Nanka Judo Yudanshakai
Southern California Judo Blackbelt Association
Member of United States Judo Federation (USJF)
Nanka Coaches Corner
RANDORI - August 2010
By Hayward Nishioka
You pull this way, but he goes the other way. Now you’re pushed into a corner and he’s about to reverse field on you. At least you think he is. Fearing the worst your foot snaps out, out of desperation attempting some kind of foot sweep. Klunk! Nothing happens but at least you’re out of the corner moving in a different direction. Today you’re having a harder time at it because you’re working at a different club, one that does nothing but randori. Well, not exactly, they warm up for about 10 to 15 minutes of the one and a half hour session. Bam, got slammed! Bam, another osotogari, Your head is spinning, but your tough, at least you think you are as you get up breathing hard. What are those white dots circling my head?
You continue on thinking,” I’m not going to let this guy throw me around without getting in my own licks in.” As you crank it up so does your opponent. Now he’s high gripping and pulling your head down. You strain to get your head up but as you do he enters with a haraigoshi, Bam! There you go again. It’s only your first work out partner and you’re getting depressed. The intensity, style, an strength factor is wearing you down.
At your home dojo you were one of the best. You were in good shape as you ran a half hour three or four times a week, and did your sit up crunches and push ups. What happened here? Why is it so difficult here? Maybe this is the toughest guy I got first? No, he’s a brown belt like me. There are black belts too, and they seem tougher. What is my problem? What do I need to do to get tougher and at least keep up?
There is nothing like randori practice to sharpen your ability to execute a good throw. This was one of the basis for the success of judo over many of the old time jujitsu schools that relied heavily on the learning of dangerous techniques through the practice of kata alone. Jigoro Kano took out many of the jujitsu techniques that could not be done with adequate control and cause injury when done quickly. Remember, he only had less than a dozen students when he started. Imagine how long judo would have lasted if these guys got hurt every time they did randori and snapped a knee backwards or struck a vital area.
In randori practice participants use the entire mat space to dance about with a partner attacking and defending at will; the main object being, to cleanly throw the opponent onto his back. When done correctly the throw looks effortless, although it is really anything but that. Even in learning to execute the throw in a step-by-step manner sometimes takes a couple of practice sessions. Now begins the fun parts, try doing it while moving in various directions, try doing it with an unwilling partner, try doing it while the other guy is getting ready to launch you into space. It becomes a moving puzzle where you try to fit the pieces while running. “Oh, there’s an opening, nope that chance is gone, Oh, there’s another but his iron bar arms are in the way. Don’t they stay still? Hummm! Is this really possible, Bamm! I guess it is, he just threw me.”
Viewing randori practice from afar it’s participants look much like molecules bouncing around in a container going this way and that way with no particular destination, only once in a while making sense as throw is accomplished. In fact, the word randori when broken down into its parts means “catching chaos.” Ran meaning chaos and dori or tori, coming from the verb toru, to take, grasp, or catch. Thus we flit about wildly looking for the right time, then Bamm! Hit the right moment and catch a throw, hopefully us throwing them.
The ultimate randori session throw is when you are up against the best champions and you throw them. That’s when they are fighting to throw you, and you them, but somehow your body just moves almost as if by itself. Before you realize it you’re into the throw and your opponent is going over, and has nothing to say about the affair. Slamm! You look down and think to yourself, “Did I just do that!? Wow! It was like a hot knife through butter.” But was it really? It took hundreds of hours and tries to perfect the timing and feeling in your arms and body and adjusting it to the opponents body position and knowing it is the right moment to attack. Moreover, that your body knew even before mind contemplated the move that it was time to enter. To enter in that split second when the opponent is at his or her weakest, physically or mentally is a magic moment. Now do it again, and again, and again, and if you can you have a waza or technique. And if you can do this with a number of techniques you are a wazashi or technician.
For those of you starting out it may be best to gradually get the feeling of when to enter in. This can be done through “half randori” sessions. This is where you and your partner agree upon allowing the other to enter into the throw and go so far as to pick the opponent up but not throw. Thus you are moving around randomly looking for opportunities to enter into a throw and because you are not throwing there is less ego involvement and escalation of effort there is more if an emphasis on learning how to enter while moving about. Also because you are not throwing and getting up and re-gripping there is more time to practice and get a sense of how your body parts should feel as you are finding the signals to entering into a throw. This knowing of where your body parts are (in relationship to applying a technique to the opponent) is termed, “kinesthethic awareness.”
Once you have a sense timing and body positioning it may be time for a randori session. Here’s the thing to remember about randori sessions. If you want to improve your techniques, practice with opponents who are not as likely to defend and prevent you from applying your techniques. The more you do a technique the better your timing becomes to a degree. If you want to really sharpen your techniques and catch the tougher guys you need to practice with the tougher guys. The adage is “If you want a lions cub, you’ve got to go into the lions den.” To hone your skills, especially new ones, you really need to modulate between the two types of randori practices.
"TIPS FROM THE TOP" - May 2010
On Ucikomi - By Hayward Nishioka
Judo drills have a physiological basis for how they aid us in learning techniques. We are made up of a lot of muscles, connective tissue, and bones that are enervated or started up by nerves. Depending on how many nerve cells and how they are fired up constitutes our movement. Usually the more nerve cells attached to the muscle fiber the stronger the message. When we practice a move over and over we are changing our anatomy by increasing the number of nerve cells going to certain muscles. We actually grow more nerve cells by doing uchikomi drills. This is why we do uchikomi drills; to increase the ability of the muscles to fire away strongly in a sequence that will produce a judo technique. The more uchikomi's we do the better the techniques seems to get.
So it seems to a certain point. Then somewhere along the line boredom sets in and we become lazy. We do our drills perfunctorily without life. When this happens the drill doesn't result in anything even resembling any part of a technique. Furthermore, the nerves are being built up to execute a muscle contraction that is meaningless to the idea of building a strong technique. In other words you are literally wasting your time. Soooo, STOP doing meaningless uchikomi!
The correct way to do uchikomi begins with a visual image of the best technique you can imagine. Then taking that technique picture and duplicating it over and over with your mind and with your body. At first do it slowly and correctly before building up any speed. Do it as many times as you can concentrating on the picture of your perfect technique; the one that you want with all your heart and soul. Do the uchikomi's until the picture or the uchikomi drill breaks down. See how many you can do until it breaks down. Write that number down and see if you can do better each time, but don't waste your time doing some silly rain dance in a season of drought.
COMPETITION TRAINING - March 2010
Mapping the Way - Hayward Nishioka
Keep a log book > Chart your progress > Keeps you on task > Record your history.
Reason for what to chart:
1. practice sessions, 2. tournaments, 3. auxiliary sessions: running, weight training, drills
Practice Goals > Determined by last tournament or practice > To set goals to improve
1. technique, 2. grips, 3. strength, 4. cardio, 5. movement - sides left - right one hand, 6. coordination with coach, 7. defenses
Make a List
1. how many throws of what caliber opponent during what time frame, 2. how fast from grip time, 3. left or right defenses
4. mat work > skills > 5 second rule, 5. gripping tactics, 6. timing drills > 25 sec drills, 7. use of mat space, 8. recommendations for next time, 9. improvements made difficult encountered
