Thank you guys for the awesome info! Judoka, great advice. My school schedule makes me miss our judo classes, but we have a sweetheart of a coach (paralympian to boot) that I'm sure would take the time to walk me through the movements so I'm not creating bad habits.
You're welcome. You'll obviously pick up things quicker and retain then better than the average Josephine on the street, because of your high level of physical literacy, but learning the basics with competent supervision will obvious speed things up even more.
I'd advise the lego block method of learning i.e start off with the footwork, then independently learn the hand action and then bring the two together. I find this generates the best results for adult learners.
On the hand action front this might help:
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f12/kuzushi-how-do-how-drill-1823001/
For shadow uchikomi/ resistance band uchikomi obviously substitute the shadow/band for the partner. Its all easily transferable.
Haha really? I thought they were some mediocre stuff. @_@
Occasionally they are hovering around a correct principle, but their Aikido influence invariably ends up meaning they give flawed training methods and don't actual apply the principle as it really works in the real world of Judo.
I'd like to ask a question about how you point your feet when practicing entries. JudokaUK, I'd really like to see what you've got to say on this since your explanations are so clear, but anyone who knows, please help. My feet are initially pointing roughly straight ahead toward my opponent. When stepping to the point of the triangle, let's say with my right foot, how far do you pivot the foot? Is it turned a little past 90 degrees, a little less, or what? When the left foot steps, do you pivot the pivot it all the way 180 degrees to your finishing position and then rotate the right afterwards, or step the left foot completely straight ahead and pivot on the balls of both your feet, or what? Is this dependent on which throw you are doing or what your opponent's motion is? Camarillo's book seems to suggest drilling it with the right foot turned a bit on its step, the left foot stepping straight (about 0 degrees, straight ahead) and then pivoting both, but is that not a general rule?
Heretical suggestion, but its not massively important...
I'm a big opponent of what I call 'Judo geometry' i.e put foot 1 at point X at an angle of 34 degrees to produce result Y.
Its a flawed way of looking at Judo and it only serves to confuse the beginner and hold them back.
Generally speaking you don't want to put your plant foot on the point of the triangle dead straight, like so:
I was forced to produce the image with the foot dead straight, because the new paint wont let you rotate images by less than 90 degrees.
However, the precise degree of angle isn't important, whatever is comfortable is the best guide.
The pivot foot is placed like so:
If you adopt this position you will feel the torsion being built up in your hips. As its not a natural rest position for them. Your hips will want you to 'un wind'. With your feet in the correct position there is only one way your hips will naturally unwind you, which is in the direction of the throw so that you finish parallel to your partner facing away from them.
The important point remains not at what angle you place the pivot foot, but rather that you plant it on the ball of the foot and plant it firmly. Ensuring that happens will mean the rest happens naturally.
So, yeh, don't get drawn in and overly concerned with Judo geometry it will only lead you down the garden path.
good luck.
