Category: BJJ

1st Kyu and the first 10 points for Dan grade

Well, it is a week ago now, and I think it has finally sunk in!

I attended one of the final Kyu gradings before the new Technical Syllabus kicks in. Due to it being one of the last ones, there were Judoka from as far afield as Wales, Dorset and East Sussex.

I went in as 3rd Kyu and had two fights. I won both by Ippon and neither presented me with much problem. I certainly don’t mean this in an egotistical way: It says more for the quality of the Judoka who throw me about on a regular basis in training preparing me well for it! (One of the final sessions before this left me a total wreck, both physically and mentally, and my confidence was not very high at all). But I guess I managed to “turn it on” for the day.

Here’s a video of one of those fights (Thanks to the attendees from Windsor Judo Club for recording it):

Even better, the two club-mates who attended as well both successfully graded up on the day.

As I had nothing to lose at this point, I decided to go for points towards my Dan grade. This was really to assess the standard so I could see where I had to get to. I lost my two qualifying fights quite convincingly, but managed to Tani Otoshi someone in a line-up I was in, so walked away with 10 points (100 required over time). Not a bad start!

I’m not sure when I will go for points again. I feel I really do need to settle into my brown belt before continuing. But we’ll see.

I’ve indulged in a BJJ lesson on the side (Excellent – lots of drills and great techniques), but am not sure if I’d be able to fit it in on a regular basis. Nice to have the option though.

I think it’s more likely that I will make more of an effort to attend the “high-end” Randori sessions, and pick up a thrashing from the long-term black belts. It forces me to capitalise on movement, rather than just wait and be thrown. Watching the video above, I worked the movement and grips, and I need to make sure I do that at all times in training. Easier said than done when doing Randori with people with many, many years more experience though 🙂

Now to get learning that Kata…

Need More Strength (and techniques from the guard)

Training tonight I realised that I am probably the weakest guy there! Ah, the wonders of a desk job, and more importantly, having slacked off the weight training. At least the last part will soon be fixed, as per my last post.

Now, of course technique is super-important, but at the end of the day, speed, agility, strength and stamina do all come into play.

Of course, if someone is obviously stronger, attempting to meet them head-on in Newaza is silly. Using speed and grip-work is important. Again, I need to work on being faster to establish a dominant grip and then work round into a more preferable position. I will continue to beat myself up over this one!

I also would like more techniques to employ when having pulled guard. I have long legs and would really like to get Triangle Chokes to work well.

Great video on this: