Blog Profile / Mokuren Dojo
| URL : | http://www.mokurendojo.com/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Martial Arts / Judo | |
| Posts on Regator: | 1471 | |
| Posts / Week: | 5.4 | |
| Archived Since: | March 5, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
Ukemi is not a warmup exercise
Ukemi (falling practice) is not some onerous aside that we have to get through at the beginning of class before we can go on to the real judo. Ukemi is actually closer to being the main event - the most valuable physical skill and the most beneficial practice form that we do. Show More Summary
What do you teach the day-1 beginner?
I figure pretty much everyone has an opinion on this one... At your club, what do you like to teach an absolute beginner on their very first day of judo or aikido classes? A lot of it is probably similar from club-to-club, but I betShow More Summary
Homework for the Union Judoka
I've been talking for several days about how I think about combos and how I like to train doing combos. Of course, your mileage might vary. You might think about them differently or you might prefer to train them differently. . Pretty much every judoka that has ever lived has gone through the process of learning some combinations. Show More Summary
A method for practicing combos in judo
Two days ago I mentioned that you (judo brown belts) need a system for organizing your knowledge re. combos and a method for practicing and internalizing some combos. Yesterday I gave a few guidelines as a systematic way to think about combos - to sort of limit and focus your study of judo combos. Show More Summary
The System - guidelines for combos
I ended yesterday's article about combinations in judo by asserting that by about brown belt, you should already know the techniques that comprise the vast majority of combos as well as all the footwork that comprises all the transitions between techniques in combos. Show More Summary
You already know all possible combos
So, I was talking in the last post about the necessity of winnowing the vast amount of material in the domain of judo down to a core of material that is manageable not only within a human lifetime, but within a few months. I also mentioned...Show More Summary
What do you spend your time on?
We only have so much time in our lives, and only a fraction of that can go toward getting better at judo. So, what do you spend your time on? If you figure that the Kodokan guys said that there are about 40 throws in judo and if we estimate...Show More Summary
The connective tissue of combinations
In our bodies we have connective tissue. This is the bone and ligament and fascia and tendon that keeps everything hooked together and contained and looking human-shaped. . In judo, deashibarai (and/or kosotogari) is the connective tissue...Show More Summary
Union U. Fall seminar topics
One of the topics that the Union Judo guys were saying that they wanted me to cover in our Fall seminar in a week or so is more advanced tachiwaza - like for Brown belts. Gotta keep feeding those budding club leaders and instructors. . Well,...Show More Summary
Principles of aikido as spectra
Another way to think about variation between practitioners of an art like aikido... . Kata techniques are intended to be formal examples, or instantiations of principles. If, for instance, we say that we have 4 principles: control ma-ai evade...Show More Summary
Spectra in aikido kata
A masterful painter could use any of a number of tools to paint a painting. He might use several types of brush, or he could cut a reed and chew up the end and paint with it. He could paint with a feather or with a metal spatula. Part...Show More Summary
Psy-ki-do - Visualization rehearsals
In aikido and judo, most all of the kata are partner exercises that require a real partner to work with. So, what do you do when you don't have a kata partner available when you want to get in some practice? . One possibility is visualization exercises - sort of like meditating and going through the kata sequence in your mind. Show More Summary
How kotegaeshi works
Someone posed me a question yesterday along the lines of, "There are so many different variations of kotegaeshi that I've seen, what is the central principle that lets you call all of these kotegaeshi?" Here's my understanding of kotegaeshi... . First some background. Show More Summary
Uke's Sword of Damocles
Cicero once told a story about King Dionysus forcing a fool named Damocles to sit in his throne with a sword suspended above him by a single hair. The (literal) suspense was so great that Damocles finally begged to be relieved of the throne. Show More Summary
Gaining context for aikijo
So, how have I been approaching the context problem in aikijo that I was discussing in yesterday's post? . I started out with the premise that making uke into a better attacker would make tori's aikijo better. Sounds simple, right? Well,...Show More Summary
Tomiki aikijo
This weekend we got a goodly amount of practice in, among other things, the pieces of aikijo that Tomiki left us as parts of Sankata and Rokukata. For quite a while now I have had a problem with this material that I have been unable to fully articulate. Show More Summary
Jodori or jonage?
In aikido there comes a point where we begin playing with sticks (called jo). There are a couple of major practices modes that we play with called jodori (in which we are taking a stick away from an attacker) and jonage or jotsukai (in...Show More Summary
12 ways junokata teaches randori
I have been blogging a good bit in the past year or so about Junokata - one of the oldest formal exercises in judo and one of the kata that is supposed to especially express the Ju spirit of judo. One of the surprising things that I...Show More Summary
We misunderstand randori AND ukemi!
So, I commented in a previous article that since... Kano said/implied that Junokata was meant to transmit practical randori knowledge to relative beginners, and... We can no longer see much relationship between randori and junokata... Show More Summary
Spurt vs. long haul
Recently I was chatting with a local martial artist who has been doing kick-block-punch type stuff for longer than I've been alive! Great guy! Unassuming fellow. Very interesting to talk to about a lot of subjects. This fellow seemed like the epitome of a long-time martial artist.. Show More Summary