A cool video from the Paris Sambo competition. I want to emphasize a few points here so watch the vid and note the time stamps here: @:42 ownage! Don't follow the dancing master... @1:50 oh F-me! This is my opponent!?! ;-) @2:25 there's the outside knee instead of the inside knee. I really want you guys to be more conditioned/developed before we try using this sort of lunging attack. What follows from the guy in red is some very half-hearted, shallow attacks. Execute! Don't waste so much energy! @2:40 there's the bad ankle pick, see how the opponent just sits right up? Not good! @3:50 try it once and almost get it? Try it again!! @4:10 don't ever do crap like this, I'll kill you if you do! @5:20 the "old guy uchimata" is very very effective, and trainable. Great throw to start from, balance, grips, posture etc and it actually works. Excellent throw. @6:00 good sportsmanship. I always like that. @6:50 why I don't like drop knee/Ippon Seoi nage @8:00 watch how blue is setting up one or two throw options. Kind of see him thinking it thru....

smooth is fast, soft is strong

Kuroda sensei here executes ukimi which has a few translations but herein its a forward tumble where you really get under yourself. Inoue executing a Seoi-nage with a deep squat posture. This is more common among Asians and though I've heard it said its because of generalized proportions of leg-length etc My feeling/suspicion is that Asians generally don't sit as much as Westerners do. Like, on chairs and such as opposed to kneeling in seiza or the third world squat where you'll see old men/women waiting at the bus stop able to squat deeply, resting their butt on heels. Old, even young Westerners cannot even manage to do this and I blame chairs! No, sitting on stability balls does not count... Anyhow, think of it like this: Kuroda's ukimi converts into Inoue's posture -as Tori-(the guy executing the throw) and the uke (guy that Inoue is throwing) is executing ukemi The tighter arc powers the looser arc. As you get more relaxed it will become easier to execute this throw. It does not require strength, only good range of motion, stability in maintaining posture and a sort of relaxed-elastic power; which is simple in idea but will take time to develop. The details matter. Also, good breakfall/Ukemi skills matter which is why we're spending so much time with them. Not just for the sake of falling correctly and safely but because its the best way to develop the specific, smooth/soft power we'll need. Consider expanding from that deep squat a bit, remaining relaxed enough -just enough- that you don't lose posture and can support the momentary addition of uke's weight. Using the correct angles and directions of push/pull etc etc you can be more upright and execute very smooth, elegant throws such as the man-himself here: Katanishi-san

I've been holding back on you guys. I needed to formulate some things before I was ready to restart this blog... little circle drives big circle ukimi=little circle: http://youtu.be/JwHX6kR_Se0 ukemi=big circle: http://youtu.be/iKE7WS8N3Kw Inoue puts it all together: http://youtu.be/JXFUrzBtsrY Think of it as tori is the little circle and uke is the big circle. Super-geek-time. Timmy goes thru his mechanics and note that his first movement is basically backward, though he's falling forward. That is the contradictory power we touch on. He falls into the direction opposite to his loading, in particular re: his hips. From there its a matter of the small circle@center (hips) projecting out to the big circle (hands) to generate the power. http://youtu.be/wnPFSDTU_ng A pitcher in MLB has an advantage in stepping off his mound. You can't really increase power as you're only "so strong" and you can't increase speed as your limbs+body will only go so fast but what you really can change is the mass which stepping down off the mound changes dramatically. The relationship between height of drop and mass is something like 2-3 times greater. What is the point?!? It's all down power! Look again at Inoue, what he does is go from a position of stability and drops ~in a relaxed transition~ into another position of stability. Those of you who were at the last class saw how I launched Judd with this tight circle, tightly crouched squat. It had very little strength involved in the release and in the third try where I could barely control my own over-rotation I was completely committed to the mechanics. Notice I said "mechanics" not "throw" that is where we need to work from. The throw is a causal relationship. The mechanics are deterministic, how you move is everything. It's the only thing. So, therefore, back to breakfalls! Ukemi! Ukikmi!

back in the saddle...

I've had a few breakthroughs in the past year but haven't had the time to codify them into anything useful, explanations to come...

Self-defense class geared specifically for Crossfit people; if it works it will be pretty huge.

Clinic #1:

Gulag-fit as a warmup

startle/flinch reactions, the Soviet Ministry of Sport and you.


it's 90% psychological, it doesn't take much skill for some asshole to hide behind a dumpster and hit you on the head with a pipe...

fighting is: a continuum, a spectrum, an outcome of violence. You did not choose this but you will not allow this to happen to you.

Most people fight out of cowardice i.e something to prove or vanity. The rest are basically cannibals and need to be dealt with as such.

Pepper Spray and et al is a half-measure, carry a knife and show them that you are a predator, not prey.

martial art=minimum effort for maximum effect, a lifetime study

self-defense=maximum effort for maximum effect, immediate outcome. Assume the worst otherwise WTF are you fighting for?

Professional:
neo-cortex trained under 1,000's of hrs of grueling, demanding duress. Fine motor skills can supplant the survival mechanism. Context-specific.

Civilian:
limbic system dependant, instinct and large muscle motions, difficult to overcome without specific training, CNS will sacrifice the body to survive...atextual


key#2 series

Soviet Subway drill

"We are a biped predator and that sucks" from close/cover-up into open/jab-out reactions

body-contact along the off-angle, understand how to break to the rear-corner.

You are not fighting their hand/foot/knife/etc you are fighting their CNS; their centerline. Methods of attacking the centerline. The whole body fights as a unit.

throwing mechanics

posting this here as a place-saver, I have a flood of research to catch up on here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE-3Thojbh0&feature=player_embedded#!


Been ruminating over a a number of conflicting/congruent concepts. Much of it is my own method, frequently unencumbered by thought process. Buyer beware:

Throwing or power generation that puts the the hips ahead of the upper body reminds me of wave-punching, which from a Russian perspective, started with stick/knife fighting work but elaborated into something very different.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVz-3KrMH8U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVz-3KrMH8U
@24 sec or so, Arkadiy's posture "consolidates" right as the actual push is delivered. It's a compression shove that is more like a one-inch punch than a proper store/release IMO

This is kind of a big problem as timing must be impeccable in order to have maximum delivery. (important note: [B]do not[/B] mess with Arkadiy, IS or no, he is a very dangerous man:devil:)

another push action, but with less wave/segmentation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YfPZpln1WI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YfPZpln1WI

@:34 Katanishi-san points out the transfer action. His movements are much more hip2hand and he also shows changing levels, not as much a IS getting under, but as close as I've seen any Judoka manage.

my man Chen Yu at work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo6rpxeF6-c&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo6rpxeF6-c&feature=related

Chen Yu is different in that there is no timing issues with his mechanics, everything "arrives" at the point of contact. Also is isn't just store/release, but store/release/store/release etc in as much of a loop as he needs to sustain.

Partner-weight exercises

These I'll just post as I dig up the photos for them, and add details as I have time/opportunity to. Like, wtf, I have a blog an'all, just too busy to do anything with it these days!











The pics with Igor-in his yellow shirt- shows the "tic-toc" drill. For lack of a better name, this is where the partner presses at your hips and neck to get you rocking back and forth on your hips. Go faster and faster until failure.

It opens up the hip joints and trains you to deal with stabilizing while staying relaxed enough so that you don't lose your balance but not so loose that you tumble over. As well, you're dealing with equilibrium issues.

The other pair of photos shows a fireman's carry that you load into back-squats. Simple enough, be sure to load your partner onto the tops of your shoulders and mind your stance. This is a real challenge if you do it as a "box-squat", if you know what that is, just be ready to bail out!

more later...

Sunday Nov 2nd

Armbars:

•shin-in armbar: from kneeling and facing each other, wiper-motion with your legs the one that comes under will go to the armpit. If you're holding their right arm, your right leg wipes under and roll onto your back and press your right shin into their armpit as you pull on the arm. Make sure your back is nice and curled and you elevate your hips, the mechanics will take care of the rest as you roll and turn them over. Try to go from facing 12:00 to 6:00 in order to put yourself into a good armbar position.

You can grip arm+lapel, arm+neck, armpit+underhook their knee etc. the details aren't as important. If you don't get the rotation from your larger body movements, then you'll end up pulling them on top of you and then you will be screwed.


•shin-in armbar from standing: press your shin into their waist, right at the belt-line and pull against them. Again for the rt arm attack, begin to squat on your posted leg and press with your right leg. The push-pull action will help you turn properly from 12:00 to 6:00 as before^and as your leg flexes-fully/butt hits the mat, clear your left leg over their head. Your right shin will end up in their armpit and all will be well from there.

•flying armbar: Similar to the first one, you're getting your shin into the armpit. But this time you're jumping into it. Be sure to get the push-pull/rotation, you don't want to land North/North with them, rather turned perpendicular. With the right shin in, your right shoulder should head towards their right foot. Think of what a forward roll would be for your opponent and that is how you want to follow them.

•flying with cross-body legs: this one is a little more rad for the guy jumping. The ground drill we've done is to start from sitting with legs straight out and roll-over onto your shoulders and back to a sitting position. So from standing, I like to attack their left arm. My left leg swings up along their waist, as I contact I'll roll my leg so my toe points away from them, at this point you've gotta be fully committed and swing your leg up and over their face and keep your head tucked. If you just commit to the sucker and stay smooth, it works out fine. If you can do the ground version of this, then your body only needs a few tries with jumping. The rest is psychology and higher-order thinking getting in the way of things again.

follow-ups:

•with shin@waist, your opp. frees the arm you're attacking, drop your leg down and inside hook the leg as you duck under and reach beyond them for a cross-body+inside trip. I'll post a more detailed description of this later, I'm sick of typing this shit already.

•with focus-mitts: knee to the body then either 1. standing shin@waist or 2. jumping shin-in armbar. If you can pull of the second one, then you are freaking Hollywood itself!! :-)