Judo Concepts, Lesson 8: Cross Training

We don't do a lot of cross training at KL Judo for the simple reason that despite the fact that we operate six days a week, there's often not enough time to complete all the judo lessons planned. There's so much to learn in judo and time flies when you're having fun.

Nevertheless, I think going forward we will make time for some cross training. No, it will not be BJJ. I know there are some judo players who cross-train in BJJ because they want to improve their newaza. But we already spend a lot of time on newaza at KL Judo. Many clubs do 70% tachi-waza and 30% newaza (or less). We do 50:50.

So, if we are to cross-train, it should be to improve our abilities in areas that we do not get enough training in. That is why I like the idea of doing some cross-training in Greco-Roman Wrestling. It will get our players used to close-contact grappling and it will improve their ura-nage and yoko-guruma-type throws. It will also increase their upper body strength.

Judo in the time of Covid-19: Mike Moulders, Hong Kong

Note: The Hong Kong Government has decided to tighten its rules on social gathering to include private fitness centres. Kuma Dojo is now closed for 14 days.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
A: I’m a 53-year-old blue belt, English-language teacher, training in judo in Hong Kong. I took up judo exactly five years ago under Sensei Paddy Swallow at Kanazawa Judo Club in Cambridge, UK. I was overweight and extremely unfit at the time so I thought I’d take up judo to get healthier.

Q: Did it work?
A: Yes. my weight dropped from 80kg to 71kg. I was fitter and felt more energetic. But mentally I also saw a change. I was more confident in myself.

Q: Where do you train now?
A: After one and a half years, I moved to Hong Kong and joined Kuma Dojo, a small private club near Hong Kong University. They offer five training sessions per week – a judoka’s dream!

Q: What does judo mean to you?
A: I initially took up judo just to get fit and lose weight but I eventually became obsessed with judo. Judo became my disciplined lifestyle, my personal philosophy and my journey of learning. I like judo for its moral code, which fits well with my Christian faith.

Q: Do you compete?
A: At first I thought of being just a recreational player but I was eventually persuaded by my coach, Kuma Yau, to train for competitions. He felt to fully experience judo what judo is all about, I need to also compete. I’m not a natural judoka and given my late start in judo, my journey has been physically painful. But I carried on because judo is about perseverance, endurance, and fighting the good fight.

Q: Is your club still open for training?
A: Yes, Kuma Dojo is the only club that is currently still open in Hong Kong. We still run five sessions a week and each session has an average attendance of 12 to 16 judokas.

Q: Aren’t you guys afraid of getting infected?
A: Covid-19 is not the only deadly flu Hong Kong has experienced. The city has survived SARS, H1N1, Swine Flu and Avian Flu, and as a result we became cleaner in our habits. In our dojo, we expect a high standard of personal hygiene – keeping our hands, feet and judogis clean all the time. I realize, of course, that there are many factors about the pandemic that are beyond our control, and there is no 100% guarantee of avoiding infection. We can only practice good personal hygiene and take practical precautions as best we can to minimize the risk of infection.

Q: What are those practical precautions?
A: We disinfect the mats before each session. Temperature is taken for each judoka, and we must sanitize our hands with disinfectant hand gel. Anyone who is sick is requested to stay away from the dojo. Those who had recently traveled to China or overseas, or were in close contact with returnees from Europe, US, UK etc must self-quarantine for 14 days. We are a tightly-knit group of working adults with a strong sense of accountability and social responsibility towards each other. For example, a few members who had traveled to China at the beginning of the crisis did the right thing and self-quarantined for 14 days.

Q: How many judo clubs are there in Hong Kong?
A: There are around 100 clubs registered with the Judo Association of Hong Kong and maybe up to 20 non-affiliated clubs.

Q: How many are government-funded and how many are private?
A: They’re all private. Most clubs don’t have their own dojos though. They just rent space from government sports centres. Since the government has shut down all sporting facilities, all those clubs have had to close down too. Kuma Dojo however is unaffected as we have our own dojo. We will continue to stay open until it is no longer safe to train.

Q: What will you do if it eventually does become too unsafe to train?
A: I would continue to do some exercises at home. I live in the New Territories, which is the suburb-countryside of Hong Kong. There are plenty of mountains and parks, and opportunities to hike, cycle and take to the running tracks. There are also numerous judo videos on YouTube to watch and analyze. There’s no excuse to stop training.

Q: Any message for Malaysian judokas who, unlike you, are not able to train right now?
A: Maintain your fitness and continue with your judo conditioning. Come on... Malaysia Boleh!

When to re-open?

All around the world governments have instituted lock-downs. Usually these are not open-ended and the government would give an end-date. But if the rate of new infection doesn't decrease, the government will probably extend the lock-down.

So, while it's not an open-ended thing, it is constantly renewable. This makes it very hard for judo clubs to plan for re-opening. Will the lock-down end in mid-April like the government suggests or will it have to be extended (and who knows for how long)?

Besides not having any clue when the tide will turn on the Covid-19 pandemic, another very relevant question is should the club re-open just because the government has lifted the lock-down? I guess to a large extent that depends which government you're talking about!

In the context of Malaysia, it cannot be said that the authorities have been lenient when it comes to Covid-19. People have been arrested for jogging. A man caught eating some food at a bus stop was detained by the police. And a condo, where 17 people were found to have been infected, has been placed on an enhanced lock-down. That means nobody goes in or out of that complex for 14 days. This affects some 3200 residents.

I think it's fair to say the Malaysian authorities have been pretty stringent about this, as they should be. That being the case, if the government says it's safe for businesses to re-open, I would tend to trust them. The last thing they would want is to see a new wave of the virus hitting us again. They won't lift the lock-down unless they are doubly sure it is safe to do so.

So, now you have the answer to the question: "When to re-open?" It's whenever the government says you may do so.

An opportunity for a re-set

With the exception of a few clubs in a few countries, judo clubs around the world have shut down. Clubs that are state-supported don't have to worry. The government will continue to fund them and when all of this is over, they can pick up from where they left off. No problem at all.

Private clubs, on the other hand, have a huge challenge. How are they going to attract new members in the short term? In light of what's been happening, I don't think it's possible to get new members for pretty much the rest of the year.

A mixture of lingering fears of new Covid-19 infection and poor consumer sentiment will result in almost no interest in a close-contact, niche sport like judo. That being the case, judo clubs would do well to focus their attention on taking good care of their existing members rather than trying to get new members. It's these current members who will help the club to survive, and eventually thrive again.

Additional programs
If your members were already pretty happy with the club before the lock-down, do you need to do anything different? Why not just offer more of the same when the lock-down is lifted? You could do that, of course, and probably nobody would complain. But if you have the chance to offer an even better experience for your members, why not try?

This shut-down period is a rare opportunity for you to really sit down and plan for the future. You should retain those things that worked really well, revamp those things that didn't work so well, and introduce new things that will give further value to your members.

This could include introducing new types of classes. At KL Judo, we currently offer three core types of classes, catering to (a) competitors (b) recreational players (c) kids. Maybe we could introduce some additional classes that are different from anything we've done before.

Three examples I can think of that might be of interest to some of our members are
i) Judo-related circuit training (calisthenics style exercises to improve overall fitness).
ii) Greco-Roman Wrestling (which focuses on upper body throws, no attacks on the legs allowed).
iii) Self-defense applications for judo (not a general self-defense class but one that focuses on using judo techniques for the purpose of self-defense).

I'm not sure if any of these would become a regular fixture but we're always experimenting and trying new things. Sometimes, some things stick. Family Judo, where we get parents and kids to train together on Sundays, was an experiment that worked. Judo Fitness, an exercise program based loosely on judo-related drills, was something that didn't (but to be fair, we weren't fully in control of that program as we collaborated with another company on it).

What type of new classes clubs should consider offering would depend very much on the mindset and inclinations of their members. In Penang, for example, practically all their senior players train and compete in BJJ.

Other ideas that clubs can consider:
a) Sambo classes (I know one judo club in Singapore that offers that)
b) A women's-only class (I know this exists in the UK)
c) Judo for senior citizens (They have this in Germany)
d) Judo for team-building (I know of one coach in the UK, a former competitor, who offers this).
e) No-gi judo (This might be popular among BJJ and MMA people who want to learn take-downs)

Think of these new offerings as akin to new items in a restaurant's menu. The core offerings that made the restaurant successful will remain in the menu but every now and then they will try out new dishes just to keep the menu fresh.

Not only will the new offerings make things more interesting for your existing members, in the long run they will allow you to attract more members as you will have more programs to offer them.

Online presence
If you're talking about the long term, you must improve your online presence. We've been pretty good at this all along. Our Facebook Page and club blog are constantly updated with new content. Both have helped to generate interest in our club.

The website we have right now is pretty decent but much of it is just static content – information about class schedule, fees, location, etc. It serves its purpose but a club's website could be so much more than that. It could be a portal to deliver online lessons.

Since this lock-down began, I've been creating a lot of unique judo content for my members. The first type of content I've been creating are judo lessons. But they are not the kind of judo lessons you'd expect. They are not demonstrations of techniques but rather, conceptual things like how to deal with a left-handed opponent or what to do when an opponent refuses to get a grip.

I figured if they wanted to see demonstrations of techniques there's plenty of that available on YouTube. I wanted to offer them something that they wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.
The other thing I've been doing are interviews with judokas from all over the world about how they are coping with the Covid-19 situation. Some of these judokas are top players, some are coaches, some are recreational players. All have interesting stories to share.

A judo friend in the UK who is also a coach has been doing online analysis of judo contests, which is something pretty unique. I don't see anyone else doing it. It's free for now but I think he might start charging once the lock-down is lifted.

I've also been offering my judo concept lessons for free during this time of Covid-19 but I might restrict future lessons to my club members only. There has to be some special privileges to membership! But what if someone lives in another state or country, and would like to have access to these lessons? Perhaps they can pay a small fee. I'm not sure. I guess I'll decide when the time comes.
One interesting thing my British judo friend has just started doing is offering paid online lessons. The first module is live now. It costs £30 (RM160) which may seem like a lot but what you're paying for is 10 years' worth of knowledge and experience that he's accumulated as a coach. If you think of it like that, it's not very expensive at all.

I also know another coach, based in Germany, who has started making judo videos. I'm not very sure what he plans to offer but he told me there would be a free section and a paid section that would give people access to exclusive content and maybe a ticket to one of his training camps. That's a pretty innovative thing to do.

I've been thinking about creating a bunch of video tutorials myself but have not gotten around to doing any yet. Maybe this is something I can offer in the near future through the club website. I envision there would be a free section as well as a paid section.

When you have a professional website with lots of content – some free, some paid – it will widen your reach and, ultimately, it will generate more leads for new members. If your content is really good, maybe it can be a new revenue stream as well.

These are the kinds of things judo clubs need to start thinking about, post Covid-19, because things will never be the same again. For this brief moment in time, the whole world is under lock-down and people are forced to live their lives online: Work online, play online, study online, order food online, communicate online.

Even if this situation lasts for just a few months, this experience of doing everything online would have been seared into people's minds and they will want to continue doing a lot of things online going forward. If your club doesn't have an online strategy yet, you'd better haul ass and start thinking about it because having a strong online component will be what consumers expect.

Judo Concepts, Lesson 8: Is Kuzushi Relevant?

Don't even think about kuzushi, just focus on tsukuri and kuzushi will happen

Do you believe in feng shui? Well, it depends what you mean by that term. According to Wikipedia feng shui (風水) is a traditional practice originating from ancient China, which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. Feng shui, Wikipedia notes, is considered to be pseudo-scientific.

In other words, it's hocus-pocus stuff.

If that's what you mean by feng shui, of course I don't believe in it. But if feng shui is just a fancy phrase for "good interior design", yes, I'd want that for my office and my home.

So, in like fashion, do I believe kuzushi is necessary in order to throw an opponent? You would think the answer would be an obvious yes, but this question requires a more nuanced answer.

First of all, let's define what kuzushi means in the context of judo. Usually, it's translated as "unbalancing" your opponent. But that's not all. It's not just the act of unbalancing uke. There's also a timing element tied to the act of kuzushi. According to classical (or traditional) judo teaching, kuzushi has to happen before tsukuri, which is when you enter into the technique.

While I obviously believe that you'll need to unbalance uke in order to throw him, I don't believe that it happens before tsukuri. Why do I say so? Because I've watched thousands (actually make that, tens of thousands) of hours of competition video and I've noticed that nobody does kuzushi the classical way (that is, kuzushi before tsukuri). That only happens in demonstrations, never in competitions.

So what happens in competition? Answer: Kuzushi and tsukuri happen at the same time.

Don't believe me? Watch any clips of Toshihiko Koga doing his famous standing ippon-seoi-nage. He doesn't pull uke forward onto his tippy toes before entering into the technique. He pulls uke forwards and upwards (unbalancing him) as he enters into the technique. In other words, kuzushi and tsukuri happen at the same time.

If Koga's a bit too older-generation for you, let's look at some of today's players then. Check out Shohei Ono's osoto-gari. Does his unbalance uke before entering into the technique? No, he unbalances uke as he enters into the technique. Watch Joshiro Maruyama's uchimata or Hifumi Abe's sode-tsurikomi-goshi. Neither one of these guys unbalance their opponents before entering into the technique. The unbalancing happens as they enter.

Even the Japanese themselves don't attempt to do kuzushi the classical way (i.e. before tsukuri). Why not though?

There are two reasons. Firstly, even if it were possible to adequately unbalance uke before you enter into the attack, this is not something you would want to do because uke will react accordingly and defend against your throw. If you pull uke forward, for example, he would know that you are aiming for a forward attack. If you push him backward, he will know you're about to do a backward attack. Why notify uke what you're about to do?

In any event, it's impossible to achieve the kind of kuzushi that you see done in demonstrations, in a competition situation. Both players will be grip-fighting fiercely: pulling, pushing, moving, breaking grips, blocking and so on. Good luck trying to position uke onto his tippy toes before entering into a seoi-nage. It's just not going to happen.

Kuzushi happens during tsukuri because the very act of entering into the technique causes uke to be unbalanced. Again, watch Koga, Ono, Maruyama or Abe. Their entry into the throw is what causes uke to be unbalanced.

So, what's the implication of this? The main thing is to not worry about achieving kuzushi. Just focus on tsukuri. If you get your tsukuri right, the kuzushi will happen.

If you're going to do standing ippon-seoi-nage ala Koga, practice entering into the technique with split legs. Pull and lift uke (forward and upward) as you turn into the technique. By the time you've made the full turn, uke would have already become unbalanced and loaded onto your back.

So, get your tsukuri right and everything else will fall into place.

Judo in the time of Covid-19: Jessica Klimkait, Canada

Three times IJF World Tour gold medalist, Jessica Klimkait, is one of Canada's top prospects for the Tokyo Olympics. She is currently No. 2 in the Olympic qualifications ranking, so she has obviously qualified. But to be her country's pick for the Games (now scheduled for 2021), she needs to overcome her domestic rival, whom she has yet beat. This could be the year she does it.

Q: You recently won the gold medal at the 2020 Dusseldorf Grand Slam, the last IJF World Tour event before everything was put on hold. Do you feel this whole Covid-19 situation has disrupted your momentum?
A: After winning this competition I was definitely confident that I was on the right track. I was disappointed with my performance at the Paris Grand Slam two weeks earlier. I walked away from Paris reflecting on my errors, and I decided to strategically alter parts of my judo with hopes of having a better competition in Dusseldorf. Evidently, the adjustments worked in my favor. I plan to use the same tactics to continue to build momentum, despite the setbacks caused by the current global circumstances.

Q: What was it that you decided to change?
A: I noticed that in recent competitions I was more static than usual, always attacking in one direction and lacking control of the match. After experimenting on the mat, I spoke to my coach and we came up with a basic plan. By basic, I mean going back to the fundamentals and simplifying things. Basically, two things: increasing the frequency of attacks and controlling the grips.

Q: Is there a lock-down where you’re at right now?
A: I’m currently in Montreal. Over here, only essential shops are open, like grocery stores and pharmacies. Gatherings of over two people are banned, and we are strongly urged to remain indoors unless it is absolutely necessary to leave.

Q: When was the last time you did judo?
A: The last time I was able to do judo was the week of March 9. Right now, our training centre is closed, along with all dojos and gyms, making it impossible to do judo.

Q: What was a typical training day like when everything was normal?
A: Prior to the lock-down, a typical day of training would start with either gym or technical training at 9:30am. After that, I would typically have treatments done for injury prevention, and at 5:30pm we would start our evening training which is primarily focused on randori.

Q: What is it like now?
A: Training in these conditions have been very different from the norm. I'm trying to establish some structure in my day and keeping a routine of one to two physical trainings per day. Body weight circuits, elastic uchikomi, skipping rope and jogging are some of the things that are possible for me to do.

Q: What else do you do during the rest of the day?
A: I have decided to take this time to look into certain topics that could complement my judo, but I never had time to dive into before. Watching podcasts, reading books or watching videos on things like nutrition and fitness are some of the things that fill my day. Other than that, I am relaxing and managing to stay calm about the current situation by reminding myself that it is only temporary.

Q: What are your thoughts regarding the Olympics being postponed?
A: Prior to the lock-down I was confident in my ability to be ready in time for Tokyo 2020. But given the disruption Covid-19 is having on my training, I would have needed more time to fully restore the level of physical strength, conditioning and quality of judo needed to do well. For that reason, the postponement of the games to 2021 would give me and many other athletes the necessary time to recover from this unfortunate disruption.

Q: Christa Deguchi is your domestic rival. You’ve fought her in five IJF World Tour events so far and have not managed to beat her yet. Do you feel your next match-up will be the one where that happens?
A: Yes, I'm confident in my abilities to defeat Christa. Our next match-up was originally scheduled for June 6, 2020. This was to be a private event, with only essential Judo Canada staff present. We were supposed to have three fights and the one who wins at least two will be selected for Tokyo 2020. This has now been postponed. 

Q: How many times have you two fought against each other in the Canadian Nationals?
A: I have never competed against her in the Canadian Nationals, we have only competed against each other in IJF events.

Q: Don’t competitors have to take part in the Nationals?
A: Yes, most, if not all Canadian competitors have competed in the Canadian Nationals. It is essential to show that you are able to dominate nationally, in order to be allowed to compete internationally. However, once you have entered the senior division and achieved elite international results – and consequently have a heavy competition or training camp schedule – it's possible to be exempted from competing in the Nationals.

Q: What is your relationship like with her?
A: Christa is like any other teammate to me. Oftentimes, we will train together just prior to competitions if we need to lose weight. However, she lives and trains in Japan all year round. My only encounters with her are at international events.

Q: Many people know you like to do drop seoi and drop sode, yet you’re still able to consistently score with such techniques. How do you do it?
A: I consider myself a very intuitive player. I don’t structure my approach too much, and I do my judo based on feeling rather than specific steps or the other player’s style of judo. This allows me to impose my kind of judo, when I like it. My drop seois and sodes have given me a lot of success but what many people don’t see is the level of detail I put into training these techniques. On a daily basis, I am vigorously training ways to use these attacks from different grips, angles, and momentum of movement.

Q: Obviously to be a top athlete like yourself, it requires great sacrifices. What are the biggest things you have to give up in order to achieve what you want?
A: Compared to the average person my age, I have quite a different lifestyle. When I was 19, I had to move from Toronto to Montreal in order to pursue my dreams in judo. Although I am away from my friends and family, and cannot pursue certain things in my life because of my commitment to judo, I do not consider these things to be sacrifices. I am reminded daily that judo has enriched my life in ways that wouldn’t have been possible if I were leading a normal life. I am extremely thankful for the opportunities judo has given me.

Q: Any words of encouragement to other judokas around the world who are also in a lock-down?
A: We can take comfort in knowing that we are all in this together. Although it is difficult, we can all get through this period of our lives collectively as a judo family.

A special message from Jessica Klimkait to members of KL Judo Centre...

Judo Concepts, Lesson 7: Strength vs Technique

Size doesn't matter... yeah, right!

In judo, there isn't a trope as tired as the one that claims technique can always overcome strength. Of course if you have a really skilled -73kg player going up against a less skilled -81kg player or -90kg player, the -73kg player can defeat them. But if you have two equally skilled and experienced players and one is -73kg while the other is -81kg, you'd be stupid to bet on the lighter player.

So why does this cliche persist? Partly because at the club level, you do often see players with superb skills defeating much bigger and stronger players. And most judokas are club level judokas. But if you watch high-level competitors do randori, you'll see it's very hard for players from one weight class to take on another player just one weight class above them.

Why do you think judo players diet so obsessively to cut weight if strength didn't matter? If strength didn't matter, everybody would just be eating away and fighting at whatever weight they happened to be at the time. Instead, you have players cutting weight like crazy because they feel they would have a better chance in a lower weight class where, presumably, the players are physically not as strong.

Should judo players do weight training?
Since strength is so important, all judo players should do weight training, right? If you're a full-time athlete who trains twice a day, probably yes (though there are exceptions: Italy's Manuel Lombardo says he doesn't do any weight training). Many of the top players I've interviewed say they do weight training and physical conditioning in the mornings and randori at night.

When people watch YouTube videos of Japanese and South Korean players doing weight training, it's only natural they will conclude that it's necessary for judo players to do weight training. What they forget is that these players are full-time, professional athletes whose job it is to train.

Full-time athletes train two to three times a day. Club players train two or three times a week. In one day, the professional athlete would have trained as much as most of us do in a week. So, there is a big difference. That's why club players must not emulate professional athletes.

If you're a working adult who can allocate only three times a week to training, should you allocate perhaps one of those days to weight training? The answer depends on what your goal is. If your goal is to just get a little exercise through a combination of weight training and judo training, sure. Go ahead. But if your aim is to win competitions, then whatever little time you have should be used for judo training.

What if you've got four nights to allocate for sports? How about one day for weight training and three nights for judo? Again, it all depends on what your goal is. If you want to win competitions, the answer is the same: You'd better spend whatever available time you have to doing judo.

What if you've got six nights available? Surely then you could afford to allocate at least one of those nights to weight training. Sure, you can even allocate two or three or more of those nights to weight training if your goal is just to get strong and have a little fun doing some judo. But not if you want to compete and win. If you want to excel in judo, you have to do more judo.

To be good at anything – whether it's guitar playing or cooking or yodeling – you need to spend a lot of time doing that thing. Malcolm Gladwell famously claimed that to become an expert at something, you'll need to spend 10,000 hours of deliberative practice on it. If that is true, you can't very well afford to waste any of your precious available training sessions on other pursuits.

Now, if you are a full-time athlete whose job is it to train, then of course you should incorporate weight training into your schedule. You should also incorporate some cardio, and high-intensity interval training, and stretching, and physiotherapy. You've got time to do all that and still have time for judo. If you're a working adult who just trains two to three times a week but want to do well in competitions, you'd better focus on judo.

Realize this: Those Japanese and Korean players you see doing massive amounts of weight training – those guys also do massive amounts of judo. So they are not sacrificing any judo time to do their weight training. Their weight training supplements their judo, not supplants it.

Also realize this: When you do judo, you're also building up strength. Judo is a very rigorous, tough activity. There's a lot of pulling and lifting and defending. You do enough of that and you will become strong.

If you're not a professional athlete and you don't have a lot of time, use whatever little time you have to improve whatever it is you want to be good at. You want to be good at judo? Do more judo!

Judo in the time of Covid-19: Alexandre Paysan, France

Both husband and wife love traveling the world.

Note: Since the publication of this interview, this couple has been repatriated back to France. They left together with the French Embassy officials.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: I am French, originally from the region of Grenoble. I spent part of my youth in Berlin, Germany where I started judo. Then I did judo in many regions of France. I’ve travelled to many countries of the world, always bringing my judogi along. So far, I’ve been able to do judo during my travels to Qatar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Oman, South Korea, Réunion, Mayotte and the Seychelles.

Q: You’ve taught judo in many places. Which places have you done this?
A: In 2003, I graduated as a judo teacher. Through this career, I was able to travel to many new places to teach judo. I’ve been in Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélémy, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Mexico, Portugal and Tahiti.

Q: Tahiti was your last assignment? How did a coaching position in such exotic place come about?
A: Yes, a judo club from Tahiti contacted me and offered me work in this part of the world that I had never been to. So, we packed our bags and went to the other side of the world. I was able to discover a new culture and new rhythms of work. It was a great experience in a heavenly environment. Over there I was able to teach judo at a club, schools and in a college.

Q: You have such an unconventional lifestyle, travelling and teaching judo in various places. How did you come up with this idea?
A: I had always wanted to travel. But we had jobs and a house in France. One day my wife said to me: Let’s go around the world! So, we sold everything. No more house, no more belongings, just a suitcase each. Since 2013, we have been travelling the world. I am lucky to be married to a wonderful woman who loves to travel as much as I do!

Q: You are currently in South America. What are you doing there?
A: This year my wife and I decided we wanted to discover South America, its local culture and the judo culture there. We left France on November 27, 2019 and travelled to South America by way of Canada. The countries we planned to visit were Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Our plan was to return to France on July 21, 2020. We started in Argentina as planned but we only managed to make it to Bolivia because of the Covid-19 situation. We are now stuck here because of the lock-down.

Q: Based on your Facebook Page, you taught at various clubs in the places you visit. How many clubs did you teach at?
A: In Canada, we taught at a club in Toronto and at another in Orilia. In Argentina we taught at two clubs in Buenos Aires, a club in Rosario, two clubs in Cordoba, two clubs in Mendoza, and a club in Salta. In Bolivia, we taught at a club in Tarija and another in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Q: How did you identify which places to go to and which clubs to teach at?
A: It was purely through networking. Once we teach at one club, we’d start getting referrals to other judokas and other clubs. So, we would move from one club to another, based on recommendations. I also looked up judo clubs on social media.

Q: How did you communicate with the locals? Do you speak Spanish?
A: From our time in Mexico we learned a bit of Spanish.

Q: Did you take Spanish lessons in Mexico?
A: No, when we first landed in Mexico, I spoke no Spanish at all. But the very next day, we were already on the tatami and I learned a bit of Spanish there. You could say I learned Spanish on the mats.

Q: What do you think of the judo culture in South America compared to say, in France?
A: In France, judo is everywhere. There are clubs in every city. There are almost 600,000 judokas in France. You can make a living with judo in France. In South America, judo is poorly developed but the spirit of judo is there. The doors of the dojos are always open to visitors. From the very first moment, it's like you’re already a part of the family. That is the magic of judo!

Q: What was your plan for after the tour?
A: I hope to have a job as a judo teacher again but where, I don’t know yet!

Q: Are judo clubs now all shut down where you are at?
A:  There’s no more judo in South America. Everything’s shut down now. The last time I did judo was March 12.

Q: What advice would you give to a judoka who loves judo but is now staying at home because of this situation?
A: Now is the time to work on your mind. Learn theory, refereeing rules, the history of judo. You can’t do judo but you can do some physical exercises in the home and do some stretching.

Q: Any words you would like to share with Malaysian judokas?
A: I hope this global crisis will be over soon and that we will have the opportunity to do judo together in the future. In the meantime, let's be good judokas!

Judo Concepts, Lesson 6: Four Basic Rules of Gripping

One misconception some players have about grip-fighting is that it's all about breaking your opponent's grip. While breaking the grip is part of grip-fighting, it's only part of it, and it's a means to an end. So, what's the end, then? It's to get a strong, dominant grip on your opponent so that you can do your techniques.

When I was taught the four basic rules of gripping, it was a time when gripping rules were a lot more lax. You were allowed to use two hands to break a grip, you had more time to play with when adopting unorthodox grips and covering your own lapel to prevent uke from getting a grip was permissible. It was a very different time (not necessarily a better time but different).

These days, IJF rules on gripping are a lot stricter so I've adjusted the four basic rules of gripping accordingly. But the basic principles are the same:

1. Never allow your opponent to get a usable grip
Note the word "usable". If uke likes to take a right-handed, underarm grip on your left lapel, that is a usable grip for him. Never let him get that or he will throw you. So, what's the definition of a non-usable grip? It's whatever grip that is pretty useless to uke. For example for the uke who likes a right-handed, underarm grip, a left-handed grip of any kind might be a non-usable grip (unless he has trained to throw left-handed). But it doesn't even have to go that far. A right-handed overarm grip might be enough of a non-usable grip for uke (who prefers a right-handed, underarm grip) that you can effectively thwart his throws. Basically, if you know your opponent well, and you know what grip he likes, prevent him from getting that grip. If he gets some other grip that he can't really use, that's fine. If you're up against a new uke whom you are not familiar with, you have to quickly suss him out and figure out what his preferred grip is. It's not that difficult. It'll be whatever he goes for after the referee says "Hajime". Whatever grip he likes, don't let him get it!

2. If your opponent is able to get a usable grip, break it immediately
Sometimes, uke manages to get the grip he wants faster than you expect. Once you realize he has managed to get the grip he likes, you have to break it off immediately. There are various legal ways to break a grip, which I will share in a future lesson. But for now, just remember, you cannot let uke maintain a usable grip because with his favorite grip in hand, he will be able to to throw you.

3. If you are not able to break his usable grip, attack him
Remember, once uke has a usable grip, he's in a good position to throw you. If you cannot break his grip (let's say his grip strength is exceptional), the only recourse you have is to attack him. When you attack him he has to defend or try to counter. He cannot focus on throwing you anymore if he's under attack. Of course, you might not be in a great position to do a good throw. That's okay. All you need is a good enough throw that will convince the referee you're doing a legitimate throwing attempt. You don't want to get a shido, of course, so don't do a false attack. But understand that your legitimate attack doesn't have to score. Your main purpose of doing that attack is to prevent him from throwing you.

4. If you are not able to attack him, prepare to counter his attack
Although it's possible to do a legitimate attack from a less-than-ideal position, sometimes uke has got you gripped in such a tight lock that you really can't put in any move that doesn't look like a false attack. In such a situation, you need to prepare for the inevitable: uke's throwing attempt. What you need to do if you cannot launch a reasonable attack, is to switch to counter mode. Just because you cannot throw him with an offensive throw doesn't mean you can't throw him with a defensive one. This is called a counter. So, once you realize you're at Step 4 (it's already too late for Steps 1, 2 and 3), prepare yourself for the counter because the throwing attempt is sure to follow.

Having said all of the above, I need to reiterate that your main objective in a grip fight must always be to get the grip you want. Denying uke a grip is only a means to an end, which is to create a situation for you to get your usable grip.

Remember, if all you do is spend your time blocking uke and preventing him from getting a usable grip, you will get a shido. Even as you do Steps 1 and 2, you must be working on securing your usable grip. In other words, while denying uke a usable grip, you must at the same time impose a usable grip of your own.

Take Step 1 as an example. While denying uke the grip he wants, you must at the same time try to impose the grip you want. Now, let's look at Step 2. Same principle. While breaking uke's grip, you must at the same time (or just shortly afterwards) try to impose your grip on him. Otherwise, it's shido for you.

If you incorporate the four basic rules of gripping into your game plan, it will be very hard for uke to throw you. But being a difficult player to throw is only part of the equation for winning. You can't just block his throws. You must also be able to do your throws. Remember, these four basic rules are a means to an end. I can't emphasize that enough.

Judo in the time of Covid-19: Peter Paltchik, Israel

Peter Paltchik, winner of six IJF World Tour events, is locked down in Israel but he is making good use of his time, doing daily exercises at home and offering online advice and inspiration to young judokas across his country through the power of the Internet.

Q: You’ve won many IJF World Tour events but this year, you had two consecutive victories, in the Tel Aviv Grand Prix and the Paris Grand Slam. Do you feel like you are peaking right now?
A: Those two events are really special for me. For the Tel Aviv Grand Prix, I was in my home court and there was this electricity in the air. It felt so good to celebrate the gold medal with my friends and family, and the fans. Meanwhile, the Paris Grand Slam is one of the most important events of the year. My final match was against Varlam Liparteliani, who is a childhood hero of mine. So yes, 2020 started off with very good momentum and I’m very much at my peaking right now. But alas, the Olympics are being postponed.



Q: What do you think of that?
A: I have mix feelings about it. On the one hand, I feel so ready for the Olympics but on the other one hand, this is the right thing to do. I believe it is not right to put more than 10,000 athletes in Tokyo with this pandemic still raging on.

Q: What was a typical day like for you before the lock-down began?
A: My routine is pretty tough and every moment of my day is all planned out.
06:30 - Drive to national training center
07:30 - Breakfast
08:30 - Movement training
10:00 - Gym time
12:00 - 16:30 - Lunch, physiotherapy and other treatments.
16:30 - 18:30 - Randori
18:30 - 19:30 - Stretching
19:30 - Mental training

Q: What do you consider to be the most important part of judo training, randori perhaps?
A: Every aspect is important. You can’t skip parts of the training if you want to be a complete judo competitor. But of course, randori is a very important part of my training. This is the time for me to try new techniques and improve my skills. In randoris I always look for new ways to defeat my opponents, checking for their reactions and of course, my own as well.

Q: How are you training these days, under the lock-down?
A: I work on my power at least four times a week, I work on my flexibility and do movement training three or four times a week. For cardio, I do long runs by myself. In Israel, under the lock-down we are still allowed to run alone for exercise.

"Ask Peter" sessions with young judokas

Q: Besides solo training how else do you fill your time during the lock-down?
A: For the past two weeks a lot of young judokas and judo club owners asked if I could give ideas on what to do during the lock-down. This made me realize how important it is to give judokas some words of encouragement. So, I decided to start an important project which I call “Ask Peter”.  Every day, in the afternoon, I would conduct three online meetings with clubs from all over the country using an application called Zoom, which is great for videoconferencing.

Q: How much of these sessions have you done so far?
A: To date, I’ve had meetings with 16 clubs and more than 1000 young judokas. This platform gives the kids a chance to ask me any questions they want. I try to give them my two cents’ worth about new situations and how to train etc. I must say I’m having an amazing time with the next generation of Israeli judokas.

Q: Are you watching a lot of judo videos?
A: I try to watch judo videos once a day. I usually watch my own fights to analyze what I did right and what I did wrong, and to learn from my mistakes. I generally don’t make a point to study the videos of my opponents because I’m already familiar with their judo styles. Besides, I prefer to stay focused on my own judo when I do video analysis.

Q: Who is your biggest rival on the IJF World Tour circuit?
A: There are several but the biggest is Lipo (Liparteliani). He was one of my judo heroes when I was growing up. Today, he is my rival but also my very good friend.

Q: Do you go abroad for training?
A: Usually every year I would travel to Spain, Austria and Japan for training. When we visit Japan, it’s usually for three weeks. The players there have no ego, their skill level is very high and they are tough fighters – and most of them don’t even get to go on the IJF World Tour! Training in Japan is a little different from anywhere else. Their randori sessions are very long, usually lasting about two hours. I find it challenging but I like it.

Q: Why is judo is so popular in Israel?
A: It all started with the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 where Oren Smadja and Yael Arad managed to win Israel’s first two Olympic medals ever, and of course it was in the sport of judo. From there, judo boomed in popularity. To date, Israel has nine Olympic medals and five of them are from judo alone. So, you can imagine how popular judo is.

Q: Do top athletes in Israel all train together at a national training centre or do each of them train at their own respective judo clubs, under their own coaches?
A: All national team athletes train together under the same roof at the national training centre. Cadets, juniors and seniors – all train together. But of course, we all have our respective home clubs and coaches which we go to sometimes.

Q: In Israel are most judo clubs private or government supported?
A: All clubs are private.

Q: Why did you choose to do judo?
A: I was born weighing 5.1kg. I was a huge baby. As a result, I had a lot of joint problems. My grandfather consulted one doctor who told him to sign me up for some sports to sort out my problems. So, my grandfather sent me to the judo club near my home. Perhaps I can say that judo chose me. Judo saved my life, really.

Q: How has judo influenced your life?
A: I live by judo values which is mutual respect, self-discipline and hard work. I live by those values not only when doing judo but in all aspects of my life.

Q: What is it about judo that you enjoy the most?
A: I like the judo fights. I love the action and the adrenaline rush. When I go for competitions, I like to imagine myself as a gladiator entering the arena in a Coliseum with the crowd all cheering. It’s an amazing feeling.

Q: What motivates you to become a top athlete, which requires a tremendous amount of sacrifices?
A: I started judo at four years old. From that point until today, I’ve had many ups and downs, including two major injuries that almost stopped my career. But I carry on because seeing the positive influence that I have on people – young judokas and the people of Israel who follow my career – that gives me great motivation.

Q: Any words for the global judo community, many of whom are also in lock-down?
A: Let me share my opening statements for my “Ask Peter” sessions. Whenever we face problems or challenges, we need to accept the situation, adapt to it as soon as possible, adjust our goals accordingly and keep on working. We must keep moving forward. So, let’s do it!

Peter Paltchik's message for players from KL Judo Centre...