Saturday 28/6/15 Session (Randori Nite)

Although Saturday is designated as Randori Nite, we do have some technical training as well. Some of the players wanted more technical training so they arrived as early as 6pm to get in an hour's worth of technical training before the official session starts.

From 7pm to 8pm, we have some technical training so for those who arrived early, they get a full two hours of technical training before the randori starts.

For randori, we have two types: shiai and freestyle training. There was a blackout at the start of training so we had to do some training in the dark.

It was hot and stuffy and at one point, pitch black dark. But that didn't deter the players. They were there to train. Blackout or no blackout, they were going to get their training!

Gave them a briefing in the dark. Luckily most came early and there was still some sunlight left when the blackout happened.

I got them started with three-person uchikomi, Korean style.

This is meant to develop their power and also to instil in them the habit of continuing to pull even if the throw fails.

I asked Derrick to demonstrate the Neil Adams juji-gatame roll, something I wanted them to revise tonight.

Here he is after having successfully rolled his partner into the juji-gatame position.

I also demonstrated the Trap Choke, of which there are three finishing variations. This technique can also lead to a hold-down.

And so, the drills begin... in the dark!

Everybody felt pretty hot because of the blackout. With no fans blowing, judo training can be really hot! But training must go on.

The players had a good newaza session before the lights came back on. We were expecting to train in the dark for the whole session.

And here's a video clip of our freestyle randori on Saturday nite.

Sat Nite Freeflowing Randori (27.6.15)
Nice, free-flowing randori on Saturday nite.
Posted by KL Judo Training Centre on Saturday, June 27, 2015

Wednesday 25/6/15 Session (Competition Training)

We had a new player join us today. His name is KC and he wants to be a competitor. He picked up drop ippon-seoi-nage quite fast.

I showed them kouchi-makikomi. I told them the grip must be like that of ippon-seoi-nage and the threat must be real to elicit the reaction you want.

Competition is near so lots and lots of randori. We did general randori and we did shiai-style randori too. The boys were pretty tired out today.

Derrick is KO and falls asleep on Suan Wah's lap. Each player had more than 8 randoris each. That's a pretty good number that we achieved.

Small group but good training. Everybody's tired and felt they had given their best to the workout. There's still tomorrow though. The training never ends.

Hulking out. Quite appropriate as they are standing underneath a poster of the great Teddy Riner in a victorious pose!

Here you have a view of the very popular pantry where people can get drinks. Today, one of our players brought honey lemon drink which was popular.

Here you have a very nice view of our dojo. Very bright, shiny, colorful and clean. It's what you'd like to see in a modern dojo.

Another nice view of the dojo.

Flexing it up after practice is over. "We are hard men, yes, we are!"

Monday 22/6/15 Session (Competition Training)

On Monday, we started off with a discussion on the importance of strategy. I spoke to them about mat edge strategies, gripping strategies and newaza strategies.

Then we did some newaza drills and pushing drills before working on a few throws: ippon-seoi-nage (standing and drop), ouchi-gari and side takedown.

After that it was Shiai-style randori but the players were limited to only ippon-seoi, ouchi-gari and side takedown.

Lastly, newaza randori.

Saturday 20/6/15 Session (Randori Nite)

Since Saturday is Randori Nite, there won't be much technical training planned for the players. But some of them wanted more training so I sent out a message asking who would like to start training earlier, at 6pm rather than 7pm. That way, they would have at least one hour of technical training before the formal session begins.

Korean-style three-person uchikomi. Good for developing strength for forward throws!

To my great surprise, quite a number of them showed up. Eight of them were there earlier! Well, we got started straight away and I got them to do some three-person uchikomi (Korean style). After that, we worked on the side takedown, a technique many of them like.

And after that, it was randori. We did some shiai-style randori to mimic a competition. It was a good experience for many of them.

Sat Nite Randori
Nice randori on Saturday night, where we had two visitors from Penang, Choy Gin & Wei Pin. Here are the highlights from the fights.
Posted by KL Judo Training Centre on Saturday, June 20, 2015

Monday 16/6/15 Session (Drills)

I was ill on Monday and could not attend training. However, some of the players showed up and did some drills. It's important to do drills to build in muscle memory, so you can do things without having to think of them. 

Keeping the dojo clean is a serious matter. That's why everybody has to do their part and help to mop up the mats at least once a week.

Ouchi-Gari against a matted surface. Useful for training tori to drive forward during the throw.

Standing Ippon-Seoi-Nage.

Armtrap Roll. A very basic roll but still happens quite frequently in randori and in competition.

Ecky-Gatame, for when it's hard to straighten your opponent's arm.

Matsumoto Roll. Something rather unusual and uncommon. But so very effective.

Sunday 15/6/15 Session (Technical Training)

Sunday's session was relatively lighter than what we are used to. The focus was on technique.

I started off by getting them to do ouchi-gari against the wall paddings. This is to teach them to charge forward.

For newaza I got them to practice the arm-trap/armpit roll that is so basic yet so effective.

The last one is a bit complex -- the Matsumoto Roll -- but most of them got it after a few practice runs.

Saturday 14/6/15 Session (Randori)

A nice exchange during our shiai-style randori session on Saturday nite. The first for the players.

We had our first shiai-styled randori session on Saturday, with Chew as the referee for most of the matches. When he fought, I did refereeing duties. All the players fought hard and fought extremely well, especially when you consider the fact that many of them were beginners.

This type of training is necessary to get them ready for competition in late July in Penang, which will be our first competition for the rest of the year. It's amazing how far the players have come in just one month. Many of them didn't even own a judogi when they joined the club.

We've had many come and try out the club. We've also had many visitors. And amidst all this, a few regulars have emerged. These are the hardcore, dedicated players who really want to improve and become good judo players.

I'm really happy to be training these players. They have the right attitude and the right fighting spirit. No coach could ask for more. And there's no doubt in my mind they will succeed. Much faster than anyone -- including them -- could imagine. I'm sure of it.

The hard-fighting competition team of KL Judo. All of them fought their hearts out on Saturday nite.

Wednesday 10/6/15 Session (Competition Training)

Hey, hey, hey... KL Judo is now 1 month old! We've come such a long way in such a short time. We are so thankful for all the things that have gone right but most of all, we are greatly appreciative of our members who make the club what it is.

Aishah & Qaini have been out of town and away from training for one-and-a-half weeks. We missed them a lot and everybody was glad to have them back in training!

We had brothers Peryue & Porhao from Penang drop by for some training. It was great having them on the mat on Wednesday. We trust they had a good workout. Here they are doing tricep dips.

Our players regularly do High Intensity Interval Training and the two brothers joined in.

We started the training with juji-gatame-related drills.

Our guest Jihad, who is on vacation from his posting in Sarawak, is seen here working out with Matthew. The drill is for tori to keep uke from standing up.

Next drill involves rolling your partner into juji-gatame. It's not so easy when they are fully-resisting, which is what this drill calls for. Here, Peryue is trying very hard to roll his partner.

After that are arm-straightening drills. Here, you can see 15-year old Cherylynn trying to straighten Suan Wah's arm out during the drills.

What's a practice without randori? Newaza randori for all, before we proceed to standing.

Porhao does well to lock his partner with a type of ushiro-kesa-gatame.

In newaza, it is common for bodies to crash into each other, such as this case illustrates.

Everybody loves a water break.

Next, everybody does mat-edge drills.

We're now in the last third of our 3-hour session. I show them why doing ippon-seoi-nage the traditional way, such as throwing off the sleeve (rather than off the lapel) is ineffective. There's simply too much space between tori and uke.

I demonstrate a straight-leg seoi-nage done by inserting the driving leg in between my partner's legs.

Cherylynn, my 15-year old trainee, initially had some problems with the leg insertion but now she does it well. In fact, almost perfectly.

Look at how good the throw is!

Jihad tries the straight-leg seoi-nage, with leg insertion.

Porhao doesn't seem to be too familiar with throwing on crash pads. He kept lifting uke as he falls to the crash pad. This is useful when throwing on tatami since that hurts. But on a crash pad there is no necessity and it doesn't train you to throw when you support your opponent's fall that way.

Qaini shows what a full-blooded throw should be like.

Despite the full impact, uke feels no pain because of the crash pad.

Peryue doing some randori with Aishah.

Porhao comes to grips with Qaini.

We end the session with our usual circular bow. We thank Jihad, Peryue and Porhao for visiting us and training with us. We always welcome visitors and hope they will come back soon.

Everybody say... "Ippon!"

We have a really fun crowd at KL Judo. We train really hard but there's always lots of laughter ringing throughout the dojo before, during and after training.