Circle of Throws

When practicing we should always work on all of our throws, not just our favorites. For example, during nage-komi we take turns throwing each other with no power & no resistance, giving our partner a clean slate to work with. If I throw osoto-gari, I should throw every other throw I know, while respecting uke's safety and ukemi skill, before throwing osoto-gari again. If I have a throw I am working on refining, I will sometimes spend 3-6 minutes per class during nage-komi doing nothing but this throw. This should be a throw I need to improve, not a throw I simply want to do because it's my tokui-waza (favorite technique). George has a video where Karl discusses Circle of Throws (item # 5401) and a supplementary volume (item # 5401-s). The DVDs go into great detail about learning how throws relate to one another, learning throws that are complimentary to each other and how to apply the ideas.

Moose's Litany of Judo

Rick Pollard, better known as Moose, had stopped by the dojo to join in for a practice. I was probably a nikyu at the time. We had all gathered around for lesson time. He asked if any of us knew the three phases of a Judo throw. After a short pause during which nobody spoke up I answered, Kuzushi, tsukuri, and kake. Moose commended me for my obvious book-learning, but asked if I really knew anything about them. Moose set about explaining things thusly: Kuzushi starts when you do something that causes your opponent to take a step that he would not normally have taken, to give you a moment in time to gain entry. For example, using your collar hand grip to pull ukes shoulder in front of his foot, causing him to step. Kuzushi ends when we start to make our entry, or start tsukuri. Tsukuri stops at the execution point of the throw, at the point where we have gained control. Kake begins at the point when you have control. Kake ends when your opponent is on the ground.

Read this description a few times, and see how it applies to practice this week. Please share what you find!