The purpose of Uchikomi is to ‘groove’ a technique so that your body will perform the technique without thinking of how to do it. The goal is to perform a given technique just as you drive a car – mindlessly. When driving down the freeway, you don’t consciously think that the car in the next lane over is about to cut in – you simply slow down and make room without thinking about it. Good Judo technique is the same way. When my opponent goes into Jigotai, and makes the mistake of bending forward too much, one of my arms will snake over his shoulder, and grab his belt – without any thinking on my part… it’s simply an automatic reaction on my part to an opponent’s mistake.

So why would anyone want to ‘groove’ a technique that doesn’t work? Or ‘groove’ a mistake? Yet this is exactly what happens at most dojo’s on a nightly basis. Let’s visualize for a moment… I’m watching two Judoka doing uchikomi for a right-sided Ippon Seoinage. Tori first throws his right foot back, then swings it forward and plants it (turning, to face the other way), then brings his left foot around and plants it… of course, the appropriate kuzushi and hand movements are employed… but I’d like to ask you… if you saw someone swinging their leg backwards, prior to swinging it in for a throw, what do you suppose your response would be?

Let’s imagine it. You’re in randori or shiai, and your opponent has just lifted his right foot, and swung it back… what do you do? Well, if you’re like me, and like to throw left or right, you’d immediately note that your opponent is standing on only one leg… and you’d attack it. You could do a left-sided Osoto Gari, a left-sided Tai Otoshi, a right-sided Sasae Tsuri Komi Ashi, a left-sided Ko Uchi Gake… and the list goes on.

Considering that in many throws, the Kuzushi involves getting Uke to support his weight on only one leg – is there any reason why you should hand this self kuzushi over to your opponent on a silver platter? Yet this is exactly what many Judoka are grooving in their uchikomi practice.

What does this swinging back of the leg do for Tori? Quite simple, it adds speed and momentum to the throw. And this makes you feel as if you are performing a better throw in Uchikomi than the actual case turns out to be. But should you actually do this in randori or shiai, particularly against someone that has the skill to take advantage of it, you’ll regret training this way.

Speed is certainly important in Judo – the power of a given throw is dependent on two factors – mass and momentum.  If you happen to be a heavyweight, your throw is going to be powerful even if you do it at half the speed of a lightweight.  But short of gaining weight, your most effective way to increase the power of your throws is to perform them faster.  Sometimes, this means getting more space between you, so that you have some room to develop momentum and speed coming in.  But doing so by swinging your leg back is no better than hanging a sign on your chest – Beware – I’m about to attempt a throw!  Why alert your opponent?

 

The words you use to characterize things will often give unintended meaning… a question that came up on the Judo Forum was asking if Judo clubs should teach “illegal” Judo techniques.

The reference was to techniques such as Daki Age, Kawazu Gake, and Kani Basami.  Which are not “illegal” techniques.  They are not allowed in competition, tis true, but the term “illegal” tends to have a meaning in English that is certainly not applicable here.  We don’t want Judoka to think that Kani Basami, for example, is “illegal” in the same sense that murder is illegal.

When such techniques are taught, they should be taught to the same people who are learning armbars, for example – advanced students who are smart enough to know when and when not to practice them.  But they must be taught, for as black belts, we are tasked to carry forward a tradition just as we learned it.  What was Kano’s reason for Judo?  It was, in part, to preserve a tradition that was dying.

And who knows?  Perhaps techniques that are not allowed in competition now may be allowed in the future.  I personally don’t consider Kani Basami to be the dangerous technique that some Judoka do, and wouldn’t mind if it made a comeback.  It used to be a favorite counter of mine to those who took a strong sideways stance.  I don’t recall ever actually picking up an Ippon with it – but it was always another weapon in my repetoire, and I was sad to see it go.

Some techniques, such as Daki Age, have a very specific place – and if you’re in the particular situation where it could be used, there really aren’t any other techniques that would suffice as well.  So by all means, be sure that your advanced Judoka know these techniques, and if you hold a brown belt or higher, and don’t recognize these techniques, might I suggest that you ask someone to show you?

 

I’m sure that those familiar with my website have read my article: Classical Osoto Gari Doesn’t Work! And yet, I’m constantly amazed at those who don’t understand the simple concept.

I was speaking with a Sandan last week after class, who’s been instructing classes for many years, and he couldn’t seem to grasp the concept that the way we teach Osotogari is never the way it’s actually performed in competition. Interestingly, he touted Yasuhiro Yamashita as an example of someone who regularly performs a ‘classical’ Osotogari in competition. Those of you who have read my article, and have seen pictures of Yamashita’s competitive waza, know differently.

This same Sandan who will correct beginning students who fail to step forward first before beginning the reap in Osotogari – fails to see the difference between the classical Osotogari, and the actual competitive version. I made the same challenge that I’ve been offering Judoka for years: Simply show me a photo of a classical Osotogari being used in competition. Perhaps such a photo exists outside of the white belt children’s division, but I’ve not seen it yet.

I was recently viewing a new DVD by Hal Sharp, that shows many historical film clips from the early 1950’s – and time and time again, I noted that these high ranking sensei were teaching Osotogari in the classical way – yet performing it in competition without stepping the non-reaping foot forward.

I have the sneaking suspicion that the problem of not recognizing this dichotomy between ‘classical’ and ‘competitive’ Osotogari is twofold – first, my use of the term ‘classical’ really irritates many Judoka – who will never admit that perhaps we can do things better today in some respects than the old masters. Perhaps if I referred to it as the ‘demonstration’ form of Osotogari instead, I wouldn’t have so much disagreement with such a simple concept.

Secondly – the martial arts are extremely tradition driven – and many sensei are not dissimilar to the old concept of a Jewish Rabbi – who would compare themselves to a cup that loses not a drop of what they had been taught. In the same way, we teach Judo the same way that we learned it, and often have a problem adapting to new methods.

Please don’t think that I’m advocating that we teach the competitive version of Osotogari to beginners – there are solid reasons for the way we teach the classical version of Osotogari. Let’s take a quick look:

• The ukemi out of a classical Osotogari is much more controlled.
• The concept of reaping is clear and cannot be missed.
• Kuzushi is simple and understandable.
• For beginners – this is simply a much safer version to work with… less chance of injury. This perhaps the strongest argument for retaining classical Osotogari!

But I would like to see the competitive form of Osotogari being taught to our competitors – who often have to figure it out on their own. By the time a Judoka makes sankyu, he should know the difference between the classical form, and the competitive form. They really are, in my opinion, two different throws – the classical form being a gari, and the competitive form being a gake.

What’s the simple difference between a gari and a gake? In a gari – you hold the upper body in position, and reap out the lower half of the body. In a gake – you hold the lower half of the body in place, and you push the upper half of the body over. This is a simplistic explanation, but it’s a useful one.

If you’ll at least consider the differences between the classical form, and the competitive form, my argument has been worthwhile. If you’ll move forward, and recognize that the classical form simply doesn’t work against knowledgeable opponents – I’ll have made the point I wanted to make.

 

One of the best ways to quickly improve your Tai Otoshi is to start doing it against the wrong leg. If you’re doing a right-sided Tai Otoshi, your right leg is normally blocking uke’s right leg… Don’t do it… start blocking uke’s left leg instead!

Sounds strange? You bet! But by training ‘Wrong Leg Tai Otoshi’, you develop most strongly the very skill that Tai Otoshi has as it’s fundamental basis. Judoka tend to forget that this is a Te Waza, a hand throw, not a hip or leg throw. If you can do uchikomi with your partner, and drive him up ‘tippy toe’ on his right foot with just the correct application of your body movement, and kuzushi using just your hands – you’ll be amazed at the power your normal Tai Otoshi develops in short order.

Hint: try driving your right forearm against uke’s chest, but closer along the side, rather than directly in front. This give you the ability to push uke to your left – and your sleeve grip will be guiding him.

Another hint: Always remember the maxim: “Your Uke is Always Ugly”… never be looking at Uke on any of the forward throws… turn your head strongly away from him. Your head is second only to your hips, in my estimation – for generating the torquing power that throws people…

 

Japanese martial arts have traditionally studied the distance between opponents, (ma-ai); while locked in combat. Indeed, using swords, the difference between life and death was no more than an inch.  So ma-ai became a topic of intense interest to those who wanted to survive.

Although it’s not quite the life and death struggle that it has been in the past, Judo too, has ma-ai.  In Tachiwaza, there are four stages of distancing that you must be familiar with, and able to defend against or offensively use.

1. No Grip: The referee has just called Hajime! – and no-one has their grip yet… it’s still a dangerous time, though!  One well-known Judoka, Robert van de Walle of Belgium, has mastered this range – for his most dangerous weapon was Morote Gari, a technique that becomes difficult or impossible once grips have been taken.

2. One Hand Grip: This is probably the most dangerous distance – many Judoka will not be as careful – thinking that their opponent needs to get the classic two-handed grip before attacking.  Ippon Seoinage is a popular attack in this situation.  I used to use Hiji Otoshi or Tai Otoshi with great effect from just a sleeve grip.  Of course, Ashi Waza of all sorts is well used at this distance too!  De Ashi Barai, Ko Soto Gari, and so forth – don’t need a two-handed grip – and can be a surprise if you aren’t prepared…  If you want to excel in shiai, this is a range you should have at least one or two attacks from – so when an opponent doesn’t want to give you a grip, you can still make an attack, perhaps even a successful one.

3. Two Handed Grip: This is your classical Judo grip – and where Judoka feel most comfortable.  There are situations here, however, that many people don’t take the time to study.  The Japanese break this situation up into two distinct grips, and study all throws using both situations:

Ai Yotsu: Both Judoka take the same side grip – such as both taking a right-handed grip. When right hand takes uke’s left lapel, and left hand takes uke’s right sleeve – this is the classic Judo kumikata

Kenka Yotsu: Both Judoka take the opposite side grip – such as one holding right-handed, and the other taking a left-sided grip.

To be well prepared – the smart Judoka will learn to execute his favorite techniques regardless of what grip his opponent takes.

4. Grappling Grip: Favored by Russian Judoka, and spreading through much of Europe – this distance involves taking a grip over the shoulder – perhaps reaching over uke’s shoulder and grabbing his belt… the bodies are closest, and positional mistakes are very easy to make, and can be taken advantage of quickly.  This is a very powerful gripping style, and favors very powerful throws such as Koshiwaza or Pickups.  This gripping style can be very intimidating to those not used to it – so you should master this range.  This is particularly favored by taller Judoka – as it’s rather difficult to do if you happen to be shorter than your opponent!

Next time you train, think about the four distances that you can throw your opponent from… try ‘em out!

 

I usually go into spasms of delight when I see my opponent ‘turtle up’ on the ground.  While this can be a score saving ‘trick’ in shiai, it usually means only a quick defeat in the dojo.

My favorite turnovers usually involve getting one of uke’s arms… and there’s a number of ways to do so… once you have an arm, unless you’ve run into a Judoka with an extremely bizarre shoulder joint, you have all you need to turn him over… and, as I’ve previously discussed, I like to quickly switch between techniques to pry out an arm… for example, I’ll simply push him, and unless he posts an arm or elbow, he’ll roll over… when he posts that elbow or arm, I’ve got all I need.  Or I start for a choke that will usually bring the elbows out… once again, it’s all I need.

Another yudansha at our club favors a Sankaku entry that he’s developed to a fine art.  Leading into Sankakujime, Jujijime, or even Sankakugatame, he has a wide variety of attacks from his basic start.

Every student must become proficient at ‘attacking the turtle‘, because the position comes up often, even when uke isn’t making any special effort to turtle up.  As well, each student of Judo should learn to fight immediately back out of the turtle – its a very difficult place for offensive work – and you can’t beat an opponent with defense.

The Judo that I like on the ground involves the guard, it’s a truly even position with possibilities for both Judoka – but everyone must master the art of the quick defeat… when someone hands you a victory – which is what they do when they turtle up, you must learn to actually turn it into a victory.  In the game of chess, they often run into the same problem, winning the game when they have a winning endgame… all it takes is the knowledge to do so.  And trust me; it’s a far easier victory than trying to throw uke while standing up.

 

The most common error that I see with failed throws is the bad placement of what Geof Gleeson refers to as the ‘Driver Leg’.  This is the leg that you are powering off the ground with.  For example, in a right-handed Harai Goshi, there’s no question what leg is the driver leg… it’s clearly the only one still in contact with the ground… your left leg.

In a throw like Seoinage, it’s a little more ambiguous, since it’s always not completely clear (both feet being on the ground) – but in a right-handed Seoi, your driver leg is your left leg… as when you complete the throw, the majority of your -drive- is off the left leg.

This is a very useful concept in Judo – and one worth paying attention to.  If you wish to move your uke, you must ‘power off’ of something.  Have you ever tried pushing someone while both of you were in a swimming pool?  Very difficult to push or pull someone if you don’t have a foundation.  The foundation for Judoka is the mat – and the connection is your driver leg.

A common mistake I see is Seoinage into Ouchigari.  Wonderful combination… and if uke is jumping around tori’s attack, then the position is usually a good one for the followup Ouchigari.  But what happens if tori tries switching attacks when uke has merely blocked Tori’s Seoinage attack with the hip?  Let’s imagine this for a moment… Tori has stepped in, and both his feet should be relatively close to uke’s feet.  Uke blocks by pulling his right arm and twisting his hips to ‘bounce’ Tori away… Now comes Tori’s Ouchigari combination…

Anyone see the difficulty yet?  Let’s try a simple experiment – walk over to your refrigerator, and move it.  Yep… just push it an inch or so…  I daresay not a one of you stood as close to your refrigerator as you do to your uke in Seoinage… In fact, if you were truly exerting any power… your body was at a 45 degree angle to the refrigerator, and your feet were rather far away – not close.

When you watch a failed throw… take a look at where the driver leg was placed – you will discover this to be the problem just as often as failed kuzushi.

This concept is also involved in the way Osotogari is usually taught, if you haven’t read my article on the failures of the classical Osotogari, be sure to check it out.

Sometimes though, the problem isn’t with where your driver is placed, but the direction you think is best for throwing.  Most commonly seen in Taiotoshi – the driver is generally outside and in front of Uke’s left foot… where do you think you will have more power?  To the front, where most people try to power their Taiotoshi victim?  Or to your right, which is opposite from your driver leg?

If you think the best direction is to your right – to uke’s right side (or edging into his right corner), rather than uke’s front – you’ve got the right answer!  At least, in my book you have.  As much as possible, you want the throwing action to be opposite from where your driver leg is placed.  That’s how you’re going to develop the power for the throw.

 

Any student of mine has heard this phrase dozens if not hundreds of times: “Where the head goes, the body follows”. It’s a good way to remember a simple fact. If you can direct uke’s head, you can direct his entire body.

I’ve long been a proponent of a high collar grip – since many of my favorite throws become easier to do. I like Hane Goshi, Harai Goshi, and Tai Otoshi – the first two require the close chest to chest contact that is easier if you don’t have your forearm in the way, and Tai Otoshi becomes infinitely more powerful if you can direct Uke’s head toward the direction of the throw.

Anyone who’s ever accidently (or otherwise) wandered into an Aikido class is well aware of how controlling the head can lead into some wonderful throws… Perhaps one throw, that’s virtually identical in both Judo and Aikido – Koshi Guruma, will illustrate the power of head control.

But even throws that don’t apparently rely on head control of any sort can greatly benefit – for example, the next time you practice Osotogari – see if you can ‘cant’ uke’s head toward the side that you’re entering… with a high collar grip, you can use the side of your forearm to roll uke’s head to the side. See if this works for you.

If you’ve never tried a high collar grip – give it a try, and see if your favorite throws will work. This isn’t for everyone – but another advantage that the high collar grip gives you is that most people are uncomfortable with this grip being applied to them. They begin thinking about it, and trying to break your grip – during which time they are not concentrating on throwing you.

There is, however, a corresponding weakness to the high collar grip – Assuming a right-hand collar grip – it gives uke a wonderfully large opening for left-sided hip throws. Fortunately, there aren’t too many opponents that can throw to either direction (and I’ll certainly speak more on this topic!).

It’s also a wonderful opening for your opponent to apply Waki Gatame…

But every technique has corresponding disadvantages, you merely have to know and beware of them.

Another place where control of uke’s head is critical – and perhaps even more useful, is in Newaza. Obviously – control of Uke’s head is extremely valuable when attempting a choke, but it’s also quite useful for turnovers, and preventing pin escapes.

So next time you put your gi on – think of ways to control uke’s head, and see if you can’t develop more power in your throws as a result.