Judo

Judo is a martial art that was developed in Japan and has been in Olympic competition since 1964 for men and 1988 for women.  A central principle of judo is adjusting and evading an opponent's attack, thus reducing her power, and making it possible for weaker opponents to beat significantly stronger ones.  The objective of competitive judo is to throw your opponent to the ground (with impetus and control), or to subdue your opponent with a hold.

We spent an evening training at the Fort Worth Judo Club.  The club is a non-profit organization and all of the instructors are volunteers, and they do an amazing job.  The facilities were very nice, and the instructors are excellent teachers.  Nikki Kubes, one of the members of the 2004 US Olympic Judo team trained here, and is now an instructor.

Our instructor Ray demonstrating a throw with J

In our class we first learned to fall, so that we wouldn't get hurt during practice.  We learned a backwards breakfall, a side breakfall, and a forward roll.

M and J have synchronized somersaults

We learned three throws:  osoto otoshi (large outer drop), o goshi (large hip throw), and koshi guruma (hip wheel).  We also learned two holds:  kesa gatame (side control hold) and kata gatame (arm triangle choke).  At least I think that's what everything was called, please correct me if I'm wrong.

L and R stepping through a technique

At first we thought the heavy cotton uwagi (jacket) was just for tradition, but we soon learned that you grab the uwagi during grappling and throwing.  They also protect your elbows from getting mat burn when you fall.

L performing osoto otoshi on R

L throwing M to the mat (with impetus).  I think this is o goshi.

Don't worry, M can throw down just as well

We all had a lot of fun with the throws.

Although we only spent 90 minutes in our lesson, we learned an incredible amount, and some of us were a bit sore the next day.  Thank you, Fort Worth Judo Club!