Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

Hey all,

First of all thanks BIG TIME for all the judo videos, I love the deeper theory behind the techniques that you cover and it really compliments the practical repetition that I do during classes.

I started Judo again (after doing in for a year or so when I was 😎 a few weeks ago and instantly got injured. I have somehow managed to fracture two ribs just through doing seoi nage and o-goshi mixed with some gappling. I watched Kyles warm up video for judo that you guys seem to do and I've realised I have literally no flexibility at all. This really got me thinking that the reason I got injured (and therefore the likelyhood of me getting injured again soon) may be due to my lack of flexibility.

Do you guys think this could be the case? If so, could you suggest any ways for me to improve my flexibility purely for Judo? I'd really appreciate any advice you could share. It may be just that I'm not practiced enough at Ukemi and I just fell funny too often and that flexibility isn't really a factor in injury, I'm rather clueless at the moment!

Thanks for making these videos and I'll be tuning in regularly to learn and improve.

Glad you like the videos 😀

I don't know that flexibility is the necessarily the issue here, especially considering broken ribs. Don't get me wrong, flexibility is a great thing to have. I see my warm-up routine as a way to identify issues before I start working. For example, my low back may be tighter than usual because I spent more time on a ladder at work, so I want to adjust my play accordingly.

I would lean toward either your landing, or your partner throwing excessively hard as a possible culprit. Likewise, in a "sport mode" where you're actively engaging in not being thrown can lead to injury. I had one of my dojo classmates dislocate a rib while trying to avoid being thrown. The internal tension in his body from being defensive, coupled with a normal impact from being thrown was sufficient to pop his rib. What's worse is that I had been laying him down incredibly easy all night -- no hard impact -- as if we were working on carpet with no mat.

Overly enthusiastic grappling can cause similar issues. I've separated one of my ribs before hold kesa-gatame with extreme force. I've also seen guys separate ribs and break their own toes from attempting to escape with great vigor.

If you want to increase flexibility, work at it easily. If you're starting at square one, you should see some fairly large improvements in flexibility over the course of the first few weeks back at training. You can use the same sort of stretching routine in the video at the end of class as well. Your muscles will be very warmed up, tired and hopefully looser. Increasing the amount of time you hold the stretch will also get improvements. Simply going from a 10 count to a 15 or 20 count will really increase results. Stretch easily though; just hold the muscle under tension, relax, don't bounce (also known as ballistic stretching).

Thanks for your reply Kyle.

I'm having a hard time identifying exactly when I did the damage. I'm mega competetive, so despite being at it 4 weeks I was trying my hardest to give the black belts a hard time in randoori. I have been landing hard to be honest, I think I need to drill Ukemi more as my club seem to rarely do it. I know Judo is a tough sport but I don't want to spend all my time injured, I want to enjoy the sport to the fullist.

If I ever come to the states I'll be sure to look you guys up you seem to have a great thing going on there!

I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Highly competitive play can do this sort of thing. I enjoyed it when I was a younger lad, but I find recovery time just keeps increasing as the years go by.

While you're healing up (because, after all, Judo guys don't stop training for trivial stuff like broken ribs) I would recommend shifting gears. Get with a higher rank, make sure they know you're injured and would like to work lightly -- possibly without throwing. Ask for a lesson -- their take on whatever hits them. It might be their favorite throw, or it could be something they think will be beneficial to you at this stage of your career. Some guys will let you try whatever you're working on, and then give you pointers. Give yourself permission to be a student and accept information without being competitive; this will likely be difficult, but it will be very worthwhile in the end. I suspect you will come away with a lot of highly valuable information over the course of a month or two while healing up.

You may find it helpful, especially if the senior guys are willing to lay down some technical info, to keep a notebook. Some guys take notes practically every class at our dojo. Some guys don't keep notes (at least while they're at the dojo). I've tried several times over the years and have never been particularly skilled or consistent at it. But, the notes I have taken have been very worthwhile. Trying to describe how things feel and setup will help you develop a descriptive language, and also brings much deeper reflection on practices. I know some guys who have essentially kept notes on each person they play, how they've been thrown, what throw was used, on which side, how it was setup, etc.

That's exactly why I like your videos so much to be honest. I'll definitely start taking notes. Although I'm injured I am still going to the training sessions and it's such a mechanical process. Turn in, place foot here, lean in like this, pull with that arm, grab with that arm. Although that's important I find it more useful to know why I am doing what I am doing not just the how. It seems (even with my very limited Judo knowledge) that Judo is more about the manipulation of, and reaction to, (and stealing your words...!) a certain condition. I'm actually a musician by trade, I've spent many hours practicing routines/techniques and I didn't actually learn the why until I started teaching myself. Now I've taken up Judo I'm very much after a deeper understanding from the outset. I do regret coming to the sport so late, I've played infront of thousands of people and never been half as excited as I am 10 mins before Judo training starts. I feel it might be a little late to dream of an Olympic career in it mind! 😛

I've loved your Ashi waza videos too. In the 5 weeks since I started our dojo has never mentioned Ashi Waza at all. I've been trying to drill it with my wife, who is quite an experienced (Judoka?) but we haven't quite got to grips with that yet, perhaps I'm still engaging the big thigh muscles rather than maintaining the order than you guys state. Really wish I could come to your sessions instead! 2500 miles might be a bit far to travel for Judo training though....

What instrument(s) do you play? I play a bit of acoustic guitar, mainly 70's classic rock stuff, though I also play with stuff from the current era. I found that music really helped me change how I looked at martial arts. I think it really helped me tap into an "artistic" mode and get outside the box as it were.

Looking at practice from the outside can be highly beneficial. When they "turn in, place foot here, lean in like this, pull with that arm, grab with that arm", look at how posture for both players is affected. When pulling with an arm, what does it accomplish? Do the bodies collide like billiard balls, or do they sort of meld together? Some of the best stuff is seen from the outside, especially if you're really dissecting technique.

Hey Kyle,

I play Sax, Piano, Clarinet and Guitar mainly. I've played sax since I was 8, funnily enough the same year I took up Judo for the first time! The other instruments I started learning to get more work then decided to play guitar for fun. I really enjoy the guitar, probably more so than any of the other instruments I play actually. Nothing beats jamming along with your favourite rock songs...well apart from Judo 😉 I can totally see where you're coming from with it allowing you to take a more artistic look at your martial arts though. Judo seems to be mostly improvisation built upon techniques, strength, accuracy, endurance and speed. Sound slike jamming along to Iron Maiden to me 😛 Not that I am actually anywhere near good enough to Jam with Iron Maiden.

My wife had her first Judo tournment today, it was a local event designed for regional clubs. When we got there we saw lots of Judogi's with "GBR" stamped on the back. Only 3 teams showed up, the rest decided not to come along because they had no chance of beating the top two teams. My wife's first fight was against a 2nd Dan black belt and the girl made mincemeat of her 🙁 These guys were very good and a few of them are competing at this years Olympics. My wife (Cloudy) lasted all of 30 secs until she was thrown, however, it's really inspired us both to train hard and become as good as we can. Next time this event comes along cloudy wants to win! It was an awesome day, these guys were scarily good but it was an awesome opportunity to watch world class players in action.

Can you possibly suggest a training scheduled catered towards competetive Judo? We're both REALLY keen, after my ribs are fixed I want us to get stuck in to some serious training. We're going to start attending three classes per week and start doing some grading, plus attend seminars whenever they arise. I'm wondering if attending a gym is as useful as maybe going running/swimming combined with regular Judo training. I never was one for hitting the gym and lifting weights regularly but if thats what it takes to become a really good Judo guy then so be it! Thought I'd ask as I'm here but if you'd rather just link me to somewhere else that would be fine too 😄 I think I'm going to keep an eye out for Judo camps over the summer that we can maybe attend. Do you guys run one?

Daniel Christian wrote:
I play Sax, Piano, Clarinet and Guitar mainly. I've played sax since I was 8, funnily enough the same year I took up Judo for the first time! The other instruments I started learning to get more work then decided to play guitar for fun. I really enjoy the guitar, probably more so than any of the other instruments I play actually. Nothing beats jamming along with your favourite rock songs...well apart from Judo 😉 I can totally see where you're coming from with it allowing you to take a more artistic look at your martial arts though. Judo seems to be mostly improvisation built upon techniques, strength, accuracy, endurance and speed. Sound slike jamming along to Iron Maiden to me 😛 Not that I am actually anywhere near good enough to Jam with Iron Maiden.

I love Iron Maiden! Bruce's vocals are still out of sight. Rob Halford is about the only other vocalist with range & duration of Bruce. Dave Murray is awesome on guitar.

My wife had her first Judo tournment today, it was a local event designed for regional clubs. When we got there we saw lots of Judogi's with "GBR" stamped on the back. Only 3 teams showed up, the rest decided not to come along because they had no chance of beating the top two teams. My wife's first fight was against a 2nd Dan black belt and the girl made mincemeat of her 🙁 These guys were very good and a few of them are competing at this years Olympics. My wife (Cloudy) lasted all of 30 secs until she was thrown, however, it's really inspired us both to train hard and become as good as we can. Next time this event comes along cloudy wants to win! It was an awesome day, these guys were scarily good but it was an awesome opportunity to watch world class players in action.

30 seconds against an Olympic caliber athlete, or anyone who trains with/against Olympic caliber folks is commendable. One of our guys went to nationals a couple of times in the 1990's, and everyone had to step their game up while practicing with him.

Just like guitar, you seldom improve by playing with folks of the same caliber. Only by hanging out with more skilled folks, asking for assistance & guidance can you really make huge leaps in skill in a short period of time.

Can you possibly suggest a training scheduled catered towards competetive Judo? We're both REALLY keen, after my ribs are fixed I want us to get stuck in to some serious training. We're going to start attending three classes per week and start doing some grading, plus attend seminars whenever they arise. I'm wondering if attending a gym is as useful as maybe going running/swimming combined with regular Judo training. I never was one for hitting the gym and lifting weights regularly but if thats what it takes to become a really good Judo guy then so be it! Thought I'd ask as I'm here but if you'd rather just link me to somewhere else that would be fine too 😄 I think I'm going to keep an eye out for Judo camps over the summer that we can maybe attend. Do you guys run one?

By and large, out dojo is pretty much done with the competitive scene. So far as work for competitors, conditioning is usually the main focus. Go running, but don't just run for distance alone; we would run a fixed distance, then sprint the next interval, then back to a jog. Judo is a bursty sport -- periods of full-out exertion with gaps of setting up in between. Here in the states there are a lot of large wooden telephone & electrical poles which are evenly spaced, though things like traffic stripe markings works well too. I've never been a huge fan of weights -- I find it boring & repetitive. Body weight exercise to build endurance (such as pushups) is better in my opinion. For competition, typically you want to have one main throw, a backup throw that compliments it, one hold down and sometimes one submission. Ultimately, the best way to get in Judo shape is to play as much Judo as you can.

Competition work is a fairly narrow spectrum of technique and application. Don't just look at what everyone else is doing and do that. Find what works for you. If you have the chance, video tape (or use a digital camera, cell phone, etc.) to record your matches and review them later. Get with a good coach who can assist you with picking throws that are good for your body size, speed, agility, and what naturally comes out of you. Once you have your throws, train quality reps as much as you can. It takes just as much effort to train one good rep as it takes to train poor technique.

I'm a classically trained sax player, but I dont love classical music. I enjoy the challenge of playing hard pieces on the saxophone I've always been into rock/metal and especially into bands who are as good live as they are on thier studio albums. I'm really into Nightwish at the moment it's like rock opera akin to Queen really albeit in a darker Finnish sort of way! And recently, Dream Theater. I never gave them a chance after hearing the raucous screaming but they're actually amazing musicians and live...they're sensational, if you dont know them already give them a listen, really worthwhile. As a musican you have to appreciate anyone who cosistently writes in 21/8!

I don't know how it works in the states but when you sign up for a Judo license over here you get given a training diary/syllabus. It's actually quite comprehensive and sets out a training schedule for you. It's very much set on burst and using body wieght rather than weights. I've been running 30 mins a day for the past 6 months or so, 19Kg has dropped from me in the process! But its mostly a leisurely run and instead of pushing it to the limit 80's fashion I end up being quite casual. Its a very hilly run though so as soon as I can take the impact again I'll start sprinting the hills, this makes me hurt at the thought...! I've actually covered our front room in Judo mats, my teaching room is like a mini dojo, Cloudy's fight was actually filmed do you think you might want to see it? I may be able to get hold of a copy.

Throw of the day was Seio-nage which in turn was blocked so the player went to his knees and did seio nage from their knees couple with pushing up to complete the throw. That and them staying very close to the edge of the mats so they could roll out if they got into trouble. The players from our Dojo were true amateurs so I thought it was a bit mean to incorporate such strong tactics against much less experienced players. But still its all a learning curve! A few of our guys won; this really shocked the GBR teams. I doubt I'd have lasted 5 seconds out there but god I really wanted to be in the thick of it!