERICAN KENPO KARATE ACADEMY WEBSITE

LOOKING BACK: SEAQUEST DSV

2010-05-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

I find myself being a tad bit nostalgic and felt compelled to jot down some memories of my past. As all can see the page has evolved from just being about judo to more about me as a martial artist as a whole. We garner inspiration from different things and there are times when reminiscing about why one started an endeavor serves as an inspiration.

I have stated before in an earlier post JUDO: LOOKING BACK my interest in the martial arts began at the age of thirteen in 1978. I was inspired by movies such as "Breaking Point" starring Bo Svenson, (Breaking Point is my earliest recollection of martial arts used in a movie)

Later I would see "Enter the Dragon" starring the late Bruce Lee, after that I purchased the book "Bruce Lee's Fighting method Vol. two: Basic Training" published by Ohara Publications. I studied the book and followed the training that was described in it. I would train by myself using information garnered from Bruce Lee's book until the summer of 1979. That summer I went to work as a laborer for my father and uncle who were a block masons. I used the money I earned, to enroll myself at the Winter Haven 6th street Karate Dojo. Little did I know then what my experience with the martial arts would lead to nor did I know the doors it would open later.

I earned a 1st degree black belt on Feb. 12th 1987 then in 1989 I became an Auxiliary Law enforcement officer and certified Law enforcement Instructor thru the state of Florida. In April of 1991, I received my 2nd degree black belt and opened my first school which was located at 42 3rd st. n.w. Winter Haven, Florida. In addition to my dojo, I taught self defense classes for the Polk County Board of Commissioner's office later that same year and continued doing the classes until 1993.

1994 was an extremely busy year for me. I would hold other classes, seminars and demonstrations on crime prevention and self defense for other community groups, corporations and businesses. I had been working off and on for a company called Stunt Dynamics which was owned and ran by John Zimmerman. He had used me on a couple of things such as commercials and live stunt shows at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. John had gotten me a job on the TV series "Seaquest DSV"during it's second season run. The second season of the series was shot at Universal Studios in Orlando. (Steven Spielberg was the executive producer for season1 and 2 of the series) I worked as set and personal security for the TV series and landed parts on several of the episodes.

The series started the second seaon off with a two hour television movie entitled "Daggers" in which the crew of the newly rebuilt SeaQuest must deal with a hostage crisis at a UEO prison colony, where genetically engineered soldiers have risen up against their captors. For one part I played a dagger, which was a gentically engineered super soldier with camouflaged skin.

For the part of the dagger my hair was sprayed black and my skin was painted from head to toe to make it appear like I had camoflaged colored skin. I can be seen performing a kata with a group of daggers. I also had a part as an extra in which I played a UEO security guard in the same episode. I would play a UEO soldier in other episodes such as the episode "The Fear that Follows". I also landed parts on the TV series "Fortune Hunter" that same year. I had some memorable experiences and cherish them.

HISTORY OF AMERICAN KENPO

2010-04-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

The modern history of American Kenpo began in the 1940s, when Great Grandmaster James M. Mitose (1916-1981) started teaching his ancestral Japanese martial art, Kosho-Ryu Kenpo, in Hawaii. Mitose's art, later called Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu, emphasizes punching, striking, kicking, locking, and throwing. Mitose's art was very linear, lacking the circular motions in American Kenpo.

William K. S. Chow studied Kenpo under James Mitose, eventually earning a first-degree black belt. Chow began teaching an art, which he called Kenpo Karate, that blended the circular movements he had learned from his father with the system he had learned from Mitose. Chow experimented and modified his art, adapting it to meet the needs of American students.

Ed Parker learned Kenpo Karate from William Chow,and according to Al Tracy, eventually earning a sandan (3rd-degree black belt) in December 1961.

The system known as American Kenpo was developed by Ed Parker as a successor to Chow's art. Parker revised older methods to work in modern day fighting scenarios. He heavily restructured American Kenpo's forms and techniques during this period. He moved away from methods that were recognizably descended from other arts and established a more definitive relationship between forms and the self-defense technique curriculum of American Kenpo.

Parker began codifiying his early understandings of Chinese Kenpo into a distinct and evolving personal interpretation of the art. Here he dropped all Asian language elements and many traditions in favor of American English. During this period, he de-emphasized techniques and principles organized in the same manner as in Chinese and Japanese arts in favor of his own curriculum of forms and techniques. Parker took his art through continual changes. Parker always suggested that once a student learns the lesson embodied in the "ideal phase" of the technique he should search for some aspect that can be tailored to his own personal needs and strengths. Furthermore, Parker's students learned a different curriculum depending on when they studied with him. Some students preferred older material to newer material, wanted to maintain older material that Parker intended to replace, or wanted to supplement the kenpo they learned from a particular period with other martial arts training.

One of the best-known students of Ed Parker is Elvis Presley.

Upcoming Class

2010-03-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

I will be keeping class logs on the Kenpo Classes with the YMCA. I will use this entry for a bit of history and background of American Kenpo as well as attempt to explain the spirit in which my classes would be taught.

The modern history of American Kenpo began in the 1940s, when Great Grandmaster James M. Mitose (1916-1981) started teaching his ancestral Japanese martial art, Kosho-Ryu Kenpo, in Hawaii. Mitose's art, later called Kenpo Jiu-Jitsu, emphasizes punching, striking, kicking, locking, and throwing. Mitose's art was very linear, lacking the circular motions in American Kenpo.

James Masayoshi (Masakichi) Mitose was born in Kailua-Kona, North Kona District, Hawaii on December 30, 1916. On October 22, 1920, at the age of three, he was sent to Japanto be given formal education and upbringing with family living there. While there, in addition to his schoolwork and university studies, he trained in the art of Kenpo. He returned to the United States on February 25, 1937, arriving at Honolulu, Hawaii on the SS Tatsuta Maru at the age of 20.

Mitose began teaching Kenpo in Hawaii in 1936, and in 1942 set up a martial arts school. He gave the style he taught a number of different names during his lifetime, including "Shorinji Kempo" and "Kempo Jujutsu," (both names of recognized Japanese martial arts), but over time, settled on the name Kosho Shōrei-ryū Kenpo. The word "Kenpo" (or "Kempo") is a Japanese form of "

When the attack on Pearl Harbor happened, James Mitose enlisted in the National Guard, and was honorably discharged after three weeks. He spent most of the war teaching Kenpo in Hawaii, to prepare American civilians against a possible Japanese invasion.

Tracy Kenpo claims a martial lineage through Mitose to the Yoshida clan based on Mitose's claims that his family in Japan lived near a "Mt. Akenkai's Shaka-In temple". Mount Akenkai might be Mount Kinkai, near the town of Kinkai, Nagasaki on the island of Kyūshū. This may have been where the Kosho sect of the Yoshida (Urabe) clan taught.

Michael Brown of Rhode Island Martial Arts claims to possess documents showing three families of James Mitose. The first family being from Mitose's father's side. This includes his father, Otokichi Mitose and Otokichi's parents, Kaheiji Mitose, and Kano Kawakami Mitose. The second family, from Mitose's mother's side, includes his mother Kiyoka Yoshida Mitose and Kiyoka's biological father, Sakuhei Yoshida. Sakuhei Yoshida was married to a woman who was not Kiyoka's biological mother.

Sakuhei Yoshida conceived Kiyoka Yoshida Mitose with a woman outside of his marriage named Toju Kosho. James Mitose would learn Kosho-ryū from the family of Toju Kosho. It is worthwhile to note that on Mitose's parents' record of marriage, Kiyoka Yoshida Mitose's mother is not named as Toju Kosho. Instead the name Toju Unknown occupies this position of the document.

To his students and in the book, What is True Self-Defense?, Mitose described his teachings as those of Japanese style. In the book, Mitose describes methods similar to yoga and the tai sabaki principles found in many Japanese arts. The evidence of What Is Self Defense? and accounts and photos strongly suggest, however he got it, Mitose had a background in an Okinawan style. Some modern proponents of Kosho Shōrei-ryū believe that he used an Okinawan art as a vehicle for his teaching of a native Japanese art.

The contents of What Is Self Defense? seem to echo those of an earlier book: Karate Kenpo by Mutsu Mizuho (1933). This includes the arrangement of diagrams and photographs; in one case, a photo (of Higaonna Kamesuke) is reproduced entirely. The earlier book contains the forms Passai-sho, Kushanku-sho, Niseishi, Chinte and Gojūshiho along with the 15 kata which Gichin Funakoshi introduced in his books. The versions are very similar to those found in Shotokan. Mitose's book also includes a picture of Motobu Chōki, reproduced from Motobu's book, in a position that usually indicates a student acknowledging his teacher. It is from here that some assume that Mitose was acknowledging Motobu as his teacher. Mitose listed Motobu as a Kenpo master in his book.

Mitose is known to have taught only one Kata at his school: the Naihanchi Kata, which also was Motobu Chōki's primary form and the only one featured in Motubu's second book Okinawan Kenpo Kumite Hen. Mitose also taught the use of the Makiwara, a signature Okinawan training method. Okinawans had a thriving community in Hawaii, including martial arts training. Higaonna Kamesuke stayed in Hawaii after 1933 with Thomas Miyashiro, and taught classes in Kona. Higaonna had studied under Mutsu and Motobu, and taught Karate Kenpo in Mitose's home town of Kona just a few years before Mitose opened his school, although Mitose was still in Japan at the time.

Mitose ultimately called his style Kosho Shorei-ryū Kenpo, which can translate to "Old Pine Tree School of Encouragement". Bushi Matsumura's style, which he taught to Ankō Itosu who taught it to Gichin Funakoshi and Motobu Chōki among others, was Okinawan "Shōrin-ryū", which is often translated as "Little Pine Forest". In his early days in Hawaii, when Mitose started teaching after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he called his art as simply Kenpo-jujitsu (Nerve Strike method) and would refer to it as Shorinji Kempo or Go shin jitsu. The word "Shorin" is characteristic of styles from Okinawa, although Shorinji Kempo is a Japanese art founded by Doshin So.

William K. S. Chow studied Kenpo under James Mitose, eventually earning a first-degree black belt. Chow began teaching an art, which he called Kenpo Karate, that blended the circular movements he had learned from his father with the system he had learned from Mitose. Chow experimented and modified his art, adapting it to meet the needs of American students.
In 1944 Chow began teaching what he called “Kenpo Karate” at the Nuuanu YMCA in Honolulu. As Mitose had never related his kosho-ryu style with karate, this was a departure for Chow. His many students would include such notables as Edmund Parker, Joseph D. and Adriano D. Emperado, Ron Alo, Paul Yamaguchi, Bobby Lowe, Ralph Castro, Sam Kuoha, John Leone, Nick Cerio, William G. (Billy) Marciarelli (Kachi/Kenpo) and Paul Pung. He did not create or perform many kata but focused more on individual techniques.

William Chow’s legacy would blossom with the migration of kenpo to the mainland of the United States with Parker (American Kenpo), Ralph Castro (Shaolin Kenpo), Adriano Emperado and his students (Kajukenbo, Karazenpo go shinjutsu) and later with Nick Cerio (Nick Cerio's Kenpo) who would be instrumental in helping to bring kenpo to students in the eastern United States. Ron Alo was one of the first to bring Kara Ho kenpo to the mainland, teaching Chow's art in Southern California before he developed his own Alo Kenpo system. Chow is credited with championing and spreading a family of martial arts known for their speed, efficiency, and effectiveness. Many would expand, modify and add to what Chow had given them.

Ed Parker learned Kenpo Karate from William Chow,and according to Al Tracy, eventually earning a sandan. The system known as American Kenpo was developed by Ed Parker as a successor to Chow's art. Parker revised older methods to work in modern day fighting scenarios. He heavily restructured American Kenpo's forms and techniques during this period. He moved away from methods that were recognizably descended from other arts and established a more definitive relationship between forms and the self-defense technique curriculum of American Kenpo.

Parker began codifiying his early understandings of Chinese Kenpo into a distinct and evolving personal interpretation of the art. Here he dropped all Asian language elements and many traditions in favor of American English. During this period, he de-emphasized techniques and principles organized in the same manner as in Chinese and Japanese arts in favor of his own curriculum of forms and techniques. Parker took his art through continual changes. Parker always suggested that once a student learns the lesson embodied in the "ideal phase" of the technique he should search for some aspect that can be tailored to his own personal needs and strengths. Furthermore, Parker's students learned a different curriculum depending on when they studied with him. Some students preferred older material to newer material, wanted to maintain older material that Parker intended to replace, or wanted to supplement the kenpo they learned from a particular period with other martial arts training.

One of the best-known students of Ed Parker is Elvis Presley.

AMERICAN KENPO

2009-12-13T19:31:00.001-08:00

American Kenpo Karate is a balanced system of Self-Defense, utilizing both hands and feet.It is a no-nonsense, realistic, proven system of self defense. American Kenpo relies on the laws of physics, using concepts, principles and theory. A kenpoist uses knowledge of anatomy and body mechanics to overcome a much bigger attacker. Kenpo as designed, will teach a person to survive against an assault by multiple aggressors. American Kenpo is known for it's very fast hand speed and powerful kicks.
As a practioner of American Kenpo the student will learn basics of Kenpo, sets, forms, self-defense techniques, freestyle fighting, anatomy, basic psychology of different types of aggressors, conflict resolution techniques, use of force, and weapons defense among many other things.
From the very first lesson the student begins to formulate self-defense techniques. The student will learn proper movements utilizing the natural weapons of the body, hands, feet, knees and elbows. Starting from the first lesson the student will feel a sense of achievement as the student's whole body is awakened from each workout. Kenpo Karate's unique training system improves flexibility, co-ordination, muscle tone, endurance, quick reflexes and agility. Kenpo is not a mindless workout, but rather a workout that keeps you focused, so as to work out the mind as well as the body.

Kenpo Karate maximizes self esteem and increases confidence.In addition to confidence building, we also employ the four major cornerstones of morality and integrity in the Martial Arts: HONESTY, COURTESY, RESPECT AND DISCIPLINE. The student may discover a new inner harmony and outer ability which can help them throughout life. We do more than just teach someone how to punch and kick. For many, Kenpo is a life long journey of self mastery. Obtaining a mastery over one's self rather than the mastery over others. KENPO IS A WAY OF LIFE

Through this, all ages - young and old- find that discipline becomes something that is reachable, and on top of everything, it is fun. So, bring a smile when you come in!

The season for giving

2009-12-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

I want to take some time and talk about a subject that recently moved me to do something. Yesterday, I went Christmas shopping for Colton a five year old boy who had been abused by his parents and is currently in foster care. Colton is getting nothing for Christmas. So we went and bought a few things for him such as some clothes and some toys so he could at least have something to open for Christmas.

We were made aware of Colton's situation thru some people involed with http://breakthesilencewebsite.org/ The stroies found on this website are heart wrenching to say the least. I may not be able to do much for little Colton but I will do what I can.Colton's story moved me to tears. He has a skin condition and cannot wear anything that is less than 75% cotton.

I sincerely think that as a martial artist an instructor and a human being that one should be involved with their community and volunteer to do what they can.

Merry Christmas to you all and God bless.

Hard work paying off and distractions from training

2009-12-12T08:01:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since my last post. I have been busy with work, sick family members, a promotion in jujutsu, the holidays and juggling this with training. Trying to train in the midst of normal every day happenings is difficult enough but when it is coupled with family member's illness and of course the holiday season really adds up. I work hard at makig time to train and study but for reasons beyond our control sometimes the distractions from training just seem to build up making it difficult to train.

I have tried to compensate with more solo training but even then family matters take precedence at times. I am beginning to think the holiday season is about the most difficult time to train. Thanks giving family gatherings, company Christmas parties play hell on the diet and of course cut into training. Classes are cancelled due to holidays. Time to train needs to be "stolen" at this time of year because for various reasons it is taken away.

I have mentioned earlier that I have other martial arts training. I have been involved with Karate and Jujutsu for over thirty years now. Not to mention being involved with my community doing many seminars on crime prevention and women’s self defense courses for several businesses, women’s organizations and clubs. I was once certified to train police officers in the self defense and use of force portions of state regulated police training and volunteered more hours than I can count as an auxiliary law enforcement officer.

Most recently I become the State representative for the International Kenpo Karate Academies (IKKA) and then on 11/05/09 I was also promoted in Jujutsu. As great as these honors are, the responsibilities of each organization take time from training. Also others have suggested that I start my own classes back up which would further take away from my time in judo.

So things have gotten busy and some decisions have to be made in the future and of course other issues are just a part of life so time for training is harder to manage at times but all one can do is muddle thru it the best one can. Hoping all will get back to normal soon.

JUDO: Body weight workouts and the late Woody Strode

2009-10-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

The Body weight exercises have left me sore but I was up again this morning and knocking out more Hindu Squats along with other body weight exercises. I used these exercises to help get back in shape after an illness I suffered from a couple of years ago. (A story I will share at a later time) I have also started a push up training program which I have incorporated into my work out. There is nothing like bodyweight exercises to boost confidence, motivation, and improve athleticism.

A proponent of body weight exercise was athlete turned actor, Woody Strode, who was a top-notch decathlete and a football star at UCLA. During his time in high school/junior college Strode began doing pushups, knee squats, and situps daily. Strode worked up to 1000 reps of each exercise. The situps and squats were done continuously and the pushups were done in sets of 100 and was done everyday, that would take an incredible level of concentration. He tapered back his workouts as he got older, although 500 pushups a day for the most part is not tapering back, but he continued to train hard the rest of his life.

"I’m an old man, but life will never make an old man out of me. As long as you look like you can run on Santa Anita’s race track, even if you take last, you’ve still made the field. People see that horse and wonder what it is doing out there. They don’t know its 100 years old. Well, this is how nature has left me, so it is good." - Woody Strode

JUDO: Morning workout.

2009-10-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

I woke up early this morning went outside and began to warm up by stretching and then got into some calisthenics. First up was a set of Hindu Squats. Hindu squats are simply a great excercise for building explosive power and strengthening the lower back, calves, and chest as well as increasing lung capacity. Done properly they can build real power in a short period of time. In order to reap the rewards from Hindu the squat, proper attention must be paid to form and breathing.

A set of Hindu squats was followed by a set of regular push ups and then some Hindu Push ups. Then back to a set of hindu squats followed by knuckle push ups, and palm in push ups. Then I did a third set of hindu squats followed by more push ups. Then I moved on to concentrating on my core with sit ups, crunches, V-ups and back raises.

I then switched to some weight training working with dumbells. I did front and side lateral raises 3 sets of each and then moved on to triceps extensions finishing up with dumbell preacher curls and alternating dumbell curls.

RANK REQUIREMENTS OF AMERICAN KENPO

2009-10-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

I have a back ground in American Kenpo and just thought I would add a bit of history and changes in the ranking system of Kenpo.

HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN KENPO KARATE BELT/GRADING SYSTEM
The belt levels and teaching curriculum for American Kenpo have changed several times since their original inception by Mr. Parker. During the early 1960´s there were only three different colors of belts used; white (four levels), brown (three levels) and black (ten levels). The white belt had brown tips, the brown belt had black tips and the black belt had red tips. The tips represented the color you were working for. Red stood for mastery within the black belt.

Around 1970 the first manual was released, and contained 32 techniques for orange, purple, blue, and green belts, followed orange belt extensions(also called green-orange) for Brown 3, and Long 4, 5, and 6 for Brown 2, 1 and Black 1 respectively ( the other extensions did not yet exist). A yellow belt was
added in 1971, and had 13 Techniques.

In 1981 the second version of the manual was released which restructured the system into 24 techniques per belt. The yellow belt materials removed three techniques; "Intellectual Departure", "Aggressive Twins" and Spreading Branch", and "The Pincher" was renamed "The Grasp of Death". Another variation of the curriculum also came into existence in the late 80s, its goal being to further decrease/spread out the amount of material the student learned for each belt level.

A 16 technique per belt curriculum was defined, with the premise being that the student would work more quality and not so much quantity. Over the years, more extensions were added. Today you will find extensions for orange, purple, blue and green. In the 24 Technique curriculum, these extensions are taught for Brown 1, and Black 1st to 3rd, while in the 16 technique system they are taught for Black 2nd to 5th .

After Mr. Parker's death there were discussions of formally cutting down to 16 technique curriculum, but nothing was universally agreed to. Many instructors and schools revised their requirements to the 16 techniques per
belt curriculum, while many continue to teach the 24 technique one. Whether the 24 or 16, the content and science behind them are identical, the only difference is the pacing of the materials.

Ed Parker set MINIMUM standards for obtaining each belt rank, Yellow Belt through 3rd Black Belt, which was the highest tested rank in American Kenpo. In 1987 Ed Parker published Volume V of INFINITE INSIGHTS INTO KENPO. In this book he set forth the minimum requirements for each belt. Those requirements would specify the exact techniques to be taught and the order in which they are to be taught. (Sensei Shepherd teaches American Kenpo as it was outlined in "Infinite Insights into Kenpo" Volume V, by Ed Parker.)

S.G.M. ED PARKER

2009-10-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

Edmund Kealoha Parker (March 19, 1931–December 15, 1990) was an American martial artist, promoter, teacher, and author.
Parker was born in Hawaii and raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[1] He began his training in the martial arts at a young age in judo^[2] and later boxing. Some time in the 1940s, Ed Parker was first introduced to Kenpo by Frank Chow. Frank Chow introduced Ed Parker to William Chow, with whom Parker trained while serving in the Coast Guard and attending Brigham Young University. In 1953 he was promoted to the rank of black belt.
Parker opened the first commercial karate school in the western United States in Provo Utah in 1954.^[3] By 1956, Parker opened his Dojo in Pasadena, California. His first black belt student was Charles Beeder. There is controversy over whether Beeder received the first black belt awarded by Parker.^[4] The other black belts in chronological order up to 1962 were: James Ibrao, Rich Montgomery, Rick Flores, Al and Jim Tracy of Tracy Kenpo, Chuck Sullivan, John McSweeney, and Dave Hebler.^[5] In 1962, John McSweeney opened a school in Ireland, which prompted Parker to change the name of his organization from the Kenpo Karate Association of America to the International Kenpo Karate Association.
Parker was well known for his business creativity. He helped many martial artists to open their dojos. He was also well known in Hollywood where he trained a great many stunt men and celebrities; most notable was Elvis Presley, to whom he awarded a black belt Kenpo. He also left behind a few grand masters who are know around the world to this day such as Frank Trejo who runs a school in California.^[6] He also helped Bruce Lee gain national attention by introducing him at his International Karate Championships. He served as Elvis Presley's bodyguard during the singer's final years, did movie stunt-work and acting, and was one of the Kenpo instructors of martial arts action movie actor Jeff Speakman. He is best known to Kenpoists as the founder of American Kenpo and is referred to fondly as the "Father of American Karate". He is formally referred to as Senior Grand Master of American Kenpo.
Parker had a minor career as a Hollywood actor and stunt man. His most notable film was Kill the Golden Goose.^[7] In this film, he co-stars with Hapkido master Bong Soo Han. His acting work included the (uncredited) role of Mr. Chong in student^[8] Blake Edwards' Revenge of the Pink Panther.^[9]
Edmund K. Parker died in Honolulu of a heart attack on December 15, 1990. His widow Leilani Parker died on June 12, 2006. Of their four surviving children, only his son, Ed Parker Jr., remains active in the system his father created.

JUDO: The past week

2009-10-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

Last week was a good week for training. I am bit by bit getting an overall game plan together. Training smarter. Making sure I am eating right and getting plenty of rest. Taking advice from those who are more knowledgeable in different areas of judo and physical preparation.

This week we trained using techniques such as tai otoshi, Seoi nage and some ashi waza. Tai o toshi was drilled solo as well as in combinations. First using a double stab tai o toshi and then using ashi waza to set up tai o toshi.

Seoi nage was drilled again going off a different varity of grips some off the sleeve others off the lapel. There are a lot of variations of seoi nage. One in particular is Koga's version which I like and work on. It is a some what different variation of seoi nage and uniquely his own.

I spent alot of solo practice time working innner tube uchi komi with this particular technique. Things are needing to get more detailed and I see that but a plan is forming.

JUDO: Fighting Father Time

2009-10-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

By Rick Guter, ATC, PT - from PoweringMuscles.com

It used to be that age 30 was old for an athlete. This has changed. Now, professional athletes routinely peak in their late 30's and remain competitive even into their 40s. There's no magic to longevity in sports, and recreational athletes are as capable of achieving it as the elites. It's simply a matter of taking care of your body when you're young and adapting your training and lifestyle in appropriate ways as you get older. Here are a few choice tips on the latter.

Stretch more and better

Loss of flexibility is a natural effect of aging that can be counteracted through a program of daily stretching. However, quite apart from aging, the repetitive movements involved in practicing any sport for a long period of time results in muscular imbalances that get progressively more extreme. These require targeted efforts to loosen and lengthen only those muscles that have become short and tight, because stretching all muscles equally will only take the imbalance to a higher level. I encourage every athlete, but experienced ones especially, to identify their short and tight muscles and devote special efforts lengthening them through stretching.

Rest and recover more

Unless they continue to perform training sessions that match the intensity of workouts they performed when younger, older athletes cannot hope to perform near the level at which they were able to perform in their mid-20s. And many older athletes find that they can continue to perform these tough workouts well into their 40s. However, they cannot do them as often. Older athletes need to allow themselves more time to recover between their most demanding training sessions. The extra time may be given to outright rest, active recovery, or a combination of both.

Pump those antioxidants

Free-radical damage, also known as oxidative stress, is now known to be one of the primary components of aging. Unfortunately, athletes are even more prone to free-radical damage than non-athletes. For this reason, they need to be especially vigilant in consuming antioxidants, those vitamins and vitamin-like compounds that protect against and repair such damage. Vitamins C and E are especially helpful to athletes, as controlled studies have shown they can dramatically reduce post-workout muscle soreness in the short term, in addition to minimizing long-term oxidative stress.

Practice nutritional recovery

A large body of clinical research has also shown that consuming the right nutrients in the right amounts immediately after exercise can enhance recovery substantially. According to Burke, water, electrolytes, carbohydrate, and protein are needed most to rehydrate the body, restore muscle glycogen, and repair tissue damage. Since most athletes experience appetite suppression after exercise, Try to get all of the needed nutrients by consuming one of the sports drinks on the market that is designed especially for recovery. Choose one with a four-to-one ratio of carbohydrate to protein, as more protein will retard the flow of nutrients into the bloodstream and less protein result in a less pronounced insulin spike, hence slower restocking of glycogen stores.

Train more efficiently

Believe it or not, there are actually advantages to getting older, even for athletes. One of these advantages is accumulated knowledge of one’s own body, particularly as it reacts to various types of training. In other words, the more experience you have in training for a particular sport, the better able you become (supposing you pay attention) to determine which exercises, drills, workouts and training patterns work well for you and which ones are less effective, or downright counterproductive. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Design a training program that minimizes the less useful training and maximizes the stuff that gives you the greatest performance bang for the training buck.

Flex those muscles

The older you get, the more important strength training becomes. One of the more crippling effects of aging for athletes is the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength that it entails. Athletes in sports that don’t require tremendous strength are particularly susceptible, as they tend to try and get by without resistance training. When you’re young, very often you can get away with it, but the older you get, the more important it becomes to train for strength specifically, no matter which sport you’re in.

Go to bed

Another thing that many athletes try and get by without is sleep. In fact, chronic sleep deprivation is an epidemic in American society. Researchers have shown that sleeping too little leads to a host of problems from depressed immune function to decreased mental functioning. Skimping on sleep is also harmful to athletic performance, because during sleep the body secretes human growth hormone (HGH), which is a powerful agent of recovery and adaptation to training. Less sleep means less HGH and therefore less freshness for the next day’s workout. Treat yourself to an extra half hour or hour of sleep each night and you’ll feel ten years younger.

JUDO: GETTING MORE INSPIRATION

2009-10-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

I went into practice tonight feeling real good. This week as started off excellent. I was paid a couple of compliments from others online. It felt really good to receive those compliments and it simply urged me to do better, and train harder. Then to top that off about 45 minutes before leaving to go to judo, I received a call from my judo instructor back in Winter Haven. He reads the blog and he had some real encouraging things to say. All of which I took to heart. Inspiration is great, it feeds the flame.

During our conversation Sensei Tucker said he really liked the fact that I wasnt bragging on my successes but rather working to over come the challenges that a 40 something year old faces when stepping into a competitve arena. Of course he was right this blog is nt about how good I may or may not be, but it is about addressing my shortcomings. Not only on the judo mat but in life. My current struggle on the judo mat is indicative of my life it seems. Constantly working to become not only a better judoka but a human being as well. Addressing not only the frailties in a particular judo technique but personal flaws too.

I walked into judo tonight needless to say on a high note and really evaluating my game and what is needed to improve and make a game plan to do so. Certain aspects in my training need to be addressed as well as the every day things such as family, work and things to do around the home.

As we did uchikomi drills my mind was filled with all the stuff that needs to be worked on and the things in my life that need to be put into perspective. My uchikomi drills are divided, half are throwing techniques to the right side, the other half, on those same techniques but to the left side. I drilled Seoi nage to both the left and right side and with different grips, some throws off the sleeve, some off the lapel. Working both sides gives me the option to ataack on either side and not just relegated to just going to one side or a favorite side. It gives me a better over all game plan. Left and right are equal neither side is favored over the other. Balanced as life should be.

My seoi nage is okay but I have noticed that I am having trouble getting really low on executing seoi nage and so I will have to work on that. It is one of those aspects I need to work on. I am at the age where i must utilize all aspects of training. Diet, conditioning and of course judo skill development all have to come into play I cannot do only one part and leave the others out. All the elements have to be utilized together for the best results.

Toshihiko Koga Olympic champion and a seoi nage specialist

JUDO: TRAINING SOLO

2009-10-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

I have begun to do some strength conditioning. Starting off with some innertube uchikomi (described in an earleir post) as a warm up and then moving to some calisthenics such as push ups and crunches. I have also broken out the old ab wheel. and do as many of those as I can. The ab wheel is a great core work out. After s few sets with the wheel. I began to do more inner tube uchikomi. I would do 20 reps of one throw to the right side then do 20 push ups and do another set of uchikomi to the left side followed by push ups and then move onto another throw and start the cycle over again.

There are benefits that one receives from solo training,

Greater efficiency in technique – Obviously, by carrying out extra practise, one can always better themselves.

Train a certain area – You can concentrate on a certain techniques which you can’t seem to get right or a combination which you can’t find the correct balance with.

Develop unique training methods – This is the time when you can develop training methods and routines that are tailored to be specific for you. Other peoples training methods may not be.

One can work fighting spirit – As you are training solo, you learn how to push yourself to achieve greater results, which is the most important aspect of solo training.

Solo training is one aspect of training and should not be the only aspect. It should be supplemental to your time spent in the dojo.

JUDO: HARAI GOSHI AND OTHER CHALLENGES

2009-10-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

Last night's practice went off with out a hitch. We warmed up and got right into Harai goshi again. We started off with some static uchikomi and then moved to a throw from a static position. Then we began to move around abit first just fitting in doing a few uchikomis and then throwwing on the last one.

Although I am beginning to move around better some of the throws are needing work. I for one am glad that we have spent a few nights these past couple of weeks working on the same throw. I am given a chance to see the throw from another perspective. Sometimes seeing it from a different persons point of view gives one a better understanding.

As each week passes I get more comfortable and feel less and less of an outsider who has a common interest amoung strangers. Things have a way of just taking care of themselves.

Other challenges have arisen however, I have missed a couple of practices due to work. So I am having to work out issues with the scheduling of work so I dont miss practice. When it comes to judo the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice.

EXAMPLE OF UCHIKOMI

Practice ended with some conditioning drills. We partnered up and then would do some speed uchikomi drills: 10 uchikomis throwing on the last one and then doing 20 push ups, after the push ups you would stand back up and do another round of speed uchikomi and pushups. This would be repeated for 5 sets.

JUDO: Sambo's Judo roots

2009-10-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

Kano Jigoro's Kodokan Judo is the most popular and well-known style of judo, but is not the only one. The terms judo and jujutsu were quite interchangeable in the early years, so some of these forms of judo are still known as jujutsu or jiu-jitsu either for that reason, or simply to differentiate them from mainstream judo. From Kano's original style of judo related forms have evolved, some now widely considered as distinct arts.

SAMBO

Sambo has a long history and several versions of it's history exist. The Soviets did not exactly share the truth when it came to history. In fact, sometimes, the truth was simply erased for various political reasons or on the whim of certain leaders.

Vasili Oshchepkov a Russian who at age 19 was admitted into Japan's Kodakan by Kano himself in 1911. In 1914, he was the first Russian, the first European judo black belt under Kano. Oshchepkov went on to create Sambo from judo's influence, integrating other combative techniques into his new system.

Oshchepkov had observed Kano’s distillation of Tenjin Shin’yo Ryu jujitsu and Kito Ryu jujitsu into judo, and he had developed the insight required to evaluate and integrate combative techniques into a new system. It was Oshchepkov's unique acumen - the foresight to see Kano's genius in distilling Jiujitsu into a deliberate, educational process.

In 1918, Lenin created Vseobuch (Vseobshchee Voennoye Oobuchienie or "General Military Training") under the leadership of N. Podovoyskiy to train the Red Army. The task of developing and organizing Russian military hand-to-hand combat training fell to K. Voroshilov, who in turn, created the NKVD physical training center, DYNAMO - and Spiridonov was the 1st combatives trainer hired.

In 1921, Oshchepkov served in the Red Army as a commander traveling covertly for special purpose missions into China. In 1923, Oshchepkov and Spiridonov collaborated with a team of other experts on a grant from the Soviet government to improve the Red Army’s hand-to-hand combat system.

In 1929, Oshchepkov was invited to DYNAMO, where he took the sportive form of SAMOZ, coupled with the Randori (or "Fluid Practice") concept of Judo and the physical education conditioning of Wushu to form SAMBO, with two divisions: sportive and combative. Sportive SAMBO was to be for maintaining the general fighting élan and esprit de corps, and combative SAMBO for refining practical fighting techniques.

Sportive SAMBO included three venues: hand to hand fighting, grappling, and bayonet fencing. Combative SAMBO a comprehensive curriculum address UNARMED H2H conduct.

Oshchepkov was enamoured with the principle of force-on-force training with a fully resistant opponent to have "realism". But just as importantly was Oshchepkov's study of physical training, early kinesiology and biomechanics, from pioneers such as Muller, Buk, and Suren. This heavily influenced this style of SAMBO in later years, posthumously from Oshchepkov.

Oshchepkov was killed during the political purges of 1937 for refusing to deny his education in Japanese judo under Kano. Oshchepkov was arrested in the dead of night, led to a Siberian Gulag and subsequently shot in the head for his fraternization with "Japanese imperialists."

After Oshchepkov's death, Sambo's founder was erased, then replaced and it's history was revised to be a compilation of techniques from various Soviet Republics, instead of being based on a Japanese art, a completely Russian composed combat system and sport.

In their History of Sambo, Dr. Brett Jacques and Scott Anderson wrote that in Russia "judo and SOMBO were considered to be the same thing" - albeit with a different uniform and some differences in the rules.

This historical clip from Russia shows the original Sambo demonstrated by one of its forefathers, Vasili Oshchepkov, before his assassination by Stalin during the political purges of 1937:

JUDO: AMERICAN SPIRIT - THE 1964 U.S. OLYMPIC JUDO TEAM

2009-10-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

In United States during the 1960's the civil rights debate raged on around the country, but a handful of men put aside their petty differences and banned together to chase a dream. Under Olympic rules, the host country can add a sport to the games so in 1964 when Japan was selected to host the games, Judo was added to the events. Though this was the first year Judo was an Olympic event the United States still fielded an experienced team made up of Americans from a variety of ethnic, religious and economical backgrounds.

From the beginning, Dr. Jigoro Kano Judo's founder taught anyone who wanted to learn. It was the first time this type of training, normally reserved for nobility, was made available to the masses. Kano sent instructors all over the world to teach people the martial art and expose them to Japanese culture. Unlike before, students of any nationality were welcomed and encouraged to train at the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo. A special section was eventually set up to help teach foreigners this amazing martial art. Among these foreigners was British police officer William Fairbairn. He would go on earn his black belt in Judo (2nd degree) and would go to teach other police officers and soldiers practical close combat and self defense techniques based of what he learned. Kano would travel the world teaching and lecturing and in 1938 he even sat on the Olympic committee in an effort to bring the Olympics to Tokyo.

The American team embodied the true spirit of Judo and as well served as a snapshot of American society of the day. The team to head to Tokyo in 1964 included African American George Harris, an Air Force veteran who had won a number of important tournaments around the world. In addition to military competitions and he trained at the Kodokan in Japan several times. Another Air Force veteran to join the team was Native American Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who was first introduced to Judo by Japanese friends growing up in California. Like Harris, he continued to practice Judo in the military and trained bomber pilots in combat martial arts as part of their survival training.

Also on the team was James Bergman, a Jew who's Asthma forced him to stay inside so he trained in Judo to keep fit and be able to fight off bullies (an added benefit of this martial art). His dedication would bring him to the Olympics. He would even train with martial arts legend and author Donn Draeger.

Finally, veteran Judo instructor Yosh Uchida a Japanese American would coach the team.

The competition was fierce at the Olympics in 1964, but the Japanese would still dominate three of the four weight classes. The one exception was the 6'7" 320 pound Anton Geesink of Holland who won a gold medal bye defeating Akio Kaminaga in the open weight division. Though victorious Geesink would behave honorably and prevent Dutch fans from fighting with Japanese fans who were shocked by the defeat. James Bergman would be the only American to medal with a Bronze. Though American didn't bring home the Gold Meda,l the team made a good showing and earned the respect of other nations. The United States would not win another medal in Judo until 1976 when Allen J. Coage an African American won the Bronze Medal. Though the United States has yet to win a Gold Medal in Judo, American teams remain competitive in the Olympics and other competitions.

The original members of the 1964 team still continued to contribute to the sport today. George Harris continued to compete though he would not compete in the Olympics again. He also helped found the United States Judo Association and remains active as a board member. Though he has been ill in the last few years he continues to train which he credits with keeping him strong. Ben Campbell also worked to promote Judo with Harris in the USJA and is on the board. Campbell would also work as a police officer, teacher, and be elected as Senator for Colorado from 1993 until 2005. Bergman also teaches, writes, and continues to promote Judo. He remains proud to be a member of America's first Olympic Judo team.

In a time when society was demanding equality for all and that a man be judged by his ability not his race a group of athletes stood up and became a symbol of America. For many the team meant another step forward for civil rights, but to the team it was just being true sportsmen. Sports don't build character, they reveal it and in 1964 the United States showed what could be done if everyone worked together.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Damian_Ross

http://barronsjudopage.blogspot.com/2009/08/benjamin-nighthorse-campbell.html

JUDO: SHIME WAZA

2009-09-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I walked into dojo in a very nostalgic mood. My thoughts predominately on old friends and friendships built in my judo class back home. I have become rather homesick in the sense that I miss the comradery of my old friends who I have known for my entire judo career. I am building new friendships but still feel like much of an outsider to this class. They are more than friendly but I find myself wanting to see a familiar face and hear encouragement from longtime training partners. Strong ties were made during those years and judo is starting to bring back those memories.

We worked on different shime waza (choking techniques). Shimewaza is probably the most difficult area of judo to master. Few judo practitioners will ever attain total mastery of shimewaza. The majority of shimewaza techniques require compression of the carotid artery. Also shimewaza attacks must be precise especially if attacking an experienced player.

The basis for all chokes/strangles is to attempt to render the opponent unconscious. A good strangulation hold should render the opponent unconsciousness without injury or significant pain in a matter of seconds regardless of whom the opponent is. The most basic requirements for applying such an effective strangulation are:

* Make sure your own body always has complete freedom of action so that you are in the best position for the technique you intend to use and you are flexible enough to be able to respond to your opponent's attempts to escape. Your position should be stable so that in applying the technique you can use your entire body.
* Lead your opponent into a position in which it is most difficult to put up resistance, and control all of his or her actions. Your opponent must be unstable and under your control as much as possible. Very often this means stretching out your opponent's body backwards.
* Train your hands to get an accurate hold the minute you begin a technique, make your choke work in a very brief time, and once you begin the pressure refrain from continually releasing to adjust your position. Your techniques will have much greater effect if you are firmly resolved not to let your opponent get away but to continue until the end without slackening. Constancy of pressure, rather than extreme force, is what is called for. Excessive reliance on strength would indicate a defect in the technique since very little pressure is needed to compress an artery and render a person unconscious.

JUDO: SOLO DRILLS

2009-09-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Uchi Komi with a bicycle inner tube.
Take a bicycle tire inner tube , and slice it so that you essentially have a long strip of rubber that you can wrap around the tree, and hold the ends in your hands.

Approximate your preferred grip's hand positioning (lapel and cuff, double lapel, etc), and practice entering as if you were performing specific throws, whilst pulling in the appropriate manner on the inner tube.

Tie your Gi belt at about waist height around a pillar/post/tree of your choice. If it slips down, a bit of duct tape will do to either hold the belt in place, or replace it for the task.

Make sure that your belt is at the correct height in relation to your opponent's (the belt/tape around the tree/post/pillar), and that your weight is distributed correctly. Think about kuzushi as you pull on the arms. Think about your foot placement, positioning, and agility.

Can be done as static Uchikomi, or to breakdown an aspect of the technique.

Obviously not a replacement for actual uchikomi or training with a partner, but a good drill nonetheless.

An introduction to using bicycle innertubes to practice judo techniques, develop form, and build strength.

This is an old video of a Judoka training by using an old bicycle inner tube.

JUDO: DRILLING HARAI GOSHI

2009-09-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight's practice we worked on a Harai Goshi. Personally Harai Goshi isnt one of my favorite techniques. Harai Goshi usually works better for taller judoka. I am only 5'10" my personal favorite throws are Seoi Nage, Tai Otoshi and I like alot of the Ashi Waza techniques. But working to improve your weaker or least liked throws is goo

Publish Post

d training as well.

Harai goshi is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Kano Jigoro. It belongs to the second group of the traditional throwing list in the Gokyo no waza of the Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo, and classified as a hip technique (koshiwaza). Russian Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin is known for his Harai Goshi.

Starting from a right-side grip:

Simultaneously: pull the opponent’s sleeve up and towards you with your left hand, pull in with your right arm (gripping back of collar, lapel, or belt), and step your right foot to the front corner of their right foot.
Step your left foot behind your right foot - right between their feet. Bend your knees. Stay low. Stay on the balls of your feet. Make contact with the side of your hip into their hip or upper thigh.
Simultaneously: pivot on the ball of your left foot, lift with your left leg, stretch your right leg to the outside of their right thigh while swinging it up to the ceiling, and twist your body to the left (you’ll end up standing on your left toes with your body and right leg horizontal).
The opponent will fly over your right shoulder.
Keep the grip on the opponent’s sleeve and pull up slightly as they hit the mat. This allows you to maintain control and softens the impact for your partner.

Kuzushi

As with every judo takedown, kuzushi (or breaking the balance) is the most important element to master. When the opponent is off balance, they’ll be easier to throw, which means you’ll spend less energy achieving a stronger throw. For harai goshi, the bulk of the kuzushi comes from giving the opponent’s sleeve a hard pull up and towards you. This will cause them to move forwards and up on their toes - the perfect position for you to get your hips right under their centre of gravity.

Attack With a Low Center of Gravity

After kuzushi, the most important element of harai goshi is attacking with a low center of gravity - lower than your opponent’s. When this is done properly, almost all of the throw’s power comes from the legs rather than the back and upper body. That means a more powerful throw that requires less effort and reduces the risk of injury.

Leg Position in Harai Goshi Blocks the Opponent’s Counter

One of the counters to ogoshi is to simply jump around the opponent and get back to facing them. By getting off of and away from their hip, you take yourself out of the danger zone. The beauty of harai goshi is that the leg is positioned outside of the opponent’s hip, making it much more difficult for them to jump around and get off of your hip.

Some have asked me why I am doing this blog. Rather unexpectedly it has become quite clear to me that my blog is definitely becoming an aide in my training. As a martial artist and competitor I know I make mistakes and the blog is one way That allows me to address them and instill proper technique by writing it down in words It helps in my retention of existing skill sets and new skill sets.

JUDO: GRIPS, GRIPS, GRIPS

2009-09-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

This morning after warmup we started drills for gripping. Gripping is an essential first step to throwing your opponent. The thing to remember is that in judo you can't do much to your opponent without a grip.

Know your throws and look for the grips that are the most effective with your throws. Ideally you want a set of different grips which are comfortable and effective for you. So sort out what your favorite/most effective techniques are and what grip you need for them, then work for it.

Now that we know what grip we want, we need to get it on our opponent. Don't let your opponent dictate grips. If you ever feel uncomfortable with an opponent's grip, get out of it. Ripping it off is usually the first option. You might attempt a lapel/overgrip/collar grip because that's where the attack is going to come from. Grip the sleeve of the opponent's gripping hand with both hands and push down in a sharp motion. If it doesn't immediately break off keep pushing down in a stuttery kind of rhythm until it comes off. Another method of breaking off an overhead grip is to grab the opponent's armpit (on the side they're overgripping) and quickly stiffen your arm while rotating into them and shrugging your shoulder. This will either pop off the grip or weaken it enough that you can reach up and rip it off.

The one thing people tend to do is take the sleeve first. This gives your opponent a handle on you, since they can now easily grip your sleeve and control that arm. Work on your lapel/collar/overgrip/undehook hand first. Use the opposite hand to cross grip and pull your opponent in to make it easier to catch the grip you want if you're going for an over grip or underhook. Once you've got that hand set the sleeve is easy, just reach out and grab it.

You need two hands to control both sides off your opponent. Letting go with one gives them free reign on the one side and you can't block or control them. Be aware when you're both sunk in gripping you need to be doing something with a hand if you're letting go, be it an attack or a change to another girp. Make your opponent react to it so they don't have time to attack. The ideal time to attack is when your opponent only has one hand on you.

JUDO: Looking back

2009-09-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

For many martial artists, they will say that Bruce Lee got them interested in martial arts or he influenced them in some way. While that may be true for most it isnt in my case. One of my earliest recollections of Judo was back in the 70’s around "78" or "79" I had seen the movie “Breaking Point” starring actor Bo Svenson. "Breaking Point" was my first exposure to martial arts on screen. In "Breaking Point" he played a judo instructor who witnesses a murder carried out by the mob and he and his family are entered into a witness relocation program. There were some memorable fight scenes in the movie that impressed this young 12 year old boy.

Another movie which made an impression was "Judo's Gentle Tiger" and also known as "The Year of the Gentle Tiger". A forerunner to "The Karate Kid", it was shot in the late 1970s, and was later broadcast as a NBC daytime program in 1979. But it was Bo Svenson’s movie "Breaking Point" that was the catalyst for my interest in judo and other martial arts. All other influences would come and go, but, Bo Svenson's would stay and re-inspire years and years later.

By the age of 14, I was in a karate/jiujitsu class which I stayed with for years but the impression Bo Svenson made would linger for a lot of years. My family did not share my enthusiasm for the martial arts. Most of my inspirations came from people I did not know nor did they know me. I guess like alot of kids my inspirations came from the heroes portrayed on the silver screen and T.V. by actors like Bo Svenson.

Recollecting my boyhood movie memories of judo, in 1991 at the age of 26, I would step into a judo class for the first time. Judo was like no other style I had trained in and I was assured of two things by the Judo instructor; Rank would nt come easy nor would it come fast. I was told by the instructor that this would be an endeavor that would take years of hard work. That the lessons learned in judo corresponded with life and as I found out, life somehow made sense on the judo mat.

As I look back, my judo experience was like developing a taste for beer, at first it was unpleasant but after awhile you got used to it and then eventually began to enjoy it. This however would take years of showing up to class. Alot of times I would ask myself, "what am I doing here?" Being too stubborn to quit after several years I attained brown belt. It was nt until brown belt that a love for judo developed.

Finally in 1998, I tested and was awarded shodan. I had never taken as much pride in achieving something as I did when I had achieved my shodan rank in Judo. I hold higher ranks in other styles but the rank I have been most proud of are the shodan and nidan ranks I attained in judo.

Then in 2006 I was awarded nidan and had seen Bo Svenson's movie "Breaking Point" again after alot of years. After 2006 work and other endeavors had taken me away from judo. I was involved also with other martial arts and all of these things just took up too much time. Some time after, I was able to contact Mr. Svenson and had asked him of his judo experience and if he was still training at which point he said he was nt and that it was too bad that he was nt involved any longer.

By 2009 I had become disillusioned with the politics of the other martial arts that had taken up so much of my time. I began to distance myself from karate, jiujitsu and running a dojo. Tired of politics, tired of teaching, maybe I was just plain tired of everything. I dont really know. I do know I wasnt happy and no longer found enjoyment in training or teaching. I was just not motivated any longer and felt that there was something that I was missing but just couldnt put my finger on it. So, I closed my dojo and walked away.

I had not stepped foot in a judo dojo in over two years and had closed my dojo earlier this year and was no longer teaching or training. Then a few months ago, out of nowhere Bo Svenson contacted me. He wrote "Nearly a year ago you asked if I was still involved in judo. At the time I wasn't. I am now. This weekend I am competing in the the USA Judo National Championships. I'm THRILLED to be back in the sport! Hope all is well with you."

My childhood hero had managed to inspire me again, but this time I was nt a boy of 12 but a man of 44. Alot of years had gone past since I first saw him play that role of judo instructor and now those few words had lifted my spirits and moved me in a long lost familar direction. Not only had his words affected me but his actions as well, as he stepped back on the mat to compete as he had told me he would.

Memories of judo and the people I trained with, my old sensei, the sounds of judoka hitting the mat, practicing ukemi, getting thrown and the purity of judo itself ran thru my mind. I guess I went back to the beginning, the first influence, the first impressions made on a young boy so long ago. A distant unknowing role model whose few words reaffirmed the purity of a martial art that I had so desperatly needed and couldnt find. A once extinguished fire trying to spark and rekindle.

I am back in Judo but not as an instructor but as a simple student, getting back into the learning process, the developmental process not only of a martial artist or a competitior but a human being as well. The rebirth of a spirit. On the other side of our great country Bo Svenson is busy with movies and Judo training and teaching, still inspiring me as he had done so many years ago from a distance. Yep, life always made since on the judo mat, a point reinterrated by a humble hero of the silver screen in a few written words.

http://barronsjudopage.blogspot.com/2009/08/judo-actor-bo-svenson-competes-in-usa.html

JUDO

2009-09-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

"The Combatants, one is in white, the other in blue, each circles the other. Their hands darting in swiftly, like a boxer’s jab, for their grip, a handful of collar and or sleeve. They break off, then re-engage, and begin a violent whirlwind of motion, a dazzling dance that moves in every conceivable direction around the mat with lightening speed, fury and herculean effort. Bodies twist and collide, somersault thru the air, stumble and crash, as each tries to throw other to the canvas with all the force he can unleash. One’s assertion written in the air with his opponent’s flying body with a vehement desire to score an ippon, the highest score inflicting a symbolic death."

JUDO AS SELF DEFENSE

2009-09-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

There are two types of judo. One is sport (which is very common in this country) the other is traditional judo (the way it was originally taught). Traditional judo is an excellent self- defense art and has formed the basis for many military combatives and defensive tactics training around the world. The Japanese police have trained in Judo since 1886, when Judo (at the time known merely as Kano Jujitsu) defeated several other established schools of Jujitsu in a tournament.

In addition to the above, Judo's background in traditional Jujitsu combined with its police and military applications, has resulted in kata specifically designed to teach technical principles for self-defense: Kime No Kata (Forms of Decision) and Kodokan Goshin Jutsu (Forms of Self Defense).

Various aspects of Judo principles and training methods promote attributes and skills helpful in self-defense:

Training with full power and speed against fully-resisting opponents: builds speed, stamina, strength, and tenacity.
Body and mental conditioning by repeatedly being thrown with significant force.
Training in safe methods to take falls.
Ability to accurately and quickly use balance, distance, and timing against skilled opponents in fully-resistive sparring. Judo practitioners are experts in controlling their opponent's balance whilst maintaining their own.
Sports Judo rules emphasize rapid transition to pins or submissions after a take-down, which builds skills in explosive use of chokes and locks in self-defense situations.
Emphasis in controlling one's opponent during throws allow a practitioner to dictate the angle, direction, and force with which his or her opponent lands on the ground. The consequences could be gentle or lethal, depending on the Judo practitioner's intentions.

JUDO: Drilling combinations

2009-09-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

I arrived at judo practice tonight somewhat anxious to get started. Training started as usual with warm up and stretching then going to ukemi and turnout drills. After which we began to drill using combinations.

When it comes to combinations there are basically two kinds of combination techniques in judo, renzoku-waza and renraku-waza. Renzoku-waza is a combination of two or more techniques in the same direction, where the first technique begins to break the opponent's balance and the second technique finishes the job. An example of this kind of combination would be uchimata into harai-goshi, where both attacks take the opponent to his left front corner.

The second kind of combination renraku-waza is a reaction combination, where the first attack provokes a strong defensive reaction, inviting the attacker to switch direction to exploit this defensive effort. For example if you attack with o-uchi-gari, causing the opponent to step back and push off with his arms, you then switches to ippon seoi-nage exploiting his opponent's defensive push to throw him forwards. The switch of direction might just as easily be from left to right as from rear to front. One can attack with right uchimata which the opponent must block strongly to prevent himself from being thrown; You release your left-hand grip on the opponents sleeve and spin under the opponent's left arm with left seoi-nage.

At the higher levels the first attack may become just a threatening feint designed to provoke a defensive twitch, but for the first attack to provoke such a reaction it has to feel dangerous. Your opponent has to be convinced on a subconscious level that if he does not react strongly he will be thrown. Tori’s job then is to convince the opponent, through his grip, footwork and body movements that he intends to do a particular throw and the opponent must be made to react.

My body was no longer sore after all I had a week off of training due to labor day weekend and so we had no practice on Monday of last week since it was labor day. So I was feeling pretty good. I knew in the back of my mind once things got back to normal the soreness would be back so I took alot of comfort in the fact that I wasn't sore.

Watching the instructor of the class it was evident he knew his stuff when it comes to high level judo play. This reassured me that I was in the right place and during training there was talk of upcoming tournaments. I wondered if I would be ready for one of them. My intention is not to just compete, but to win. Anything less would be unacceptable.

After we finished with the combinations, we spent some time on working on techniques that some of the lower belts would be tested on for their next rank on Sunday.

Presidential Judo: Vladimir Putin

2009-09-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

by Tom Ross

He may head of one of the world's elite superpowers, but to his fellow judo club members Russian President Vladimir Putin is best known for his wicked sweeping leg throw (Haraigoshi).

Although it is little known in the west, Putin is an avid student of judo -- the Japanese art in which students compete to throw their opponents or defeat them on the ground with grappling techniques, such as immobilizations, chokes and submission arm locks.

Putin began studying judo at age 14 and has been studying ever since. During his competitive career, among his many victories Putin placed third place in the Russian Junior Nationals and was Leningrad Seniors Champion. He is now President of the same club where he began, St. Petersburg's Yawara Judo Club.

Several years ago, following an official state visit to Tokyo, Japan, Putin was a guest at the famous Kodokan headquarters of judo. In attendance were many officials including Japanese Prime Minister Mori. Yukimitsu Kano, the grandson of Kodokan Judo's founder Jigoro Kano said, "President Putin started Judo when he was very young, and has continued practice until now. He had a wish to visit the Kodokan institute. We are very happy to have him and welcome him as a judo member."

Following demonstrations of the art, Putin showed his own skills of throwing and grappling. Assisted by a Kodokan instructor, Mukai, Putin demonstrated a variety of leg sweeps, shoulder, and backward sacrificing throws plus two techniques favored by smaller men facing larger opponents -- an inner leg throw that dumps the opponent backward and the basic hip throw that introduces most students to the art. He also performed ground immobilization techniques. Afterwards Putin's assistant, Mukai said, said that President Putin's technique was very good.

Putin was then presented with flowers by a young lady. And to the delight of the audience Putin permitted her to throw him. He was officially awarded a coveted sixth degree black belt.

Not since US President Teddy Roosevelt has a world leader been associated with judo or other martial arts. Roosevelt had been involved in both boxing and wrestling. After witnessing a demonstration of judo by Yoshiaka Yamashita against a wrestler at the White House, Roosevelt began studying the art under this teacher, eventually becoming the first American to achieve the rank of brown belt. While Roosevelt may be the first modern day head of state to actively practice in the martial arts, Putin is certainly the first to achieve an advanced rank in martial arts.

Photos courtesy President Vladimir Putin website and reproduced with permission: www.vladimirputin.4u.ru

About the Author:

Tom Ross is a retired NYC Correction Officer who specialized in the Handling of Security Risk group prisoners. A Yudansha in Shorinjiryu Kenzenkai Karatedo (an Offshoot of the Shorinjiryu Kenkokan founded by Masayoshi Hisataka), he also spent six years studying Jujutsu (classical, modern and Brazilian). Possessing an avid interest in the history of martial arts and traditions he currently serves as the Research Coordinator for FightingArts.com as well as moderating its Martial Arts Talk forum. He additionally serves as the moderator of the Sabaki List (which is dedicated to various martial artists and full contact stylists) and is a member of the International Hoplology Society.

Judo: Nage waza and more uchikomi drills

2009-09-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight practice was a good practice we opened with with the usual warm up stretches, breakfalling techniques and turn out drills such as cartwheels and round offs feeling stiff from last week's practices. We then moved into a nage waza drill which consisted of moving multiple directions, begining with going back wards and then setting up our partner for a throw. We did three uchikomis and then the fourth attempt was a throw using our favorite technique. (The term Uchikomi is derived from the Japanese verb Utsu which means "to beat against". Many instructors mistakenly interpret the word Uchikomi to mean "fitting in")

I wondered again, how long it was going to take for everything to at least feel normal again. My timing, footwork and coordination was indeed off and I found myself struggling just get my steps right.

We then moved our opponent back ward moving into three uchikomis and then on the fourth a throw. We ended the drill with moving yet another direction for three uchikomis and then on the fourth a throw. We kept this multi directional drill up for 15 minutes then rested. We repeated this three times. This type of drill was done at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado springs.

I felt that felt as if I was moving slow with no fluidity at all. I almost felt like a fish out of water except for the fact that I knew what to do but just couldn't seem to get my body working in unison with my mind.

We ended with an anaerobic uchikomi drill in which we again partnered up and one would attempt 10 uchikomis sprint across the mat touch the edge and sprint back to your partner and do 10 more and then run the sprint again. We repeated this for 5 sets completing 50 uchikomi.

I had managed to work up a good sweat tonight and again felt like an old wet sack of sore bones on my way home. As much as it was hard work, I was just as anxious for another practice and in a hurry for the rust to wear off and disgusted with my performance despite the encouragement I had gotten from some of the guys at the dojo.

JUDO: Saturday and still feeling it

2009-08-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

I woke up Saturday morning still feeling every muscle and joint in my body. My back and neck killing me. I have had the past couple of days off work and used them for a much needed rest and recovery from the two a day practice this past Wednesday. I walked into the dojo at 11:30 and to my surprise it was a light practice.

The guys were working on some other types of submission techniques such as leglocks and ankle locks. This was a good diversion and a fun training session. Although it was explained that these were Sambo techniques I think it is interesting to know that at one time before judo was considered an olympic sport that judo did consist of leglocks ankle locks and neck cranks . (Mikunosuke Kawaishi published a book entitled "My Method of Judo" in 1955 in which such techniques were demonstrated.) These techniques however are deemed illegal in competition. However they were a nice break from regular training.

After the leglocks we got back into judo newaza techniques. We began to drill as we had done before we were grappling in 3 minute periods and then changing opponents. I was still not moving as I thought I should be, I was still stiff and sore. It was a great cardio workout and in the end I was exhausted.

The instructor let the class know that Monday we would be doing randori. Randori is a term used in Judo to describe free-style practice or sparring. I left the dojo just wanting my body to stop aching and now wondering how I was going to do at randori Monday at practice.

How Judo Matches Work

2009-08-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

A judo match takes place between two players, on a mat, and is watched and scored by referees.

Within a judo match, the objective is to score an ippon, which is akin to a pin in wrestling or a knockout in boxing. When an ippon is scored, a match is over. There are three ways to attain an ippon:

Throw the opponent over so that he lands hard on the back.
Hold the opponent on the back for 25 seconds.
Make the opponent submit by a strangle hold or an armlock.

There are hundreds of variations of throwing techniques. Some throws use mostly legs, some mostly arms, some a combination of arms, legs and torso. Some students throw their opponents over their own hips, shoulders or backs. They can also sweep the opponent's feet out from under him or drop down and throw the opponents over their own fallen body.

To pin an opponent, a student can press down from a facedown or side-down position (generally controlling the head and an arm or leg) so that the opponent's back or a shoulder is on the mat.

To obtain a submission, pressure can be applied directly on the elbow of a straight arm, or an arm bent at a right angle can be twisted in either direction (armlock). To strangle, or choke, pressure is applied to the sides of the opponent's neck (not the windpipe) by one or both forearms or by using the opponent's own collar. Strangle holds are only allowed on players 13-years-old or older. Arm locks can only be used if the player is at least 17-years-old.

Although strangles and armlocks may seem dangerous, the players are trained to know when they are in danger and will submit by tapping either the mat, or the opponent, twice, before any damage is done. The referees are extremely alert when one player attempts to apply a choke or an armlock. If the referee thinks the technique is about to cause serious injury, he can stop the match and declare a winner.

There is a long list of things not allowed. Mainly, players are expected to play fair and continuously attack. They are penalized for things like intentionally going out of bounds, refusing to attack (stalling), being too defensive, making rude comments or gestures and performing dangerous acts (like not giving the opponent a chance to submit). The rules are rarely broken except in the tactical areas, such as stepping out or stalling. Penalties in judo are severe; a repeat of any transgression results always in the next higher penalty, the lower one being removed.

Three referees officiate in a contest. Two sit at opposite corners and the third moves around the mat to observe the players. The center referee also controls the bout and signals the results. Each decision is agreed upon by at least two of the three referees.

Although an ippon is the objective, there are partial points scored. In each bout, however, it is the highest quality score that wins. A score is signaled by the referee's arm; the higher the arm signal, the higher the score. For example, an arm straight up signals an ippon.

How can you tell a technique's score?
Watch the center referee's hand signal and listen to the call. The higher the signaling arm, the higher the score. The scores, in order from highest to lowest quality are:

Ippon : arm straight up.
Waza-ari : arm out at shoulder level
Yuko: arm 45 degrees out from the side
Koka: arm against the side; hand in a sort of stop or greeting signal

An ippon is awarded for (a) a throw that lands the opponent largely on their back in a controlled manner with speed and force; (b) for a mat hold of sufficient duration (twenty five seconds); or (c) for opponent submission. A waza-ari is awarded for a throw that does not quite have enough power or control to be considered ippon; or for a hold of twenty seconds. A waza-ari is a half-point, and, if two are scored, they constitute the full point needed for a win.

Yuko is a lower grade of score, and only count as a tie-breaker; it is not cumulative with one another. Scoring is lexicographic; a waza-ari beats any number of yuko, but a waza-ari and a yuko beat a waza-ari with no yuko.

There used to be a fourth score called koka but it has been removed. When the koka was in use it was a lower score that yuko. Like yuko, koka is purely a tiebreaker and used only when competitors had the same amount of waza-ari and yuko. A yuko beats any number of koka.

A fifteen-second hold down scores yuko. If the person who secured the hold down already has a waza-ari, they only need to hold the hold down for twenty seconds to score ippon by way of two waza-ari (waza-ari-awasete-ippon). Throws further lacking the requirements of an ippon or a waza-ari might score a yuko. So-called "skillful takedowns" are also permitted (e.g. the flying arm-bar) but do not score.

If the scores are identical at the end of the match, the contest is resolved by the Golden Score rule. Golden Score is a sudden death situation where the clock is reset to match-time, and the first contestant to achieve any score wins. If there is no score during this period, then the winner is decided by Hantei, the majority opinion of the referee and the two corner judges.

The contest area is a square eight meters long on each side. The outer meter (“danger area”) is red and is inside the playing area, but competitors can only remain in that area for a few seconds before attempting a throw or they will be penalized. There is a three-meter “safety area” in which a player can be thrown as long as the thrower remains inside the contest area.

Sketch of a Mat

There should be one or two scoreboards to show the state of play. Because in Judo it is always the highest quality score that wins, the scoreboard is laid out left to right to show the scores like 3-digit number.

	Waza-Ari	Yuko	KoKa	Medical
	Shido3	Shido2	Shido1
BLUE	0	3	1	+ +
WHITE	1	0	0	+
	Shido3	Shido2	Shido1

Looked at in this way, the score is 100 to 31: White's single waza-ari beats the lesser quality of Blue's 3 yukos and 1 koka. Other features of the scoreboard are as follows:

The Ippon score is not shown on the scoreboard because there can only be 1 Ippon and scoring it ends the bout.
If two waza-ari's are scored by the same person it is considered the same as an Ippon and the match ends.
On the above scoreboard, Blue has two medical timeouts; White has one. If blue needs another medical timeout, the match will end and white will be declared the winner.
The boldface Shido2 on the White side indicates that one of Blue's Yukos was as a result of White's penalty. If White received another penalty, the Shido2 would be removed and the Shido3 would appear in boldface; on the Blue side, one Yuko would be removed and a Waza-Ari would be added. Penalties are explained in more detail in the next section

If an Ippon has not been scored by the end of the time limit, the player with the highest score wins; if tied, the clock score is cleared, the clock is reset to the same match time and the players enter “Golden Score” which means that the first score (or penalty) wins. Golden Score is a new rule in Judo for the 2004 Olympic Games. If the score is still tied after Golden Score, then the referee (1) and judges (2) decide who is the winner using a majority decision. They will each hold a blue flag in one hand and white flag in the other. On the referee's command of “HANTEI” (HAHN-TAY), each will indicate their vote by raising the flag having the same color of the uniform of the winner.

http://www.usjudo.org/judocompetition.asp

JUDO: Beginning two a days

2009-08-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

MORNING PRACTICE

At 11:45am I walked into the dojo feeling like a sack of sore bones. Sensei Martin and his daughter greeted me shaking hands and saying hello. I walked to the back of the dojo to the changing room to put on my gi wondering what was to be in store for me today looking forward to class and dreading it at the same time.

We began our warm up by doing uchikomi using our favorite technique. UCHI KOMI is a traditional skill building exercise of practicing a technique to the point of throwing without throwing your opponent. By not throwing we can practice the entry to a technique many more times than if we were to take our opponent over each and every time.

EXAMPLE OF UCHI KOMI

First we did uchi komi from a static position then we began to do uchi komi on the move. I was really having a hard time, my timing was off and it was coupled with the soreness I was feeling from the previous class and carrying a few extra lbs that I shouldn't be. I felt like I was moving around like a sack of potatoes.

I began to do my uchi komis using IPPON SEOI NAGE several on the right and then switching to my left alternating back and forth from left to right. Ensuring both sides got equally drilled. Trying to work out the soreness and get my timing back. It was painfully obvious to me that I was indeed missing a step. I was indeed rusty. Despite the encouragement I got from Sensei Martin and his daughter on my performance,I began to wonder about the factors contributing to my mat rust. I knew i could move better and quicker. Yes, it was obvious that time away from the mat surely effected me but I wondered if my age did too. I wondered why was I doing judo in an competitive environment and not a more recreational one.

IPPON SEOI NAGE

The drill was then changed up to moving around and doing 4 uchi komis and then on the 5th attempt throw. This is a great drill for timing and footwork something that I desperately needed. again I began working the right side and then on my next set of uchi komis working the left not favoring one side over the other. I then incorporated changing my grips from going off the tradtional sleeve and lapel to using more unconventional grips and throwing off of them. The soreness began to slowly drift out of my mind as I began to concentrate more on the uchikomi drill.

Our next drills were for newaza working a sankaku jime turnover to a choke. I had worked up a good sweat from the uchi komi drills but the switch to groundwork was a good change of pace. The re familiarization of techniques was indeed good but although I knew the techniques and could do them in my mind getting my body to respond and react as quickly as my mind could was a different story.

EXAMPLE OF SANKAKU JIME

After practice I decided to have lunch, the soreness had crept back in and again my mind was on judo, my performance or lack there of and the factors affecting it and me. Am I being overly critical, I wondered. In my heart I felt as if I was better than my performance, again how much of it is rust, how much of it is age, is it a matter of just getting back in shape or has father time began to be a factor. To early to tell maybe.

EVENING PRACTICE

At 5:00 pm I had grilled chicken and asparagus for dinner. After training for only two days I am slipping into dieting mode and eating right. At 7:30 I walked into the dojo for the second part of the two a day practices. I was aching from the practices and wondering what I was going to be put thru tonight.

The warm up started off with stretching, running and then we went on to Handstands, cartwheels and round offs. These skills are good for teaching the judoka to try and cartwheel out of the throw teaching the judoka to turn out rather than fall on their backs. Also escaping from throws as well as entering into NeWaza from a throw. We finished the warm up with calisthenics.

We then proceeded to do ukemi or break falling techniques and then right into newaza drills. Newaza is ground techniques such as hold downs, turnovers, chokes and joint locking techniques. This morning we worked on turnovers to a choke and tonight we worked on more turnovers to juji gatame. We then did newaza in three minute periods changing partners after each period. I felt I did okay though some were able to get me with techniques that I saw coming but just wasn't quick enough to counter.

I was surprised that as sore as I was I spent very little time dwelling on it. I was just concentrating more on getting thru the workout. When the training come to an end I was indeed relieved glad for it to be over. I began to critique my performance and again wondered how long it would take to get rid of the rust and get my timing back. I could see everything coming at me but couldn't get my body to react in time. I am hoping I will get sharper. I am feeling torn down and my ego has definitely taken a blow getting caught in submission techniques that I feel I shouldn't get caught in and not being able to move or react like I feel I should be able to.

Despite what I was thinking, a part of me enjoys being sore, enjoys the hard work, enjoys being committed to something. Is this a battle against father time? Is this simply my ego? A middle age crisis that maybe I am going thru but dont know it yet? Could it be that I am rediscovering something about myself? Do I need a challenge of some sort to feel some self worth or is it a love for judo? All these things are rushing thru my mind. Maybe it is a little bit of all these reasons. Whatever the reason I have jumped right in with both feet. The two a day practices are going to leave me hurting for awhile I think.

JUDO: Next morning after first class

2009-08-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

I am a little sore but it feels good. The last thing on my mind last night before I feel asleep was judo. I was mulling over the night's grappling drills. Doing newaza in my head recalling each drill and each match seeing the mistakes and missed opportunities.

My neck is sore, my face is a little marked up from the newaza there is blood on my gi, mine mixed with the others I was grappling with. The muscles used in grappling are an entirely different group of muscles used in anything else. My return to Judo seems like being reunited with a long lost friend. The familiarity was felt as I was putting my old judo gi back on for the first time last night before class.

I cannot believe how good it is to be back doing judo in a competitive environment. I have been so involved with all sorts of B.S. the past two years that I hadn't been able to really enjoy anything. However, life seems to make sense on the judo mat. It is nice to be able to "SEE" your opponent and what he throws at you.

I woke up this morning with a purpose and a clear unclouded head. Undaunted by life's troubles and the crap suffered over the past two years, the competitive juices are flowing. I am at peace and looking forward to stepping back on the mat again Wednesday. A long lost familiar feeling. I haven't felt like this in a long time.

RETURN TO JUDO: First Night

2009-08-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Earlier tonight I walked into a judo class for the first time in two years. I can honestly say it was indeed bittersweet. All of my training had been at the Winter Haven Judo club. However, tonight I walked into a different dojo about 15 minutes prior to class. As I sat and watched the ending of the children's class I found myself searching for a familiar face but I knew one would not be here. I was in a different state at a different dojo training in a totally different judo atmosphere for the first time.

The instructor walked up and introduced himself and then we all lined up for class to start. I had gotten inline with the rest of the students but the instructor had asked me to stand next to him at the front since he and I were the same rank. I however commented to him that I wanted to be treated like everyone else. There were several in attendance all of different rank. As we were going thru warm ups all managed to introduce themselves to me. I was indeed critical of myself and how I would perform.

It had been a long while since I had done any serious judo training and I soon found out this was not a recreational class. The instructor was indeed extremely knowledgeable of high level judo play. His daughter is in a bid to compete for a spot on the olympic team.

After warm up we began to drill TACHI WAZA the instructor had all of us line up and the person in front was to throw everyone in line using their favorite technique. The nervousness of being back in class had long since worn off and I felt more at ease as periodically all would engage me in small talk between taking turns being thrown and throwing. We then moved to newaza working on some guard escapes.

EXAMPLE OF TACHI WAZA

Then we started NEWAZA training going for a couple of minutes and then changing partners and going another couple minutes we kept this up untill everyone had a shot each other. We ended the nights training with some conditioning drills and calisthenics.After the class all began to engage me in conversation once again making me feel very welcome.

EXAMPLE OF NEWAZA

Needless to say for the first time in a long while I really enjoyed myself just training and working on judo. No politics, no hassles, no games, no posers, no B.S. of any kind, just pure Judo. The pure enjoyment of just training and getting ready for competition. I am sure I will be a little sore tomorrow but it sure feels good to be back doing something I love. Wednesday will be a two a day practice. I am sure I will have more to say then.

BENJAMIN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL

2009-08-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Campbell was born in Auburn, California in 1933. During Campbell's childhood, his father had problems with alcoholism, often leaving the family for weeks and months at a time. His mother had health problems, with tuberculosis, a highly contagious disease that limited the contact she could have with her children and continued to force her into the hospital for long periods of time. These problems led to Ben and his older sister Alberta spending much of their early lives in nearby Catholic orphanages.

While working in a fruit-packing plant, Campbell picked a fight with a Japanese co-worker, who put him on his back with a judo move. "I kept finding myself on the bottom, and I didn't like that," he said. "They invited me to come down to their judo club. In those days, Japanese kids were discriminated against very badly; it was right after World War II. I guess I felt a little bit of the same thing and identified with them."

"In those days, judo wasn't in the Olympics, there were no world championships, no intercollegiate and no high school championships - there was nothing. You were just in it because you enjoyed it."

Worn down from his home life, Campbell quit school and joined the Air Force, eventually landing in South Korea, where his passion for judo intensified.

Campbell obtained his GED while in the Air Force and after returning to the United States, Campbell used his GI Bill and work as a truck driver to attend San Jose State College (now San Jose State University), where he joined the Yosh Uchida coached judo team, a sport he first participated in as a teenager. He received a bachelor's degree in physical education and fine arts in 1957.

Campbell later studied Japanese culture at Meiji University in Tokyo as a special research student from 1960 to 1964, where he trained with their world-renowned judo team in preparation for the Olympic Games. While in Japan, Campbell continued to return to the United States to compete in judo competitions, winning three U.S. national championships and a gold medal in 1963 Pan American Games judo competition.

"I think judo taught me dedication to purpose, to not give up and to fight and to not take a beating and all that stuff. But I knew a lot of terrific athletes who weren't training any harder than me, in golf and tennis and other sports, and they ended up making a full-time living and making a lot of money doing that sport."

"In those days, there was almost a spiritual component," he said. "They believed being good - not winning - was what you should strive for. The training was very hard, very brutal.

"As underclassmen, you had to dutifully do everything upperclassmen told you to do. You scrubbed the floors, cleaned the toilets, washed the upperclassmen's uniforms. You did a lot of things American athletes would never submit themselves to do."

"If you lost, you were required to shave your head. If you threw a guy down in training, someone would kick him in the head or stomach to make him try harder. If he got up and threw you down, they'd do the same to you - with no personal animosity. They'd carry a bamboo stick around, and if you weren't trying hard enough, you'd feel it across your back."

"When I was an upperclassman, I was expected to do that to lowerclassmen. But it made me very uncomfortable because I was an American. I didn't do it very hard; one time my instructor told me I was avoiding my responsibilities."

Campbell won six Pacific Coast titles, a gold medal at the 1963 Pan Am Games, an important Olympics tuneup, and three national championships."I'd come back to compete in our national championship,and then go back to train in Japan," he said.

Tokyo was supposed to be the first Asian Olympics host city in 1940, but Japan's invasion of China and World War II ended that. Twenty-four years later, the country hoped to use the event to demonstrate the success of postwar reconstruction. As host, Japan was allowed to choose an additional sport. Not surprisingly, it was judo. "The Japanese had such a strong hold on judo in those years, most people expected everyone else to lose," Campbell said.

Competition was held in four weight divisions, but the open division - Campbell's class - mattered most to the Japanese. The overwhelming favorite was Anton Geesink of the Netherlands, the eventual winner. Still, Campbell dreamed of a dramatic victory, even after injuring his knee at the Olympic trials, the same knee that eventually would betray him before the medal round.

He easily won his first match, but the odds caught up with him in the second, which he calls one of the worst moments of his life."We trained five hours a day, and to have it go out because of an injury . . . it just slipped away," he said.

During the Closing Ceremony, Campbell was chatting with American swimmer Don Schollander, who had won four gold medals, more than any other athlete in Tokyo, when a U.S. official approached the pair. "Don carried the flag into the Closing Ceremonies. I was standing by him, inside the stadium," Campbell said. "One of the officials said, 'Don, you're not going to be going with the rest of the team. You're flying home separately, and you need to leave now. And so they asked me to carry it on the spur of the moment. I wasn't the official carrier, but it was an honor." Despite a limp, Campbell made it to the finish line this time.

Campbell remained involved in judo as an instructor on the national and local levels, and wrote the judo training manual Championship Judo Training Drills, published in 1974.

Campbell became successful in business, ran for the House of Representatives, was elected, ran for the Senate, was elected and served many years. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was for some time the only Native American serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a Senator following his election on November 3, 1992. He was only the 3rd Native American to serve in the U.S. Congress in history. He was the second Native American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was also the second Native American to serve in the U.S. Senate. Campbell also serves as one of forty-four members of the Council of Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe.

One day, when an attacker came at Senator Quentin Burdick, Senator Nighthorse Campbell used his judo skills to take down the man and protect his fellow senator. In 2008 Ben Nighthorse Campbell was inducted into the USA Judo Hall of Fame.

Shiro Saigo's (6th dan) Yama arashi

2009-08-16T23:10:00.000-07:00

The technique of Yama arashi can be found as Yamaotoshi in Sekiguchi-ryu (which is the old style of Jujitsu). Shiro Saigo studied and developed this old technique to use in Judo practice by himself and became very famous in the Judo world. The people said: "There is no Yamaarashi before Saigo and after Saigo." To understand the technique of Yamaarashi, it is important to know the technique of Saigo.

In the book, Sugata Sanshiro, written by Tsuneo Tomita, published by Shunpo-do in 1950, the author describes Saigo's Yama arashi. As you know, the author's father (Tsunejiro Tomita, 8th dan) was the first Judo student of Jigoro Kano and was known as one of the famous four. He left many articles about development of Judo techniques. The author of this book uses his fathers articles as follows: "When Kodokan Judo fought against many other old Jujitsu schools, Shiro Saigo successfully used his unique Yama arashi to defeat others and left many outstanding winning records. But, nowadays, nobody tries this unique technique and many black belts do not know the technique of Yamaarashi. Therefore, I explain the technique of Yamaarashi on behalf of the late Saigo. Before I explain this technique, I would like to tell you about Saigo's personality.

He was born in Aizu, Japan. When he was a lad, he wanted to be an army general. He was a very small man. But, he had a giant heart and was a brave man. The technique of Yama arashi is not depended upon powerful arms or body. It depends upon a strong mind, such as, the spirit of go for broke.

According to the dynamics, the logic of Yamaarashi is based on the breaking of the opponent's balance within a short distance and attacking with full speed. It is the most dynamic and skillful of all other techniques. If we hold each other in right handed position (Saigo was left handed), Tori grabs Uke's right collar deeply with the right hand and grip Uke's right sleeve with the left hand to take an extremely right handed position. Tori moves his body up and down to pressure Uke backward. In response to Tori's controlling movement, Uke tries to push forward to regain his position. When Uke tries to come forward, Tori picks up Uke's body on his shoulder in full speed and sweeps Uke's right ankle like a Haraigoshi (a gust of wind).

It can be considered a combination technique of Haraigoshi and Seoinage (the thumb of the hand grabbing the collar can be inside or outside of the collar). According to my memory, Saigo used both ways. This technique seems easy enough for anyone. However, in reality, it is a very difficult technique. Why did Saigo use this technique as his favorite technique? Saigo had two distinctive physical characteristics.

First of all, he was a very short person. Therefore, he did not need to lower his hip to pick up an opponent who was pushing back. He saved time because he did not need to lower his body and did not need to worry about being squashed down. Another characteristic was that his toes were different from others. All the toes were pointed downward like a rake. Therefore, when he sweeps his legs like Haraigoshi against the opponent's ankle, he never missed the aimed spot. His toes always stuck to his opponent's leg like an octopus.

Furthermore, when he executes his throwing techniques, he always aimed for only one shot and he never failed to throw the opponent. This technique is more effective for a short person rather than a tall person." According to the record, the height of Saigo was 153 cm and weight was 53 kg.

KARL GOTCH

2009-08-09T15:35:00.001-07:00

TRIBUTE TO KARL GOTCH

Much or what we revere in today’s submission wrestling, and in particular, Japanese MMA has direct links to Karl Gotch. Known as "Kamisama" in Japan which translated means “God of Wrestling” he is one man who truly made an impact in the grappling arts.

Born Karl Istaz in Antwerp Belgium, a holocaust survivor, Karl was a 7 time Belgium Greco-Roman and 7 time Belgium Freestyle wrestling champion and would compete in the 1948 Olympics in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling which by today’s standards is unheard of. Traveling to England, Karl trained at the the fabled Wigan “Snake Pit” gym. He would go on to become feared in american catch wrestling becoming one of the greatest wrestlers in the 20th century.

Gotch traveled to japan and so impressed the judo and jiujitsu men in Japan, that he gained their respect. In workouts with Japan's top judo and jiu-jitsu men, he beat them so badly, that his wife had to keep washing his training partners blood out of Karl's gi.

Upon retiring from the ring, Karl Gotch remained active in training new generations of wrestliers that included Hiro Matsuda, Osamu Kido, Satoru Sayama and Yoshikai Fujiwara, as well as Masa Funaki, Ken Shamrock and Dieusel Berto all of whom trained under Gotch and Fujiwara.

Gotch trained many of the pioneers of Pancrase, Shooto and Shootwrestling, Pride, and K-1 in Japan, and even the UFC. His influence can be seen both on the techniques used in Japanese combative grappling and in the conditioning methods used in many Japanese dojos.

Gotch woud be known as the man of 1000 submissions. He was a man who lived his life by his own standards he was also qouted as saying that he never took a dime from someone who wanted to learn how to wrestle.

It has been stated by many that Karl spent his last years in seclusion. This is not true. I had the privilege and honor of meeting this great man for the first time thru a friend and student of Karl’s by the name of Dieusel Berto. (Dieusel Berto is the father of Andre Berto the WBC Welter weight champion.) Berto competed around the world in shootfighting and mixed martial arts fights in the mid to late 90s, and even participated in a UFC match at UFC 10 in 1996.

I first met Karl Gotch back in 2000, I was a wrestling coach and judo instructor who had coached a high school wrestling team to its first winning season in about 10 years. It was my first year as head wrestling coach and Berto had heard about the job I was doing and approached me in an resturaunt introduced himself and asked if I could stop by his gym and show some of his fighters some wrestling techniques in return he would train me in catch wrestling. I agreed to do so when the wrestling season was over and a couple of months later found myself at his gym.

Now being a wrestling coach I was familiar with the term catch as catch can or catch wrestling, but I did not know what I was in for nor did I know the company I would be in. Berto along with UFC Veteran Ken Shamrock had been trained by Yoshiaki Fujiwara and throughout our exchange of knowledge I would come to meet and train with some other well known catch wrestlers such as Yuki Ishikawa and the one and only Karl Gotch.

Berto would bring Karl by for his many events and first introduced us at a submission grappling and mma tournament. I had known about and heard of Karl and his accomplishments, I could’nt help but be in awe as we all sat around and talked after the show. He was 78 or 79 then and I couldn’t help but to look at this man and even then he had an air of seemingly invincibility. Living his life by his own terms and submitting to nothing or no one. Karl had some hip surgeries by this time in his life but he was an oak and impressive in every way. As he talked he would pick on Berto but I could tell he had a special place in his heart for him. He was playful toward Berto and to me he seemed extremely likeable a “man’s man”. It will always be one of the greatest moments of my life.

He would become a regular visitor to the tournaments and the gym, I would talk with him on several occasions and got to know him. Gotch offered his expertise and shared some stories of great catch men of the past. I got the feeling that he enjoyed hanging around the wrestlers that were training at "Tiger's World of Martial Arts".
http://www.tigersworldma.us/
http://www.rfcmma.com/news/Bertos.pdf
http://www.thefightgame.tv/fightzone_pr_july_15_2008.htm

Sadly, Karl Gotch passed on Saturday July 28th,2007 at 82 among his family and close friends at 9:45 in Tampa Florida. He is the last true legend in my book.

Thanks to my friend, Berto, I got to know albeit briefly the great Karl Gotch the "God Of Wrestling". How many of us actually get to meet and get to know our heroes. I was able to and my life is richer for it. - Coach

JUDO: Actor Bo Svenson Competes in USA Judo Masters National Championships

2009-08-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

Nicole Jomantas - USA Judo April 20, 2009

USA Judo had a touch of Hollywood glamour on Saturday in San Diego when actor Bo Svenson (Pacific Palisades, Calif. / Sawtelle Judo Dojo) competed in his first judo tournament in more than 40 years. Svenson is a television and film actor, whose career has spanned more than 30 years and included the “Walking Tall” series as well as movies such as “Kill Bill 2” and “Speed 2.”

Svenson returned to the sport earlier this year with the goal of competing in the World Masters Championships this summer.

“Staying away from judo so long has been my life’s biggest regret,” Svenson said. “But I joined the Marines and was a disabled veteran who fought in the Korean War. And the entertainment industry has obviously kept me very busy.”

Svenson placed second in his 65-69-year-old 90kg division.

“I broke several ribs a few weeks ago, but I don’t believe in making excuses. I’m just getting back into the sport again and, God willing, I’ll be injury-free at the Worlds,” Svenson said.

THE WINTER HAVEN JUDO CLUB

2009-08-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Winter haven judo club and its instructors are committed to teaching and educating people on the physical, mental and philosophical benefits of the art of judo.

The Winter Haven Judo Club was founded in 1973 by Sensei H. "Jack" Ro. It was the first martial arts school to open in the city of Winter Haven and is still the only Judo program in the city to this day. The school has persavered over the years first under the guidance of Sensei Ro and then under the guidance of Sensei T. Tucker who presently carries on the tradition and example first set by Sensei Ro.

Head Instuctor: Sensei T. Tucker
Asst. Instructor: Sensei Ernie Camp
Asst Instructor: Sensei Barron Shepherd
Location: Chain O Lakes Recreational Complex

Days and Times: Monday, 6:00-7:15 p.m.
Age: all ages
Information: (863) 291-5656
Contact: Cynthia Marks
Recreation Supervisor I
Chain O' Lakes Complex
email: cmarks@mywinterhaven.com
Resident Fee: $35 per sessionNon-Resident Fee: $45 per session
Registration Info: 15 minutes prior to start of class. First class is free.
Classes will be held in the Mat Room.

Senior Instructor T. Tucker helping young student with Kesa Katame

News Chief article 1996: "The Winter Haven Judo club held an instructional class at the Chain O Lakes complex on Monday. Above student Michelle Williams, 12, throws her instructor Terry Tucker.

Williams practices her holding techniques on asst. instructor Barron Shepherd.(right)

Tucker shows Williams proper holds using Shepherd as the victim.(right) Tucker takes to the air before bringing Shepherd to the mat.(right)

Williams looks on as Tucker gets ready to throw Shepherd(below)

Tournaments:
SUNSHINE STATE GAMES (1996)
Dan Jarvis Winter Haven Judo club 2nd place (Silver medal)

SUNSHINE STATE GAMES (1998)
Tampa Convention Center, May 30 and 31, 1998.

Tony Lee Winter Haven Judo club 2nd place (Silver Medal) Master's Division
Barron Shepherd Winter Haven Judo club 2nd Place (Silver Medal) Master's Division
http://www.kinofuda.com/98ssg.htm#MENMASTERS

MASAHIKO KIMURA: JUDO'S ULTIMATE FIGHTER

2009-08-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Masahiko Kimura ( Kimura Masahiko, September 10, 1917 – April 18, 1993) was a Japanese judoka (Judo practitioner) who is widely considered one of the greatest judoka of all time.
Kimura (5ft 7in 170 cm; 85 kg, 187lb) was born on September 10, 1917 in Kumamoto, Japan.

At age 16, after six years of judo, Kimura was promoted to 4th dan. He had defeated six opponents (who were all 3rd and 4th dan) in a row. In 1935 at age 18 he became the youngest ever godan (5th degree black belt) when he defeated eight consecutive opponents at Kodokan (headquarters for the main governing body of Judo). Kimura's remarkable success can in part be attributed to his fanatical training regimen. He reportedly lost only four judo matches in his lifetime, all occurring in 1935. He considered quitting judo after those losses, but through the encouragement of friends he began training again. All through the nights, he practiced osoto gari, a basic leg throw, against a tree. After six months, his technique was such that daily ran dori or sparring sessions at various dojos resulted in 10 people with concussions. Fellow students frequently asked him not to use his unorthodox osoto gari.

At the height of his career, Kimura's training involved a thousand push-ups and nine-hours practice every day. He was promoted to 7th dan at age 30, a rank that was frozen after disputes with Kodokan over becoming a professional wrestler, refusing to return the All Japan Judo Championship flag, and issuing dan ranks while in Brazil.Kimura also entered karate in his pursuit of martial arts, believing that karate would strengthen his hands. First he trained what today is known as Shotokan karate under its founder Gichin Funakoshi for two years, but eventually switched to training goju-ryu karate under So-Nei Chu (a pupil of Goju-ryu karate legend Gogen Yamagushi) and finally became an assistant instructor in his dojo

In 1955, Kimura, at 38 years old, participated in a match in which he defeated Hélio Gracie of the famous Gracie Jiu Jitsu family in a submission judo match held in Brazil. During the fight, Kimura threw Gracie repeatedly with Ippon Seoinage (one arm shoulder throw), Osoto Gari (major outer reap) *Kimura's signature throw. He threw Helio 3 times with Osoto Gari.*, Ouchi Gari (major inner reap), Uchimata (inner thigh throw), and Harai Goshi (sweeping hip throw). Kimura reportedly threw Gracie repeatedly in an effort to knock him unconscious. However, the floor of the fighting area was apparently too soft to allow this to happen. Kimura also inflicted painful, suffocating grappling techniques on Gracie such as kuzure-kamishiho-gatame (modified upper four corner hold), kesa-gatame (scarf hold), and sankaku-jime (triangle choke).

Finally, thirteen minutes into the bout, Kimura positioned himself to apply a reverse ude-garami (arm entanglement, a shoulderlock). Gracie refused to submit, even after his arm broke, forcing Kimura to continue the lock on Gracie's broken arm. At this point, Carlos Gracie, Helio's older brother, threw in the towel to end the match to protect his brother's health. In 1994, Helio admitted in an interview that he had in fact been choked unconscious earlier in the match, but had revived when Kimura released the choke.

As a tribute to Kimura's victory, the reverse ude-garami technique has since been commonly referred to as the Kimura lock, or simply the Kimura, in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and, more recently, mixed martial arts circles.

Kimura describes the event as follows:

"20,000 people came to see the bout including President of Brazil. Helio was 180cm and 80 kg. When I entered the stadium, I found a coffin. I asked what it was. I was told, "This is for Kimura. Helio brought this in." It was so funny that I almost burst into laughter. As I approached the ring, raw eggs were thrown at me. The gong rang. Helio grabbed me in both lapels, and attacked me with O-soto-gari and Kouchi-gari. But they did not move me at all. Now it's my turn. I blew him away up in the air by O-uchi-gari, Harai-goshi, Uchimata, Ippon-seoi. At about 10 minute mark, I threw him by O-soto-gari. I intended to cause a concussion. But since the mat was so soft that it did not have much impact on him. While continuing to throw him, I was thinking of a finishing method. I threw him by O-soto-gari again. As soon as Helio fell, I pinned him by Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame. I held still for 2 or 3 minutes, and then tried to smother him by belly. Helio shook his head trying to breathe. He could not take it any longer, and tried to push up my body extending his left arm. That moment, I grabbed his left wrist with my right hand, and twisted up his arm. I applied Udegarami. I thought he would surrender immediately. But Helio would not tap the mat. I had no choice but keep on twisting the arm. The stadium became quiet. The bone of his arm was coming close to the breaking point. Finally, the sound of bone breaking echoed throughout the stadium. Helio still did not surrender. His left arm was already powerless. Under this rule, I had no choice but twist the arm again. There was plenty of time left. I twisted the left arm again. Another bone was broken. Helio still did not tap. When I tried to twist the arm once more, a white towel was thrown in. I won by TKO. My hand was raised high. Japanese Brazilians rushed into the ring and tossed me up in the air. On the other hand, Helio let his left arm hang and looked very sad withstanding the pain."

Kimura returned to brazil in 1959, at age 42, he faced an even more formidable opponent in Valdemar Santana. Santana was a champion in Gracie Jiujitsu and Capoeira. He was 27 years old, 6 feet tall, and weighed 205lb. Santana had twice fought Hélio Gracie and won, both fights lasting more than three hours. Kimura threw Santana with seoinage, hanegoshi, and osotogari. He then applied his famous reverse ude-garami (entangled armlock), winning the match.

Santana requested a rematch under vale tudo rules and this time, the result was a draw after 40 minutes in a bout in which both competitors reportedly drew blood. Kimura fought this match despite having an injured knee, and was pressured by the promoter and police to fight against his doctors orders. -WIKIPEDIA

JUDO: WIKIPEDIA

2009-08-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Judo, meaning "gentle way", is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō) and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling manoeuvre, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking the elbow or by executing a choke. Strikes and thrusts (by hands and feet)—as well as weapons defences—are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori).

Ultimately, the philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for almost all modern Japanese martial arts that developed from "traditional" schools (koryū). In addition, the worldwide spread of judo has led to the development of a number of offshoots such as Sambo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Practitioners of judo are called jūdōka.

Early life of the founder

The early history of judo is inseparable from its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Jigoro Kano ( Kanō Jigorō, 1860–1938). Kano was born into a well-to-do Japanese family. His grandfather was a self-made man: a sake brewer from Shiga prefecture in central Japan. However, Kano's father was not the eldest son and therefore did not inherit the business. Instead, he became a Shinto priest and government official, with enough influence for his son to enter the second incoming class of Tokyo Imperial University.

Founder pursues jujutsu

Kano was a small, frail boy, who, even in his twenties, did not weigh more than a hundred pounds (45 kg), and was often picked on by bullies. He first started pursuing jujutsu, at that time a dying art,^[4] at the age of 17, but met with little success. This was in part due to difficulties finding a teacher who would take him on as a student. When he went to university to study literature at the age of 18, he continued his martial arts studies, eventually gaining a referral to Fukuda Hachinosuke (c.1828–c.1880), a master of the Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū and grandfather of Keiko Fukuda (born 1913), who is Kano's only surviving student, and the highest-ranking female jūdōka in the world. Fukuda Hachinosuke is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's emphasis on free practice (randori) in judo.

A little more than a year after Kano joined Fukuda's school, Fukuda became ill and died. Kano then became a student in another Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū school, that of Iso Masatomo (c.1820–c.1881), who put more emphasis on the practice of pre-arranged forms (kata) than Fukuda had. Through dedication, Kano quickly earned the title of master instructor (shihan) and became assistant instructor to Iso at the age of 21. Unfortunately, Iso soon took ill, and Kano, feeling that he still had much to learn, took up another style, becoming a student of Iikubo Tsunetoshi (1835–1889) of Kitō-ryū. Like Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on free practice. On the other hand, Kitō-ryū emphasized throwing techniques to a much greater degree than Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū.

Founding

By this time, Kano was devising new techniques, such as the "shoulder wheel" (kata-guruma, known as a fireman's carry to Western wrestlers who use a slightly different form of this technique) and the "floating hip" (uki goshi) throw. However, he was already thinking about doing far more than just expanding the canons of Kitō-ryū and Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū. Full of new ideas, Kano had in mind a major reformation of jujutsu, with techniques based on sound scientific principles, and with focus on development of the body, mind and character of young men in addition to development of martial prowess. At the age of 22, when he was just about to finish his degree at the University, Kano took nine students from Iikubo's school to study jujutsu under him at the Eisho-ji, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, and Iikubo came to the temple three days a week to help teach. Although two years would pass before the temple would be called by the name "Kodokan", or "place for teaching the way", and Kano had not yet been accorded the title of "master" in the Kitō-ryū, this is now regarded as the Kodokan's founding.

Judo^[5] was originally known as Kano Jiu-Jitsu or Kano Jiu-Do, and later as Kodokan Jiu-Do or simply Jiu-Do or Judo. In the early days, it was also still referred to generically simply as Jiu-Jitsu.^[6]