April 23, 2010
Judo Books
Long time readers won't be surprised when I say that you can learn a lot by studying the techniques used by grapplers of the past (check out my post on old-time grappling). Rules change and sports evolve, but body mechanics stay the same. There are, after all, only a limited number of ways to twist someone's arm to make them say 'Uncle!'
Back before DVDs people wrote books. The problem is that many of the best old Judo books are now out of print. And those of us who have hard copies of these books would rather lose a kidney than lend out an impossible-to-find original copy!
A reader of this blog recently told me about that a generally great website - Judoinfo.com - has a page of links where you can download digital versions of rare old Judo books for free.
Some of these books are more than 100 years old, from the era where the boundaries between Judo and classical Japanese Ju-Jutsu were fairly blurry. (Imagine Judo with leglocks - it used to exist!)
Have fun browsing throught these books, seeing both how the art has evolved and also how things have stayed the same.
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Back before DVDs people wrote books. The problem is that many of the best old Judo books are now out of print. And those of us who have hard copies of these books would rather lose a kidney than lend out an impossible-to-find original copy!
A reader of this blog recently told me about that a generally great website - Judoinfo.com - has a page of links where you can download digital versions of rare old Judo books for free.
Some of these books are more than 100 years old, from the era where the boundaries between Judo and classical Japanese Ju-Jutsu were fairly blurry. (Imagine Judo with leglocks - it used to exist!)
Have fun browsing throught these books, seeing both how the art has evolved and also how things have stayed the same.
Labels: books, japanese ju-jutsu, judo
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December 11, 2009
Old Time Grapplin'
I'm a big fan of old Judo, Jiu-Jitsu and Catch Wrestling books. I have lots and lots of martial arts books, but some of the real jewels of my library are the Judo and wrestling books published in the 1920's to the 1960's. Not all are original - some are reprinted editions - but all offer very interesting historical perspectives on modern grappling.There is just something special about seeing grapplers from long ago demonstrating techniques that are still used today on mats all over the world.
Fortunately the era of the internet means that we now have unprecedented access to the information of yesteryear.
For example, I just watched a super-cool video of what might be the earliest example of Japanese martial arts ever caught on film. Even though it's more than 100 years old, the very same throws are still used today in both Judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. (Well, the throws that haven't been banned, anyhow).
For example, here's Tsunetane Oda showing a lot of moves that are still 100% relevant today. Unlike many of his contemporaries (and most modern Judoka) for whom Judo was mostly a standup sport, Oda apparently believed that Judo consisted of 50% standing work and 50% groundwork.
Another interesting source for old grappling footage is from the early British Jiu-jitsu community (which seems rather obsessed by women who could beat up men).
- The 'Weaker Sex' Teaches Jiu-Jitsu Self Defense Tips
- A demonstration of Ju-Jitsu from the 20's or 30's
- More woman's ju-jitsu for self defense (I love the accent plus the bathing suit!)
Not all the internet resources are videos either. For example, an old and very-much-out-of-print book called "Higher Judo Groundwork" can be downloaded for free by clicking here.If you study these books and videos you come to realize that most of the time when someone discovers something new in grappling it isn't really new, only new-to-them!
People have been rolling around on the ground for millenia, and there's only so many ways to flip someone over or to twist a limb to make your opponent say 'Uncle!'
Labels: books, grappling history, japanese ju-jutsu, judo
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July 27, 2009
Choke Recovery in BJJ and Submission Grappling
The first time I saw someone choked unconscious it scared the crap out of me. And it was made worse by the fact that it was a friend of mine...
It was many years ago at a local tournament. My friend was winning his match but got caught in a sneaky gi choke. He was (and still is) a stubborn bastard, so he refused to tap and passed out. He might have been out for about 10 seconds before anyone realized what was going on.
When the referee finally separated the two competitors, I could see my buddy lying flat on his back and he wasn't moving. From my position in the stands I couldn't even see if he was breathing.
But then it got even worse...
He started to snore REALLY loudly. We're talking horrible-keep-you-awake-from-the-next-room-sleep-apnea kind of snoring. Everyone at the tournament could hear it. Then, just to make things even more dramatic, he started convulsing a little bit, like he was having a small epileptic seizure.
Finally - to my infinite relief - he woke up, sat up and looked around sheepishly. Objectively he'd probably only been out for a total of 15 to 20 seconds (including the snoring and convulsing) but it sure seemed a lot longer than that to me at the time!
In fact this is a fairly normal sequence for someone who has been choked out. The snoring is normal. The mini-convulsions are to be expected. And they're going to be a bit light headed when they wake up.
Judo and BJJ coaches have different opions about what to do if someone gets choked out. The most common approach is to stand around and wait for the person to wake up. And this works just fine 99% of the time.
There are traditional judo resuscitation techniques (known as "kappo"). Kappo is an esoteric subject, and I don't know much about it. But I'll give you some guidance coming more from a western first aid point of view.
In first aid class I've been taught to roll unconscious people onto their side or into the 3/4 prone position (IMPORTANT: you only do this if you're sure that there's no neck or back injury). Being on the side helps drain fluids from the mouth and prevents the tongue from blocking the airway. And there are some Judo coaches who agree that this is a good idea.
I don't want to scare you with all this talk about unconscious people. Most accounts of chokes gone bad involve cops trying to restrain someone high on PCP by squeezing their neck with a billy club. Hopefully that's not happening at your club.
In fact, chokes and strangles are fairly safe.
The Kodokan, which is the central organizing body for Judo, has conducted studies on the safety of chokes ("shimewaza"). The results are encouraging: Judoka have been choking each other for more than 100 years without any reported fatalities.
Attacking the neck is part of submission grappling and BJJ. If you do this sport long enough then eventually someone will get choked out right in front of you. Now you know what to expect when that happens!
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It was many years ago at a local tournament. My friend was winning his match but got caught in a sneaky gi choke. He was (and still is) a stubborn bastard, so he refused to tap and passed out. He might have been out for about 10 seconds before anyone realized what was going on.
When the referee finally separated the two competitors, I could see my buddy lying flat on his back and he wasn't moving. From my position in the stands I couldn't even see if he was breathing.
But then it got even worse...
He started to snore REALLY loudly. We're talking horrible-keep-you-awake-from-the-next-room-sleep-apnea kind of snoring. Everyone at the tournament could hear it. Then, just to make things even more dramatic, he started convulsing a little bit, like he was having a small epileptic seizure.
Finally - to my infinite relief - he woke up, sat up and looked around sheepishly. Objectively he'd probably only been out for a total of 15 to 20 seconds (including the snoring and convulsing) but it sure seemed a lot longer than that to me at the time!
In fact this is a fairly normal sequence for someone who has been choked out. The snoring is normal. The mini-convulsions are to be expected. And they're going to be a bit light headed when they wake up.
Judo and BJJ coaches have different opions about what to do if someone gets choked out. The most common approach is to stand around and wait for the person to wake up. And this works just fine 99% of the time.
There are traditional judo resuscitation techniques (known as "kappo"). Kappo is an esoteric subject, and I don't know much about it. But I'll give you some guidance coming more from a western first aid point of view.
In first aid class I've been taught to roll unconscious people onto their side or into the 3/4 prone position (IMPORTANT: you only do this if you're sure that there's no neck or back injury). Being on the side helps drain fluids from the mouth and prevents the tongue from blocking the airway. And there are some Judo coaches who agree that this is a good idea.
I don't want to scare you with all this talk about unconscious people. Most accounts of chokes gone bad involve cops trying to restrain someone high on PCP by squeezing their neck with a billy club. Hopefully that's not happening at your club.
In fact, chokes and strangles are fairly safe.
The Kodokan, which is the central organizing body for Judo, has conducted studies on the safety of chokes ("shimewaza"). The results are encouraging: Judoka have been choking each other for more than 100 years without any reported fatalities.
Attacking the neck is part of submission grappling and BJJ. If you do this sport long enough then eventually someone will get choked out right in front of you. Now you know what to expect when that happens!
Labels: choke recovery, chokes, Injuries, judo
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March 22, 2009
Offside Kesa Gatame has an Judo Name
OK, it's official. The collective intelligence of the Grapplearts readership is awesome.
About 5,000 people receive these newsletters, and many more read it on the website, via RSS feeds, etc. If we all got together and combined our knowledge we'd make Rickson Gracie look like a three-stripe white belt.
A few days ago I talked about one of my favorite unorthodox positions: Offside Kesa Gatame. I also said that, to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any formal names for this position
Well Chris Beaver from Canada and Pierre Henry from Belgium both wrote in to tell me that Judo DOES have a name for this position, namely: "Makura Kesa Gatame."
The funny thing is that, before I wrote the article in question, I'd asked about 5 Judo black belts if they'd ever seen that position and they all said no.
After I got those two emails I did some additional research and found out that there are a couple of variations of Makura Kesa Gatame. One of those variations is very similar to what I call Offside Kesa Gatame.
It's a bit of a digression, but one thing to keep in mind is that while some Judo players may use this as a PINNING position, knowledge of the submission potential of this position will be more rare. In Judo the pin itself can win the match, so why risk going for a position and losing the position.
(Back when I did Judo going for a submission from a good pinning position in competition would have been considered insane).
I've often said that we should look beyond the borders of our own specific martial arts for additional information. Chris and Pierre helped me do just that!
Thanks!
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About 5,000 people receive these newsletters, and many more read it on the website, via RSS feeds, etc. If we all got together and combined our knowledge we'd make Rickson Gracie look like a three-stripe white belt.
A few days ago I talked about one of my favorite unorthodox positions: Offside Kesa Gatame. I also said that, to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any formal names for this position
Well Chris Beaver from Canada and Pierre Henry from Belgium both wrote in to tell me that Judo DOES have a name for this position, namely: "Makura Kesa Gatame."
The funny thing is that, before I wrote the article in question, I'd asked about 5 Judo black belts if they'd ever seen that position and they all said no.
After I got those two emails I did some additional research and found out that there are a couple of variations of Makura Kesa Gatame. One of those variations is very similar to what I call Offside Kesa Gatame.
It's a bit of a digression, but one thing to keep in mind is that while some Judo players may use this as a PINNING position, knowledge of the submission potential of this position will be more rare. In Judo the pin itself can win the match, so why risk going for a position and losing the position.
(Back when I did Judo going for a submission from a good pinning position in competition would have been considered insane).
I've often said that we should look beyond the borders of our own specific martial arts for additional information. Chris and Pierre helped me do just that!
Thanks!
Labels: competition, judo, positions, unorthodox strategies
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