Sunday's Program

We are having another integrated program this Sunday, having the kids train alongside the adults. Nigel will take care of the kids while I'll work with the adults.

1. Warm Ups
- Belt Resistance Run
- Belt Resistance Crawl
- Human Shield
- Durian Ball Game
- Judogi Tug-of-War

2. Newaza
- Kids: Fletcher Roll
- Adults: Arm Roll

3. Tachi-Waza
- Kids: Osoto, Ogoshi, Ippon-Seoi-Nage
- Adults: Action-Reaction, Combinations, Transitions, Counters

4. Randori
- Newaza
- Tachi-Waza

General vs Competition Training

As a judo club with recreational players and competitors, we need to have different types of training programs in place to cater to our members' different needs.

General Training
This is training for everybody, recreational and competitive alike. The focus of general training is to teach technical skills, both for grading purposes as well as to make them well-rounded, capable randori players.

We would usually teach the traditional versions of standing and groundwork techniques followed by modern, practical versions. Each technique would usually be taught from an ai-yotsu (same stance) and kenka-yotsu (different stance) situation.

There is randori but players do only as much as they want to. Some who prefer to do less randori might do just a few and sit out. The ones who are more competitive will take the opportunity to do more. This is a general class so we don't push people very hard. They are here for a fun workout not a punishing competition training regime.

Competition Training
The purpose of this kind of training is to prepare players for competition so it's a lot more focused and intense than in general training. The focus is not so much technical but more on building muscle memory through situational drills.

For newaza, we will go through techniques to help open up uke and just a few very specific ground moves. We will also work on legal take-downs for transitions into groundwork. For tachi-waza, we start with gripping drills, followed by tokui-waza nagewaza. We will also work on transition throws, from ground to standing.

For randori, we do a very specialized randori that mimic different situations in a contest, e.g. the last one-minute of the contest or Golden Score, with different score and penalty scenarios for each player. This forces our players to think strategically. To win a contest, you can't just rely on throwing or groundwork skills. You need to fight strategically too, depending on the situation.

Connie Ramsay visiting KL Judo in July

Connie Ramsay (right) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Former British Champion and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Connie Ramsay will be visiting KL Judo in the first two weeks of July.

Now retired from competition, she is focused on coaching kids in Scotland. We look forward to having her help out with our newly-started kids class on Sunday.

With 190 international matches under her belt, Connie has a wealth of competition experience. I'm sure our competitive players will benefit greatly from training with her.

Although this is not set in stone, the tentative dates when Connie will be training with us are:

Tuesday, July 2 (8pm to 10pm)
Thursday, July 4 (8pm to 10pm)
Sunday, July 7 (3pm to 6pm)
Tuesday, July 9 (8pm to 10pm)

KL Judo welcomes Stuart Teng

Stuart Teng

Over the years we've always welcomed Malaysian overseas students who were back for their school break. Many took up judo at university abroad and wanted to continue their training while on holiday back home.

I guess they were drawn to our club from our social media postings. Anyone who visits our social media pages, or reads this blog, knows that we emphasize practical, modern, competition-style techniques. So, naturally we would attract those people who want to improve their competition skills.

Stuart Teng from Nottingham University will be training with us for seven weeks while he's back in Malaysia. He had his first session with us yesterday, where we worked on different kinds of strangles.

At -66kg, he will find many suitable training partners in the club as we have many players around that weight. His tenacity and aggressive fighting style is also suitable for our competitive players who are training up for the Junior Nationals in August.

Stuart will be attending our general training sessions as well as our elite competition training sessions. So, he should be at the club four or five times a week. We are delighted to have him train with us over the next one and half months and we are confident his judo will improve by leaps and bounds during this time.

Another gold...

Yet another gold to add to the collection!

Tuesday's program: Strangles galore

Modern form of koshi-jime

The British call them "strangles", the American's call them "chokes" and the Japanese call them "shimewaza". We call them an effective way to win on the ground.

For this Tuesday's session, which will be devoted to newaza, we'll focus on four groups of strangles:

1. Koshi-Jime (Hip Strangle)
a) Basic (armpit grip)
b) Modified I (trousers grip)
c) Modified II (leg insertion)

2. Kata-Ha-Jime (Single-Wing Strangle)
a) Basic
b) Modified (with leg over)

3. Trap Choke
a) Basic
b) Modified I (Back Climb-Over)
c) Modified II (Leg Over)

4. Sode-Guruma-Jime
a) From bottom
b) From top

In addition, we will work on entries into strangles and defences against strangles. It will be a strangling PhD session!

Tuesday Program: Rolls Galore

Tuesday is newaza night and we will work on several popular rolls, namely:
a) Matsumoto Roll
b) Funakubo Roll
c) Fletcher Wrapover

Matsumoto Roll

The Matsumoto Roll is considered a kind of "hand sankaku" which apparently originated from wrestling. This technique was made famous by Kaori Matsumoto but it's actually seldom seen in judo.

Funakubo Roll

The Funakubo Roll involves a similar "climbing over uke's back" movement as the Matsumoto Roll but the gripping is totally different.

Fletcher Wrapover

The Fletcher Wrapover has a similar gripping situation as the Funakubo Roll but the turnover action is a lot simpler and it's over uke's front rather than back.

Tuesday's Program: Juji-Gatame

Neil Adams popularized the juji-gatame and he has a unique entry into it.

Today we will go into juji-gatame in great detail.

Juji-Gatame Rolling Entries
1. Alexander Iastkevich Version: The most common version for rolling uke from the back.
2. Neil Adams Version: A superior version that allows you to roll from the back and the front.
3. Stephane Traineau Version: Involves a different kind of roll, resembling the alligator roll.
4. Sit Back Version: Useful when uke flattens out and conventional rolls don't work.

Arm Straightening
1. Arm Lever
2. Misc Tricks

Hold Down
1. Uki-Gatame (Ecky-Gatame)
2. Switch to Tate-Shiho-Gatame

Defences & Escapes
1. Misc ways to avoid submission

Friday's Program: More Tai-Otoshi

Below are the tai-otoshi variations we'll work on tonight:

Elite trainng modules

Gripping training is a key component of competition training

Our elite competition training program is very different from the general judo program that we usually have. For our general sessions, I would teach a range of techniques designed to give the players a well-rounded understanding of judo. We do a lot of randori during general sessions.

For the elite sessions, the focus is more on fine-tuning specific skills based on scenarios. We don't do as much randori during the elite sessions, focusing instead on drills to build muscle memory.

Just as with general training, for our elite training we have dedicated newaza and tachi-waza sessions to facilitate focused training. For elite training, we also have also have a dedicated session for tactics and strategy, which is necessary for winning competitions.

Elite Training: Newaza
Transition Drills I: Throwing uke off the ground
Transition Drills: Taking the fight into newaza
Tokui-Waza from Guard Position
Tokui-Waza from Head-to-Head Position
Tokui-Waza from Riding Turtle Position

Elite Training: Tachi-Waza
Gripping Warm-Up: Korean Shake
Grip Fighting Drill I: Tori vs Uke (one attacking, one defending)
Grip Fighting Drill II: Tori vs Tori (both going for dominant grip)
Tokui-Waza against Right Uke
Tokui-Waza against Left Uke
Tokui-Waza against High Right Uke
Tokui-Waza against High Left Uke

Elite Training: Tactics & Strategy
Dealing with Shido Situation
Dealing with Golden Score Situation

Have judogi will travel

Back when I was a competitor, I travelled the world because of judo. Later, when I was no longer competing, I also travelled the world covering judo events.

Now, as a coach, I still travel a lot -- not so much the world but more to nearby countries -- to bring my players for training and competition.

Travelling for judo events -- whether competition or training -- can be a time-consuming, costly and tiring affair. But ultimately it's worth it.

You can't do judo in a vaccum. You have to visit other clubs, meeting other players, other coaches, train with them and see how other people are doing things.

For your players, travelling abroad means they get more competition experience and also more training experience because whenever we travel for competition we try to train at the local judo clubs there.

From a club perspective, you are also building bonds with clubs from other countries and that's important. These are the building blocks of future exchange visits, which will benefit everyone involved.

Judo is a sport but it's more than sport. It's also supposed to help foster friendship and you can't do that just training at your own club all the time. You have to travel and visit other clubs.

As mentioned earlier, it involves a lot of sacrifice. Even if you plan carefully and travel on a budget (book cheap flights, stay at budget hotels, take Grab, eat hawker food) it still ends up costing quite a bit. And it takes time away from work and family. And you always feel exhausted at the end of a trip. But ultimately it's worth it for all the reasons I mentioned above.

Trusting the system

The first step towards mastery of any skills would be to find a good instructor and then to trust the instructor's methodology. This is a necessary step and it's true in judo as well.

This is usually not a problem when you deal with absolute beginners because they come to the class with little or no preconceived notions of how training should be. As far as they are concerned, your methodology is the one to follow.

It can sometimes be a problem when you're dealing with a player who has come to you from another club. Humans are creatures of habit and when someone is used to something, they don't like it when there's a change.

That attitude afflicts all of us to a certain extent but some of us manage it better than others. One principle I've always adhered to is "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". If I am training at another club, I will follow whatever training system they have.

That's what I did when I went to the LA Judo Training Centre in the early 90s. The system there was completely different from what I was used to at my university judo club. Later when I trained at the Russelsheim Olympic Training Centre in Germany and Camberley Judo Club and the Budokwai in the UK, I followed their systems and conventions. These were all clubs that produced champions, so they must be doing something right. I trusted their systems.

We've been pretty lucky at KL Judo Centre. We've had a few players who came to us from other clubs and almost all of them have adapted really well to our system and are now fully integrated into the club. I'm sure at first it was a culture shock because the way we do things is quite different from other clubs. But because they were willing to suspend any misgivings and give our system a real try, they were soon able to realize the benefits of our approach.

Not everybody has an open attitude though and we've had one or two people who came to our club expecting it to be like their old clubs. Unwilling to adapt, they were not able to benefit from the training and soon left our club. Fortunately this is not so common.

So, why is it that some people can adapt while others cannot? An important factor is why the person left their old club in the first place. If they had left because they were unhappy with the training there, they would generally be more open to trying new things. If however they had left for reasons other than dissatisfaction with their old club, there is a higher chance that they would be resistant to anything new.

That said, we do have members who liked training at their old clubs but are very happy training under our system too. Such people recognize that it's possible to appreciate two very different approaches and benefit from both.

You might like eating banana leaf rice with your hands but if you had to eat that same meal with a fork and spoon, the experience may be different but you'd still get a good meal.

3 qualities for a successful judo club coach

I recently had a conversation with another coach, who runs a successful private judo club, about why some clubs fail to attract players while some have a thriving membership.

According to my friend, in order for a club to succeed, the head coach must have at least one of the following three qualities:

i) Was a former top competitor
ii) Was not a top champion but is highly regarded for his technical skills
iii) Is very good at communications and publicity

Of course if a coach has two of the three qualities, even better. But best of all is a coach who has all three qualities, although this is quite rare. Let's look at these qualities in detail:

Former Top Champion
It's worth mentioning that just because a person is a former champion doesn't mean he or she will necessarily be a good coach. There are many reasons why a good fighter may not end up being a good coach.

For one thing, just because a person can fight well doesn't mean they are technically sound overall. A person who is extremely good at just one or two techniques might be able to become a champion. But such a person won't be able to teach judo properly. A coach also has to be analytical and understand the talents, limitations and needs of each of his players. Being a champion doesn't necessarily make one good at this.

That said, there quite a few examples of the very best judo players in the world who successfully transitioned into very successful coaches. Olympic Champion Ezio Gamba of Italy (now the head coach of Russia) is probably the best example. He's managed to produce five Olympic Champions in just two Olympic cycles.

On the other hand there are also examples of top champions who never managed to produce a single World or Olympic Champion. So, it really depends on the capabilities of the individual. In general though, I would think a former champion has a good chance of becoming a capable (if not great) coach.

Technically-Sound Coach
There are many, many examples of very good coaches who were not top champions themselves. Many of these were fighters who had some competition success but did not rise to the very top. In fact, when I was a competitor, two of my coaches were from this category. There were good competitors but really great coaches.

There is a theory about why good competitors have a better chance at becoming great coaches (than those who were great competitors). A good competitor who never quite made it to the top would naturally be more empathetic about the struggles and challenges that up-and-coming fighters face. A great competitor, in contrast, is more likely to expect everyone to be as talented and as skilled as he was.

Also, it's believed that a good competitor would generally be more caring and selfless towards his students than a top competitor. You see, to be a top champion, you have to be self-centred to a certain extent. As such, they would not be used to thinking about other people. Their focus throughout their career is on themselves, not others. Of course this is just a generalization. There are examples like Gamba of Italy and Kosei Inoue of Japan -- top champions -- who turned out to be excellent coaches who obviously care a lot about their players.

Good Promoter
Let's face it, salesmanship is important in any endeavor. You could have the best judo club around but if nobody knows about it, nobody knows about it! Word of mouth can only go so far. It needs to be amplified through social media, blogs, YouTube etc. If you're doing great things at your club, shout about it to the world.

Some people might be hesitant to do that because it takes a lot of effort to make content. But in today's world, this is absolutely necessary.

Some might not like the idea of "showing off" but it ain't bragging if it's true. If you have an effective training program that has produced champions, let people know about it through descriptive blog postings. If you have a fun program that your players enjoy, let people see that through highlight video clips. If you have fantastic randori sessions that are well-attended and hard fought, let people witness that through a livestream.

We are in the era of social media. Your target audience is likely to be online a lot. If you want to reach them, you've got to promote your club through that channel. I've had so many players tell me they were attracted to my club because they saw our postings on Facebook. Their impressions was that we are a very active club, with lots of regular practice that look like a lot of fun. We really get that a lot.

Bottom Line
My friend says you need to have at least one of those qualities above to attract students. He's probably right. Even with just one factor, it may be enough to get some people into the club. But to keep them there is another thing. One is probably not enough.

Let's say you're a good promoter. Your savvy postings and campaigns might attract people but if your coaching is bad, nobody will want to stay. Similarly, some people might be attracted to your club because they heard you were a former champion. But again, if your coaching is bad, they won't stay.

Or let's look at another scenario. Let's say you are a technically-sound coach but you're really poor at promoting the club. It would be hard to attract people in the first place because they would have never even heard of you. Why? Cos you're not a famous champion and you're lousy at marketing.

So, I would say it really takes at least two factors for it to work but ideally all three. Then you really have a winning formula.

It's worth mentioning that of the three factors, "top champion" is the only factor that you can't change. If you were never a great champion, you can't very well travel back in time and change that fact. Not being a top champion is just something you've got to make do without.

But you can make yourself very technically sound by researching and studying so that you are familiar with modern judo techniques and up-to-date with the latest trends in world judo, etc.

As for being poor at marketing, that's up to you to change things too. Take an online course to learn digital marketing if necessary. But more importantly, adopt a new mindset that you have to create content to promote the club.