Syllabus done

I've worked out the syllabus for the recreational judo class. Since the focus initially will not be on grading per se but building up fundamental skills, I did not structure the syllabus around belt grading requirements but on what I think are the core techniques students must learn to be able to do judo well.

I started by looking at the 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo for reference. I threw out all the throws that are now considered illegal under the IJF rules since we are a sports club and so we play by the rules of the sport.

Next, I removed those techniques that are almost never seen at all in randori or competition. There are quite a few of those as well.

What's left are the fairly common throws you see being used these days. These include hand throws, leg throws, hip throws and sacrifice throws.

For each of those, I tried to work out combinations into those throws and combinations from those throws. I also worked out counters for those throws. Not every throw has an obvious combination (into or from) or counter. But many do.

Not neglecting newaza, I identified common techniques for strangles, armlocks and pins. I also identified a few key sankaku moves (sankaku is a special technique that lends itself well to becoming a strangle, armlock or pin).

I've also listed out the basic rules of judo -- what's prohibited (leading to disqualification) and what can earn you a shido penalty.

Club members will each get a checklist of all the techniques (standing and groundwork) and the rules that they need to know.

***

As mentioned in our website, we also have elite trainings on Saturdays. Contrary to what some people perceive, it's actually not an advanced class per se but more of a training program for competitors. (The regular classes on Mon and Wed are for recreational players).

The competitors will learn competition variations which are sometimes rather different from the conventional or traditional techniques. They will also do drills that are based on different competition scenarios. And of course they will learn competition strategies designed to help them win.

The regular (recreational) sessions are open to anybody who wants to participate but the elite, high-performance training sessions are only for those who meet certain criteria. They must be players who wish to compete nationally and (eventually) internationally under the club banner, they must be committed to training regularly several times a week (besides the Sat sessions) and they must have the potential to win. We have already identified a few players and will take only a few more for this elite squad. I don't anticipate taking in more than five or six players.