A team of ten from our club visited Leicester on a very hot Saturday to compete in the Leicester Open Championships. This club is highly regarded BJC club and this competition attracts entrants from all over the country.
We came away with two Gold, one Silver and four Bronze.
Below are videos of some of the contests, both wins and losses. They are worth studying to see what works well and what does not. Particular attention to the times we lost and the lessons that can be learned from them will pay dividends in the long run.
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Video
Allen
Allen is displaying a general lack of attack in this contest which is not his normal modus operandi. However, he is controlling his opponent well and is able to block the attacks. Near the start the opponent makes an attack with Tomoe Nage and as Allen is lifted in the air he manages to turn and rotate so that he can do a cartwheel and turn out of the throw which is really very well done. Upon restarting the opponent grabs Allen's cuff of the Judogi and twists it which is called 'pistol gripping' and is a banned technique. Consequently the opponent is given a Shido for this. The contest continues with the opponent doing all of the attacking until they end up on the ground and Allen firstly attacks with a strangle and then obtains a cross armlock, Udi Hishigi Juji Gatame whereupon the opponent submits.
Allen
Allen
Allen continues to be cautious. The opponent attacks with Uchi Mata and when this fails and they fall to the ground where Allen does gain a Tate Shio Gatame but is unable to hold this for more than a few seconds because of his incorrect placement of his legs. Upon restarting the opponent attempts a throw and due to Allen's strong Jigotai they stumble off the mat. The opponent then attacks with something that starts of as a Koshi Gurama and ends up as a Uchi Mata which scores a Yuko. The opponent then gets Allen in a strong hold which is not helped by Allen not using the correct techniques to escape the hold.
Allen
Allen v Fairoze
In this contest almost all of the attacking is by Fairoze. But it is not a question of quantity but quality and in the end that weighs in Allen's favour. Allen continues to be cautious and not his usual self in this contest but is able to block most of Fairoze's attacks which are wide and varied. Allen does score a Yuko early on but is unable to finish the contest on the ground. Upon standing Fairoze's belt falls off for not the first time in this contest or the championship. Fairoze continues to gamely attack Allen and does score a Wazari with a very good O Uchi Gari. However, on the ground he is unable to break Allen's guard and they are bought to standing again whereupon Fairoze's belt falls off again. Fairoze continues his attack but Allen gets in a counter which with Tani Otoshi which scores
Ippon. Allen clearly does not hear this as he continues on the ground and obtains a submission from an armlock (Udi Hishigi Juji Gatame) thereby gaining two Ippon in one contest which is pretty rare (and does not count).
Allen v Fairoze
Bradley
In this short contest Bradley is clearly up against a more experienced contestant. As Bradley goes to make an attack his opponent reverses Bradley's balance and throws him with a pretty well perfect Uki Goshi scoring Ippon and thus ending this contest.
Bradley
Bradley
It is difficult to gain much from this contest as the video camera is frequently obstructed by people passing by and is shaken quite a bit. However, it is clear that for the first almost thirty seconds there was little in the way of attack by either contestant which resulted in their both being spoken to by the referee. Upon restarting there was some sort of 'throw' which resulted in groundwork where Bradley was placed in Kesa Gatame and was held for the required twenty five seconds. From the scoreboard it is clear that there is no score for the 'throw' so it may well have been no more than a 'stumble' but we will never know.
Bradley
Chelsea v Ellie
Chelsea pulls of a very impressive Ippon Seoi Nage at the very beginning of this contest but somehow Ellie manages to spin onto her front. The referee scores this throw as Yuko which to this narrator seems wrong as Ellie was fully on her front. However, it was a good throw and with a bit more practice Chelsea will learn how to prevent that. As they restart Chelsea attacks with Ippon Seoi Nage and O Goshi but as she attempts the later, Ellie spins her to the ground with a Te Waza and also scores Yuko. So they are now even.
Ellie does throw Chelsea with a Ko Soto Gari but this is not given a score (which the narrator thinks it should have been). Both contestants are now beginning to run out of energy and when Chelsea does 'trip' Ellie up it is really no more than that and does not score either. Another characteristic of this contest is that the belts keep on falling off and at this point, both contestants have to redo their Obi. Upon restarting Chelsea immediately attacks with O Uchi Gari and manages to throw Ellie. We can not see what score was awarded but we can assume that it is a Yuko. This is also the very end of the contest and Chelsea has now won.
This contest will raise the question of whether Ellie lost because her Ko Soto Gari was not scored. The first answer is that the referee's decision is final and he will have made it with a better view than we enjoy. But the second answer is 'no'. This is because if Ellie had been given a Yuko the scores would have been even and the referee would then have had to make a decision (Hantei). In that situation he would almost certainly have awarded the contest to Chelsea because of the first throw which was the only major technique of the contest.
Chelsea v Ellie
Ellie v Victoria
Ellie is up against Victoria who had a surprise loss in her previous contest. Victoria is now clearly determined to make sure that people understand that this was an error. She attacks Ellie straight away with a O Goshi/Tai Otoshi sort of throw but her foot is incorrectly place (for either throw) so that whilst Ellie is thrown, she does not land on her back and therefore no score is awarded. Never mind says Victoria, she turns Ellie over and secures a hold. Ellie is then warned for trying to push Victoria off by using her arm across Victoria's face and a Shido is given. Ellie is trying hard to escape and is pushing well along the mat. Unfortunately, if she had realised how close she was to the edge of the contest area, if she had pushed in another direction, she could have stopped the hold by virtue of
being out of area. Victoria keeps her hold on for the required twenty five seconds and wins this contest.
Ellie
Fairoze
Fairoze attacks with his normal enthusiasm but it is to much and as a result he places his balance at risk and this opponent takes advantage of it. As Fairoze makes his third attack the opponent spins into a Ippon Seoi Nage and Fairoze is thrown for a Wazari. The throw is positioned correctly to allow for a continuation into groundwork without any hesitation and as a result, Fairoze is now tightly secured and is unable to escape. This is partly because he is not using any of the correct escape methods that he has been shown. The problem is, in the heat of a contest, trying to remember all the things one has been taught is hard which is why constant practice is necessary.
Fairoze
Fairoze
Having already learnt from his earlier encounter Fairoze keeps his balance under better control than before. The opponent attacks with Tomoe Nage as he did in his contest with Allen but it is not as well place and Fairoze is able to drop to his knees and attempt to attack on the ground but is stuck between his opponents knees and after a while is bought to standing. Fairoze then makes a wild attack with Uchi Mata that doesn't achieve anything and shortly after, his belt falls off, again.
Upon restarting, Fairoze displays a sudden rush of remembering everything he has been taught and anticipates his opponents balance correctly pulling off a perfect Tai Otoshi to score Ippon. A really nice throw for which he should be justly proud.
Fairoze
Jonah
Both contestants are clearly very serious about this. They spend time fighting for grip and giving each other a good pull around. The opponent turns in for a forward throw but Jonah catches him with Ko Soto Gari taking him down for a Wazari. Jonah tries to capitalise on the ground but is unable to turn the boy over into a hold. Upon standing again, Jonah quickly takes him down again with a Morete Seoi Nage which scores Yuko but this time does get a hold on and keeps it for the required 20 seconds to win this contest.
Jonah
Jonah
In the first couple of seconds Jonah throws his opponent with a O Soto Gari for what this narrator thinks should have been a Wazari but the referee thinks differently and as he is a more experienced referee than the narrator. Upon restarting Jonah once again throws the opponent with a few seconds and this throw does not score either. But it doesn't matter as Jonah has obtained a hold down and the boy is not getting out. With this Jonah takes his second victory of this championship.
Jonah
Jonah
The opponent in this contest is a strong and skilled contestant. He is a good match for Jonah. The opponent attacks Jonah with O Uchi Gari which Jonah counters Ko Soto Gari to gain a Yuko. Jonah is unable to continue on the ground due to the strong defence of the opponent and they are bought back to standing. As Jonah attacks with Morete Seoi Nage the opponent counters with what looks like a Tani Otoshi (which is banned for Primaries) and in the process wraps his arm around Jonah's neck. As a result the referee gives a Shido to the opponent and explains to him the reasons for this. Upon restarting the contestants make a variety of attempts at attacking each other all of which are effectively rebuffed. The contest ends with the only score being the Yuko that Jonah gained near the beginning and with
this he wins this contest.
Jonah
Jonah
Jonah's final contest of this competition is noted by a very defensive opponent who is trying hard to keep Jonah at bay. Jonah does throw him with a Ko Soto Gari but as the opponent lands on his front there is no score. Upon restart the opponent is if anything even more defensive with outstretched arms keeping Jonah as far away as possible. After a while, the referee has a talk with them about non-combativity and upon restarting, Jonah redoubles his efforts. This culminates with the opponent landing on the floor again once more for no score but Jonah manages to turn him over and place him in a secure Kesa Gatame from which there is no escape. With this, Jonah wins this contest.
Jonah
Noah
In Noah's first contest his opponent seems to like encouraging the contest to take place at the edge of the mat. This is a tactic advantage in high grade competition if one can keep ones opponent on the edge of the red area, they have a limited range of choices with which to attack but the person on the inside of the area has a much wider range. It is not usual to see this at this level of competition and the narrator needs to consider if he should coach his Judoka in this.
in the first half of the contest, whilst close to the edge, Noah attacks with Tai Otoshi but is not successful, as he retreats we see the danger implicit in this as he is caught with a Ko Soto Gari and taken down for a score of Wazari. Much of the rest of the contest takes place on the margins of the contest area until the referee gets fed up with this and warns the competitors regarding this. At one point the opponent goes for a drop knee technique which Noah successfully avoids and then enters groundwork and tries to turn his opponent over but does not succeed. We then see that the opponent appears to be hurt. We are not sure what occasioned this and there is no obvious reason for this. One is left wondering if this was a tactic designed to give him time to recover if he was running out of breath.
Nevertheless, he wins this contest courtesy of the early Wazari.
Noah
Noah
Noah attacks with Hiza Gurama which he misses so then attacks with Tai Otoshi which again he misses on but his opponent falls to his knees and Noah takes advantage of by turning his opponent over and securing firstly a Kuzure Yoko Shio Gatame which he changes to a better Kami Shio Gatame which then becomes an even better Kuzure Kami Shio Gatame with which the opponent is pinned for the remainder of the contest despite brave attempts at escape.
Noah
Noah
This contest ends with no score. However, during it, we witness the titanic struggle between contestants who are both clearly determined to win. Noah makes a number of attacks including his preferred Hiza Gurama in his attempt to upset his opponent. The opponent meanwhile spends a lot of time trying to hold Noah at bay with outstretched arms which does not make it any easier for him to attack Noah. There are two occasions where Noah almost grabs victory, the first is when he turns his opponent over and applies a hold but has his leg trapped between the opponents legs and is unable to extricate it. The last occasion is at the end of the contest where he does succeed in applying a hold having turned his opponent over but the hold, a Kuzure Yoko Shio Gatame only last a few seconds. No sooner has the referee
called Toketa then the contest ends and the referee has to make a decision. Based upon the two holds that Noah has applied and with very little from the opponent, he gives victory to Noah.
Noah
Noah
The video starts this contest about twenty five seconds in where Noah has already been thrown for a Wazari but we do not know with which throw. However, we do know that at the beginning of the video the opponent is being warned for holding onto Noah's belt. This is allowed if one proceeds to use it to throw, but you can not hold onto the belt for a period of time.
The opponent is exceptionally aggressive which, in the terms of what Judo is about is not a bad thing but it is unusual to see this level of aggression in a Junior competition and one could say that poor Judo spirit is being demonstrated. There is a lot of grip fighting with the opponent trying to force Noah's grip from him. The opponent does attempt a variety of techniques and when he does throw, Noah is doing very well to turn himself onto his front. During one of these the opponent once again grips the belt and is given a Shido for this infringement.
At one point he gets Noah on the floor and attempts to turn Noah over in a rather brutal and inefficient manner. Noah is frankly just trying to hang on and is bought to the ground again for no score with the opponent with him gripping the belt again but this time only whilst actually performing the technique. Once on the ground he again tries to turn Noah over and does succeed in this but Noah traps his leg between his and so no hold is valid which the opponent is aware of by his furious attempts to free the leg. By this time the contest is over and the opponent has won courtesy of the Wazari that we didn't see. Note how despite winning the opponent refuses to demonstrate standard etiquette by shaking hands.
Noah
Noah
This video starts twenty seconds into this contest but with no score yet. We see the competitors both having a fair good go at attacking with a variety of techniques. About twenty seconds into this video we see what looks like both of them falling to the ground. One could argue that the opponent was using a Ko Soto Gari but to the narrator it looks like a 'fall' for both of them and indeed the referee does not score it. However, on the ground the opponent secures a Kuzure Kesa Gatame very quickly and Noah is unable to escape thus losing this contest and unfortunately, despite having fought his way thorough the preliminary contests to the final group, is unable to secure a medal.
Noah
Oliver
In this contest Oliver is a clear equal to his opponent and gives as good as he gets. Early on he counters his opponents O Soto Gari with his own and as a result, knocks his opponent down for what the narrator would consider to be a Yuko but the referee does not score. Further attempts of attacks by the opponent are equally rebuffed and at one point Oliver almost obtains a hold down but because his right arm is incorrectly placed, his opponent is able to turn over and escape. Upon restarting the opponent attacks with a better O Soto Gari and throws Oliver for what the referee seems to award as Wazari (although to the narrator it looks like a Yuko). The opponent goes straight into groundwork and secures a hold which Oliver is unable to escape from.
Oliver
Oliver
Oliver is thrown straight away with a Morete Seoi Nage which scores Wazari. Upon restarting the opponent tries the same again but Oliver is a bit wiser and skillfully avoids it. However, he is taken down by a drop knee version of the same throw but this is not allowed for Primaries and the referee has a chat with the opponent about it. Upon restarting the opponent goes again for the same throw which gains him a Yuko before one more attempt, a great throw straight over the top for which the opponent gains an Ippon. Very classy Judo and this is what Oliver needs to emulate.
Oliver
Rhys
The opponent her immediately attempts a forward throw which Rhys blocks with Jitotai. The opponent then uses the classic combination of O Uchi Gari taking Rhys down for a Wazari. Rhys, despite being the one who was thrown and therefore in the lesser position does manage to obtain a hold down but the opponent who is a higher grade and therefore more familiar with the escapes is able to get out, tries for a strangle and when this fails obtains his own hold which he maintains for the twenty seconds to secure this contest.
Rhys
Rhys
Rhys appears to be nervous about taking grip. His opponent is quite a bit heavier than he is. Once a grip is established Rhys is bought down with a Ko Uchi Gari where the collar hand is passed over to the sleeve hand side and immediately placed into a Tate Shio Gatame which Rhys to his credit does escape from quite quickly. But this only results in the opponent changing to another hold and the contest is now secured for him.
Rhys
Shona
Shona is thrown very early on in this contest with an O Soto Gari which scores Wazari. This is a major blow to Shona and one which in the early stages she works hard to recover from. She is then thrown with a O Uchi Gari but manages to land on her front so no score is given. A large portion of this contest is spent with the contestants ending up off the contest area and in the end, the referee speaks to them about this. Shona also has to contend with her belt coming off several times. Shona is after a while given a Shido for non-combativity. As the contest progresses the opponent attempts an O Soto Gari whilst Shona attempts a Ko Soto Gari at the same time but neither is successful. Shona is then given a second Shido for non-combativity which the referee (and this narrator) now considers may have
been over harsh, but that is the way it seemed at the time. To add to this Shona also has to contend with her belt falling off again. The contest ends with the opponent winning courtesy of the early Wazari.
Shona
Shona
Shona spends quite a lot of this contest just trying to manage her opponents grip. The opponent is able to hold Shona wherever she wants and Shona doesn't like this. Shona does put in one attack with O Soto Gari which almost succeeds but the opponent is able to recover and shortly throws Shona with O Soto Gari to score a Yuko and then places her straight away into a hold. As time marches on Shona is unable to escape and consequently loses this contest.
Shona
Shona
Shona's opponent in this contest is Chloe who is a very dedicated Judoka. Early on in this contest, before the video starts Chloe has been able to throw for Wazari. We join the contest with Chloe continually attacking with a Uchi Mata where Shona is able to land on her front and there is no score given. Shona is allowing Chloe to choose her grip which is something she must learn to control. After a while Chloe clearly decides that the Uchi Mata is not working and changes to some foot sweeps which are probably just feints designed to get a reaction which Shona does not oblige with. At one point Chloe ends up on the floor face down and Shona attempts to turn her over. However, whilst the initial part of the technique for doing this is correct Shona has not correctly applied the second part and is unable to
turn Chloe. The contestants are bought back to standing and upon restarting Chloe throws Shona with an O Soto Gari on Shona's left side catching her unawares for a Wazari, which wins the contest for Chloe.
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