A team of two from our club visited St. Albans on Sunday 22nd May to compete in their team challenge where all proceeds were in aid of the Japanese Tsunami. The St. Albans Judo Club is the largest club within the BJC community and as a result, the event was packed out and four teams of fourteen had a great time contesting each other.
Below are videos of some of the contests, both wins and loses. 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. It is a shame that the video camera was left at home so that these recordings are taken with a mobile phone. So we have to make do with what we have.
Comments
Video
Jonathan
Jonathon is up against a larger opponent but does not seem to be fazed by this. There is a bit of a scrabble at the beginning but upon restarting the opponent makes two attacks upon Jonathon which he resists and then follows up with his own attack of O Soto Gari which scores Yuko but is then followed up by a hold down which lasts the twenty five second count to give Jonathon his victory.
Jonathon
Jonathan
Jonathon frequently attacks with only one hand which in Judo is just not enough! Jonathon attacks with gusto and whilst he may be the smaller of the contestants he makes up for it with energy. Jonathon tries for an Ippon Seoi Nage which doesn't come off but as they fall Jonathon is right on top of his opponent ready to obtain a hold. Unfortunately, this is off the contest area of the mat so they are required to stop and come back to the centre of the mat.
Jonathon allows his opponent to gain the advantage of the high collar grip which he should try hard to avoid. But after a while he manages to gain the same grip himself but it is less useful to him as he is shorter. There is then a bit of a scabble on the ground.
Upon restarting we see lots of attacks from Jonathon but because he has not broken the opponents balance properly first, they are not successful. The opponent makes his own attack with Uchi Mata which does not quite come off but does result in Jonathon being thrown for a score of Yuko. The opponent also gets Jonathon into a hold but after just a few seconds Jonathon has escaped and is controlling his opponent between his legs. In the final few seconds Jonathon tries to attack again and the opponent makes a couple of attempts for the same Uchi Mata that he was successful with before but none of these result in anything and the contest ends with Jonathon unfortunately losing.
Jonathon
Jonathan
In this contest we see Jonathon make repeated attempts at big throws such as Koshi Guruama and Ippon Seoi Nage but is unable to quite pull them off. He then changes to an O Soto Gari attack but with his balance to far back is bought down by his opponent with a counter of O Soto Gari which is scored at Wazari.
Jonathon continues with his attacks but they are a bit sloppy and consequently not succesful. The opponent then attacks with O Soto Gari again and throws Jonathon who clearly in this video manages to turn on to his front. The referee scores this as a Wazari giving the opponent Wazari Awasete Ippon (the compound win) but this does not seem to be correct as Jonathon was clearly on his front side upon landing so it should have scored Yuko at best. However, it doesn't matter, the opponent before the win was called had also managed to obtain a hold so would have almost certainly won this contest in any event.
Jonathon
Oliver
Oliver in his first contest of this competition attacks with O Soto Gari but fails to break balance properly and the result is a collapse of both contestants to the floor where the opponent gains a hold. However, Oliver, correctly remembers the escape sequence and manages to turn his opponent over and apply his own hold. Unfortunately, as he hears the referee call 'Osaekomi' he looks up and lets go.
Upon restarting they quickly end up on the floor and Oliver does a good job of turning his opponent over but fails to secure a hold. After a few more seconds the opponent gets a hold and keeps this to the twenty five second mark thereby winning this contest.
Oliver
Oliver
Early on Oliver brings his opponent down scoring a Yuko with something that does not look like a real technique. However, upon the referee announcing the score Oliver stops and looks up at the referee which spoils his momentum and he fails to get the hold on. They start again and once more Oliver gains a Yuko with this time a Harai Goshi. But upon the score being called, he stops and looks up and thereby fails to continue the advantage. The referee takes the time to explain to them that they should only stop if they hear the word 'Matte' (stop).
Upon restarting Oliver gets another throw, this time a Tai Otoshi which gives him another Yuko. He continues on the ground this time trying to turn his opponent over but is unable to secure a hold. They are brought back to standing and upon restarting this time Oliver attacks with a O Soto Gari which brings his opponent down but only onto his bottom which fails to score. On the ground not much occurs and they are brought back to standing again.
This time Oliver mistimes his attack and the opponent ends up on his front. When they restart the opponent is able to take advantage of Oliver's error in attacking with O Soto Gari which results in Oliver being thrown with the same technique but his opponent gains a Wazari. This is a higher class or score and overrides Oliver's three Yuko scores. Unable to gain an advantage on the ground they are bought back to standing once again and the contest is soon over. Unfortunately,despite Oliver's very good showing in this contest he loses because of the error in his O Soto Gari attack.
Oliver
Oliver
In this contest Oliver is showing a very defensive posture where he is trying to hold his opponent off by leaning forward. The problem with this is that it leaves his own balance open to the front. Oliver must learn to contest in a more upright stance where his balance is properly centred.
After a while Oliver's opponent begins to take advantage of Oliver's lack of balance forward and attempts to turn in to throw him forward. As Oliver attempts to attack himself, the opponent counters and takes Oliver down for what would be at best a Wazari. The referee signalling is confusing. She shows Wazari Awasete Ippon which she then compounds with a Osaekomi (hold down). This can not be right at any level. However it is sorted out and the contestant continue.
During the second half the match little happens. Oliver becomes more confident and is better able to control his opponent and his defence improves as can be seen when Oliver is attacked with O Uchi Gari but only falls to one knee. At the end of the contest Oliver loses courtesy of the original Wazari.
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