Sat 14th Dec - Defending on the ground - When you end up on all fours and defending against
being turned over or strangled, all Judoka are very good at keeping everything tight! If your partner can't get an
arm or hand in, they can't turn you. We practised doing just this, and as we learnt, it's not all strength!!! 

Combination - As everyone who attends this lesson will now realise, it is very difficult to throw someone with
a one off throw! So you have to combine two or more until eventually your partner has lost so much balance that 
they fall over. We did this using Ko Uchi Gari with O Uchi Gari used successively while also pushing them 
backwards. Eventually one will work, or you might get an opening in the opposite direction.  Ie. a throw that is 
forwards in direction. (Renrakuwaza - A combination with a change of direction.)

Tai Otoshi - Body Drop. I recapped this for the newer members of the lesson. Your right foot steps forward, just
to the right of your partners feet. Your left foot steps round behind the other foot, placing it wide outside and to the 
right of your other foot. Now turn on the balls of your toes so as to face the same way as your partner. Then step 
your right leg deep accross the front of your partner, keeping it very low. Keep your upper body upright and hold
your hands and arms high. Pull with your left hand and push with your right hand, as you turn your head and upper 
body to the left. As you do this you can spring with your right knee a little to give you some more snap. Things to
watch out for are lifting your heel off the mat - If your partner falls on your foot you can break your toes or damage 
your ankle. Another thing is to always keep your hands in front of you. As soon as they end up behind you, you will 
lose alot or all of your power in them. And keeping your hands in front of you will also bring your partner round
more forceing them even more off balance while keeping you on balance and strong.


Sat 7th Dec - Today was a slightly different lesson! If you look on the message board at the posts about
groundwork (posted just before 7th Dec!), you will get the idea of how the groundwork in the lesson went.

Hold Downs - I took the newer members of the lesson through all the basic hold downs. Click HERE for
a reminder. And that goes for everyone else too! Can you remember all the names yet?

O Soto Gari - Major Outer Reaping. Step your outside leg along side your partners feet, so you have three
feet in a line, as you do this pull your partner towards you so you pull their weight onto the leg nearest you. You
should make chest to chest contact. Now put your other leg behind your partners leg that has all the weight on it
and sweep your leg right up behind you. Don't put your foot on the floor and push as they will just step over it.
Remember to use your arms as well, and to drive with your head and upper body.


Sat 30th Nov - Escapes from Kesa Gatame - 1. Turn into your partner's body, then pull them
close to you, so you are clamping them to your body. Use you free arm to grab hold of their belt or jacket.
Now turn in the opposite direction to take them over the top of yourself. Make sure you always finish with a hold 
when practicing this!
 
2. Bridge so your body is right off the floor. This should unbalance your partner, especially if you do it suddenly.
As you bridge you need to turn towards your partner, and at the same time thrust your free arm in the same
direction over the top of your partners and your own head (hard to describe, if you were there you'll know what I
mean!) If you find the bridge difficult (some people just can't get alot of lift), then you can try just turning in the 
same direction, towards your partner. Once you are nearly onto your stamach, if you can get up onto one knee 
you will be in quite a strong position to lift your upper body off the mat.

Kata Guruma - Shoulder Wheel. The easiest way to describe this throw is as a fireman's carry. If you take
hold of your partners sleeve on the same side.  Lift so that your partner is now stretched out, on their toes and
leaning slightly towards you. Now duck your head low under their arm, making sure you are still lifting with your
arm, while stepping in between their feet. The free arm goes between their legs and grips that leg. Your head
should be around hip level and not under your partners armpit. Pull as much of your partners weight over the top
of your shoulders as possible and as you go to lift make sure that you don't strain your back. Bend your knees, 
keeping your back straight and as you lift pull them in a wheel (Guruma) over the top of your shoulders so that they 
fall off the opposite side. Some very common problems with this throw are either trying to lift with your back bent 
or not getting your partners centre of gravity high enough to make the lift easy! By that I mean, as you duck under
the arm it is very easy to pull the arm downwards. This lowers your partners centre of gravity meaning you would
have to get even lower to lift without using strength. If you imagine your partner standing on tip toes and stretching
up as high as possible, think how easy that would then be to wheel them over the top compared to if they are 
hunched over! So as you enter make sure your arm is pulling them up as much as possible! (Again hard to 
describe, if you weren't there, ask me when you see me next. :-)  ) 
It is possible to lift someone much heavier than yourself with this technique if done correctly, as I demonstrated 
during the lesson.
You can kneel on one or both knees to do this throw, but I wanted everyone to get the technique right for the lift.
When you are practising with a willing Uke you should be able to get the lift if you are doing it right!

Ippon Seoi Nage into Kata Guruma - Enter for Ippon Seoi Nage, and if it fails you can try Kata 
Guruma. Especially if you over turned while entering, or your partner avoided the technique by stepping sideways
giving the same effect as if you had over turned. The hand that went under the armpit needs to grab the sleeve.
Now keep turning in the same direction that you did while entering for Ippon Seoi Nage (that's what I mean by
over turn!) Put the hand that didn't grip the sleeve between your partners legs. You are now in the position for Kata
Guruma.  When done like this, it is a slight variation as the arm you have hold of is the opposite one! i.e. as if you
started with a cross grip rather than the same side. It makes the lift slightly easier, but then it will probably need 
to be easier as your partner is much more likely to be bent over and have a lower centre of gravity due to the failed
Ippon Seoi Nage. As a result of this you may need to alter the throw making it a take down rather than a big lifting
throw.
 

Sat 23rd Nov - Turn over - If your partner manages to resist your turnover by sticking a leg out to the
side, you can counter their resistance by moving slightly towards their head and placing your leg nearest their
body along side them. Now turn and take them over your outstretched leg. You need to be careful that you don't
lie down too much, but keep turning in the direction you are are taking your partner, otherwise they will turn
towards you and you will end up on your back.

Turn over 2 - The hand nearest your head takes hold of your partners belt. Your other arm goes under their
body just to give you extra lift. Now place the leg nearest the head over your partners head/neck. Sit down and
using your momentum as you sit, pull on the belt taking your partner over your leg. You use the leg you have put
over their head as a stop so they flip over rather than just move forwards. Once they are on their backs you need
to be very quick otherwise they will sit up and you will lose them. You can throw your other leg over the top 
going into San Gakyu Jime, or just move quickly into a pindown.
To get this to work you will need to be quick and use it at an appropriate moment, because if your partner has the
smallest inkling that this is coming, it is very easy to resist, (unless you are much bigger and/or stronger than your
partner!)  But it's still good to know, even if it's only so you can resist it. If you don't know it, you won't know it's
coming therefore IT MIGHT WORK!    (If you get my drift?)

Yoko Wakare - Side Seperation. This is a sacrifice technique, meaning you sacrafice yourself by way of 
lying down to apply the technique. You start by facing your partner, then you step out to the side facing away from 
your partner. Now you need to lie down in front of them, but the first thing to touch ground should be your opposite
shoulder. One of the most common problems with this technique is people putting their bum on the mat first. Alot 
of that is down to lack a of confidence in throwing yourself to the floor. There are two ways of getting to the floor. 
One is to keep tight to your opponants body, so you ROLL down their body. This is the best way to start if you have 
never done this throw before. But if you want to get alot more power and snap, you can swing your upper body out 
and away from your partner. As you approach the floor your body will swing sharply back towards your partners 
feet, a bit like a pendulum. If you can do this it whips your partner off their feet extremely fast. If you can manage 
this one it's good if your partner is alot heavier than yourself, as the movement of your body swinging has alot
more weight behind it but without having to use any extra strength.

Yoko Guruma - Side Wheel. This is another sacrifice technique. It is done by putting your left leg (Keeping
it straight) on the floor along the right side of your partner (or vise versa), and wheeling them over your leg.
You need to attempt this when your partners weight is on their right leg, otherwise they will simply step over your
leg. If you attack just after they have stepped to the right, while all their weight is on that foot, then as your body
drops it will pull their weight further onto that foot. As a result they will not be able to lift the foot to resist the 
technique. You wheel your hands in a circle, and this motion combined with the pull that results from your body 
weight dropping will wheel your partner over the leg. Not an easy technique to apply, but as with all 
techniques, if used at the correct moment it will work a treat!

Ippon Seoi Nage into Ko Uchi Gake - This is a very nice combination technique. You enter for
Ippon Seoi Nage, but it fails. Your partner might be pulling backwards slightly while resisting, especially if you
have attempted this a few times and they know it's coming. So we are now going to take them in that direction.
Your leading leg goes in between your partner's legs and hooks round the leg on the same side. To do this with a
hook you will need to turn your body and leg round slightly so that your toes are now facing to the rear of your
partner instead of to the front. As you do this your arm that is under your partner's arm drops to grab the leg you 
are hooking. At this point you should have both an arm and a leg entangled round one of your partners legs. 
Drive backwards as if you were body checking your partner. You should not try and stay on your feet, but drive 
all the way to the floor. The key to this combination is body contact and commitment! (Funny that! Same as with 
most techniques!)
 

Sat 16th Nov - Turn Over into Juji Gatame - The leg nearest the head goes over your opponants
body and your foot tucks in behind their knee. Put one hand through under the arm. Now lean forwards and use
your head on the mat so you are balanced enough to lift both hands off the mat if you need to use them. Place your
other leg under your opponants head. Roll over your shoulder, the leg under your opponants head should roll
them over.  Keep hold of the arm and you will end up in Juji Gatame.

Turn Over - Keeping your weight down, put the hand nearest the head under your opponants arm on the far 
side. Keep your arm nice and tight. Keeping your shoulder low move round your partners head, and while you go
lift your arm that is under theirs. While doing this the other hand helps to block the other arm from stopping you
turn them over. Keep lifting with the first arm, and with your body weight roll them onto their backs.
This also works when your partner is flat on their stomach.

Throw - (Don't know what it's called! ?????) As your partner goes to take a grip, you take a cross grip on the 
sleeve and pull. Your other hand lifts up over the top of the arm you just pulled and then goes down and tucks 
behind your partners knee. When you do this make sure that everything is tight, your armpit should be tight against
your partners upper arm/shoulder. Now sit down backwards. The grip over the arm will pull your partner down with
you, and they should roll over the top of you. You can take them backwards with this just as effectively if you are at
the wrong angle. It just looks better when they go over the top!

Maki Komi - Maki means winding, and that is exactly what you have to do to do this throw. Take a grip on the
sleeve and turn in, lifting your free arm up and over your partners head. Again, as with all throws, body contact is
very important. Make sure you are in nice and tight. Then keep winding round, as if you are going to do a rolling 
breakfall. You get a nice soft landing, but your partner doesn't!  You can also do Harai Maki Komi, or Hani Maki 
Komi. These are variations in leg positions. (We have covered these throws, so that should make sense. Hopefully)
Soto Maki Komi is when you turn in further, sticking your bum out the other side. (Hard to explain!)

Defence - We started work on pre-empting an attack so we can defend by way of not being there when the
attack arrives. Not always possible, but it is a good line line of defence as it relys on speed and skill rather than
strength! It also leaves your partner vunrable, as by commitiing themselves for the attack they are likely to be 
somewhat off balance in one direction or another.

A quick note to those who attended today's lesson! 
You all worked very well today. I really can can see the improvements showing already. You make me proud.
Keep it up!
 

Sat  9th Nov - Koshi Jime - This is a strangle with your partner on all fours. The hand nearest the head 
goes under the neck, (remembering to keep your weight down to stop your partner getting away). You prop the leg 
nearest the head up and swing the other leg underneath, (as if entering for Kesa Gatame). Your free hand goes over
your partners head with your armpit pushing down on the back of the neck. Now apply the strangle.
 
Hold downs, (Hon & Kuzure) - Hon is the TRUE FORM. So say Kesa Gatame done in the True Form 
would correctly be called Hon Kesa Gatame.  Kuzure means BROKEN. Any hold that deviates from the true form,
possibly by including or not including an arm, or the head etc, would be prefixed by Kuzure. 

Ashi Guruma & O Guruma -  Ankle wheel & Major Wheel. Ashi Guruma looks a little similar to Harai 
Goshi, but the mechanics of the throw are very different! Instead of your leg sweeping, it is used as a prop so you
can wheel (Guruma) your partner round it. O Guruma has the same mechanics but your leg is raised to waist 
height, parallel to the floor.

Avoiding an attack - I spoke a little bit about avoiding an attack by not being there when it arrives. Most 
of you are getting the idea of combining more than one attack, but we will soon work on anticipating an attack
and moving out the way. By doing this you can set yourself up for some easy counters! 


Sat  2nd Nov - Turn over, the Pinewood crush - Put both hands around your partner and 
squeeze them into a ball - flip yourself onto your back along side them and with the momentum
roll them over their heads and onto their backs - then quickly lift your body up and over so you are on top.

Releasing a trapped leg - If your partner entangles your leg it breaks the hold. Make sure you tie the
upper body up before attempting to release it or they will wiggle out as soon as the leg becomes free! If you 
need to turn so you are facing the offending leg do so, that way you can use your free leg as well as an arm 
to free the trapped leg. Be careful, as soon as that leg becomes free they will struggle!

Tomoe Nage & Yoko Tomoe Nage - Stomach throw & Side Stomach throw. - Pretty self explanatory!
Points to remember, you must make sure your foot goes up before you lie down, and that you lie down directly at 
your partners feet. (Remember - too far away and your leg is actually pushing your partner away from you, rather 
than over the top.)

Hane Goshi - Spring hip. This technique is related to the other "Goshi's"! Some of you found this one tricky,
don't worry it is a difficult one. Just remember it and store it in your vocabulary! 
Start as in Harai Goshi or O Goshi, but this time as their feet come off the floor you keep your right leg slightly
bent and create a platform that pushes your partners leg out sideways. Your partner's kneecap should sit snuggly
into the crook of your ankle. DO NOT kick backwards into their knee with the heel of your foot. You might damage
their leg!

Setting up techniques - With Judo you will rarely be able to come in for a one off attack and find it
works. You need to move your partner or put them into a position with another attack so as to break their balance.
Then without balance they won't be able to defend your attack. We tried making them take a large step,
using Ko Uchi Gari (Minor Inner Reaping) and then entering for Tai Otoshi. You don't have to stick with that 
combination. Try and think of a few for yourself.