Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

It would be awesome if i could get some tips for kumi kata, i tried looking for videos on the forum of Judo but i couldnt find any related, even better if someone would link a video that Sensei Lowry, Sensei Sloan and Sensei Hall would approve of, and a gift from heaven if the videos were form wind song dojo and explained by one of them, i really love the way they explain everything is very clear and great to follow

My approach tends to be pretty simple. I don't really subscribe to the modern Judo grip fighting stuff. I tend to favor Anton Geesink's "you come take what you want, and I'll take what's left" approach.



Just lift your hands up and walk toward the opponent. They're left in the position of taking a grip, and then you grab what's left that works. Judo should not be dependent on a specific grip, against a specific opponent (speaking toward weight class), against a specific technique. Just let them come grab a piece of jacket, then you grab a piece of jacket and start to work.

You may want to look at the Aikido release techniques, as these can sometimes be used to a high advantage against folks.

Just my two cents.

Wow, now i get why kumi kata wont show up in any of my attempts to get info on Traditional Judo, i never imagined kumi-kata was some sort of new modern way into judo, and now that i think of it, i saw japanese judokas making the exactly approach in tournaments that you are explaining to me, i always tought that they were some kind of pro-masters in kumi-kata.

Thanks a lot for the enlightenment i really like more that kind of approach than kumi kata, i always mislead myself into thinking that kumi kata was part of traditional judo and that i needed to learn that as if it was mandatory but, this takes some serious weight out of my shoulders.

Thanks a lot Sloan Sensei

And sorry if im not to active in the forums, im more of a reader for now since i still got lots to learn about Judo

Lionel Thomas wrote:Thanks a lot for the enlightenment i really like more that kind of approach than kumi kata, i always mislead myself into thinking that kumi kata was part of traditional judo and that i needed to learn that as if it was mandatory but, this takes some serious weight out of my shoulders.

Some schools teach it as part of their regular curriculum. We don't. None of my guys have torn up fingers from the usual "chicken fighting" behavior folks exhibit.

Thanks a lot Sloan Sensei

You're quite welcome. You can just call me Kyle. No need for formality.

And sorry if im not to active in the forums, im more of a reader for now since i still got lots to learn about Judo

I still have a lot to learn too. Thanks for chiming in and giving us something to look at. Maybe some other folks will chime in with their thoughts as well.

I mostly agree with Kyle that overemphasis on kumikata is modern competitive nonsense. But - I have actually been experimenting for a couple of years with the 'tomiki releases as kumikata' idea that Kyle mentioned. That is a pretty good way of framing the problem...

as I see it, the initial problem in a judo match is about the same as the initial problem in a tomiki match or in many street encounters. you know a conflict is coming and you start outside of touching distance. This means that the attacker has to bridge that distance safely, hopefully at the same time disrupting the other guy's posture/balance/plans. That right there is a pretty good description of tomiki releases - they are about moving from far to near without getting hurt and while disrupting the other guy.

Also, if you look at the teachings of the gripfighting camp, they tell you that when you reach for a grip, you are not reaching, but actually punching in, then taking a grip. the arm action and body management is much like a boxer or karate guy - so if the other guy is punching-in for a grip, you ought to be able to use any of the tomiki stuff with little modification.

However, the releases, in their normal forms, place you behind uke's arm with both of your hands on his arm. This is a no-no in tournament rules (you're courting a penalty if you grab one sleeve with two hands and hold it) so, i'd say the releases make a great transitional-type of kumikata if you either dont care about the tourney rules or if you immediately switch from the release position to a 2-sided grip or a throw.

an added benefit of this type of kumikata is nobody in the tournament circuit fights this way, so it is unexpected.

I would personally LOVE LOVE LOVE to see someone pull off a release #1 to hadakajime from standing in a tournament setting 😄